New ways to treat bladder cancer improve survival and shake up the standard of care, new studies show

New Treatment Efficacy: A combination of enfortumab vedotin and pembrolizumab significantly extended survival in advanced bladder cancer patients, reducing the risk of disease progression or death by 55%.

Survival Rates: Patients treated with the new drug combination had a median overall survival of 31.5 months, compared to 16.1 months with standard chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy Resistance: Traditional chemotherapy shows initial effectiveness, but patients quickly develop resistance, with median survival for metastatic bladder cancer typically about a year.

Global Impact: Bladder cancer ranks as the sixth most common cancer in men globally, with limited effective treatment options for advanced cases.

Potential Standard of Care Shift: Experts suggest these findings could change the standard of care for advanced bladder cancer, moving away from traditional chemotherapy regimens.