Abstract IA24: The evolution of neoadjuvant immunotherapy in bladder cancer


 PD-1/PD-L1 blockade has transformed the treatment landscape for advanced bladder cancer. Based on the durable disease control achieved in a subset of patients with such therapy, in the context of a relatively favorable tolerability profile, a logical progression of the clinical development of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in bladder cancer is to move these treatments to earlier disease states. The neoadjuvant, or pre-surgical, treatment platform affords a number of potential opportunities for clinical drug development which encompass scientific, pragmatic, patient-centered, and regulatory domains. However, this platform may serve to both advance the development of drugs and also advance the development of treatment paradigms and no single trial is likely poised to fully address these related, but distinct, goals. Neoadjuvant trials incorporating immune checkpoint blockade in bladder cancer have already demonstrated sufficient signals of activity to support the initiation of multiple large definitive phase 3 trials, generate novel immunobiologic insights, and even provide a new path for curative-intent bladder-sparing treatment.
 Citation Format: Matthew D. Galsky. The evolution of neoadjuvant immunotherapy in bladder cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy; 2022 Oct 21-24; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2022;10(12 Suppl):Abstract nr IA24.