Bladder Cancer COE

Moving Beyond Single Arm Trials in BCG Unresponsive Cancer Care - Joshua Meeks

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Zachary Klaassen and Joshua Meeks discuss the need to move beyond single-arm trials in BCG-unresponsive bladder cancer treatment, given the current availability of multiple FDA-approved options. Dr. Meeks advocates for transitioning to randomized controlled trials to enable direct comparisons between treatments, suggesting a model similar to the STAMPEDE trial in prostate cancer. He proposes stand...

Safety and Tolerability of TAR-200 Monotherapy in Patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin-Unresponsive High-Risk Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer in SUNRISE-1 - Siamak Daneshmand

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Zachary Klaassen and Sia Daneshmand discuss the SunRISe-1 trial results examining TAR-200, a novel device that provides sustained release of gemcitabine in the bladder for BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. The Phase IIb study demonstrates an impressive 83.5% complete response rate with the device, which remains in place for three weeks at a time. Dr. Daneshmand highlights the fa...

High Risk Bladder Cancer Treatment Outcomes After Additional BCG - Amanda Myers

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Zachary Klaassen and Amanda Myers discuss a single-institution study examining response rates to additional BCG therapy in high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients. Dr. Myers presents data analyzing outcomes in both BCG-exposed and BCG-unresponsive populations, providing benchmark response rates to inform clinical trial design. The study demonstrates high success rates with additional...

Sexual Dysfunction After Radical Cystectomy - Trinity Bivalacqua

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Zachary Klaassen and Trinity Bivalacqua discuss sexual dysfunction following radical cystectomy, highlighting significant disparities in how these issues are addressed between male and female patients. Dr. Bivalacqua presents data showing high prevalence of sexual dysfunction after cystectomy in both genders, yet reveals that less than 20% of male patients receive ED treatment post-surgery. The di...

CORE-008 Cohort B Tests Cretostimogene’s Efficacy in High-Risk, Non-BCG-Responsive Disease - Trinity Bivalacqua

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Zachary Klaassen and Trinity Bivalacqua discuss Cohort B of the CORE-008 trial, which examines cretostimogene in BCG-exposed patients with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. The phase 2 multi-cohort, multicenter study focuses on patients who have recurrent high-grade disease but do not meet BCG-unresponsive criteria. The treatment protocol includes a six-week induction course of cretost...

CORE-008 Cohort A Tests Oncolytic Immunotherapy in BCG-Naive High-Risk Bladder Cancer - Trinity Bivalacqua

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Trinity Bivalacqua joins Zachary Klaasen to discuss the CORE-008 trial, specifically focusing on cohort A, which examines cretostimogene in high-risk, non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. The conversation explores this phase II multi-cohort, multicenter, open-label study that targets BCG-naive patients with CIS, with or without papillary disease. The treatment protocol involves a six-week induction...

Real-World Treatments Following BCG Induction in Patients with NMIBC: A US Claims Analysis - Amanda Myers

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Zachary Klaassen and Amanda Myers discuss a US claims analysis examining real-world treatment patterns following BCG induction in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients. The study reveals significant underutilization of maintenance BCG therapy, with only a quarter of patients receiving adequate maintenance doses after induction. Their analysis highlights considerable heterogeneity in subseque...

Lessons Learned from Other Cancers that Can be Applied to Bladder Cancer - Petros Grivas

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Shilpa Gupta and Petros Grivas engage in a discussion about lessons learned from immunotherapy use across different cancer types and their application to urothelial cancer. The conversation explores contrasting approaches between kidney cancer, where immunotherapy rechallenge after progression shows no benefit, and melanoma, where immunotherapy rechallenge remains acceptable. They examine the chal...

Expanded Access Program Provides Early Cretostimogene Therapy for Bladder Cancer - Sarah Psutka

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Sarah Psutka examines the expanded access program (EAP) for cretostimogene in BCG-unresponsive bladder cancer. The conversation highlights how this oncolytic immunotherapy, which shows a 74% complete response rate and strong durability, is being made available through an EAP designed to gather real-world data from diverse patient populations. Dr. Psutka emphasizes the program's broad eligibility c...

Utilizing Telehealth to Improve Access of Care of Patients with Bladder Cancer - Tracey Krupski

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Tracey Krupski explores the implementation of tele-cystoscopy to improve access to bladder cancer care in resource-challenged areas. Dr. Krupski shares research demonstrating how trained advanced practice providers can perform remote cystoscopies while urologists supervise via video connection, significantly reducing travel burden for patients in underserved regions. The study validates the approa...