Immunotherapy With or Without Radiation Therapy for Metastatic Urothelial Cancer (IMMORTAL)
March 9, 2023
This phase II trial, Immunotherapy With or Without Radiation Therapy for Metastatic Urothelial Cancer (IMMORTAL) investigates the impact of adding radiation therapy to immunotherapy compared to immunotherapy alone for metastatic urothelial cancer. Radiation therapy, specifically stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), may shrink tumors but can have side effects. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies enhances the immune system's ability to fight cancer and inhibit tumor growth. The combination of atezolizumab and radiation therapy aims to improve tumor cell killing efficiency while minimizing damage to healthy tissue.
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Speaker: This video will introduce you to a new clinical trial for patients with the most common type of bladder cancer, which is called urothelial cancer. Patients can participate in this trial if the bladder cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
When bladder cancer leaves the bladder, gets into the bloodstream, and spreads to other parts of the body, it is called metastatic bladder cancer. The main treatment for metastatic bladder cancer is chemotherapy, which is delivered directly into the bloodstream through your veins. This is commonly referred to as intravenous or IV.
However, some patients cannot get chemotherapy for medical reasons. Other patients would not benefit from additional chemotherapy, as they already received chemotherapy in the past and the bladder cancer returned. For these patients, doctors now use a different, newer treatment called immunotherapy. Immunotherapy drugs help your body's immune system fight the cancer.
One key question that this trial may answer is whether adding radiation to immunotherapy will help boost the results of the immunotherapy drug. Adding radiation to cancer treatment is called radiation therapy. Radiation is x-ray treatment delivered to an area where the cancer has spread with a high level of precision. Radiation is delivered on three separate days, which are spread across two weeks.
In this trial, the patients have metastatic bladder cancer and cannot receive additional chemotherapy. A computer will randomly assign them by chance to receive either immunotherapy alone, the normal treatment for patients not on this trial, or to receive immunotherapy with the three separate days of radiation. Doctors will monitor and manage any side effects of these treatments.
They will measure whether the area where the bladder cancer has spread grows, stays the same, shrinks, or disappears. This trial is funded by the National Cancer Institute and conducted by Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. Alliance develops and conducts clinical trials testing promising new cancer therapies.
Speaker: This video will introduce you to a new clinical trial for patients with the most common type of bladder cancer, which is called urothelial cancer. Patients can participate in this trial if the bladder cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
When bladder cancer leaves the bladder, gets into the bloodstream, and spreads to other parts of the body, it is called metastatic bladder cancer. The main treatment for metastatic bladder cancer is chemotherapy, which is delivered directly into the bloodstream through your veins. This is commonly referred to as intravenous or IV.
However, some patients cannot get chemotherapy for medical reasons. Other patients would not benefit from additional chemotherapy, as they already received chemotherapy in the past and the bladder cancer returned. For these patients, doctors now use a different, newer treatment called immunotherapy. Immunotherapy drugs help your body's immune system fight the cancer.
One key question that this trial may answer is whether adding radiation to immunotherapy will help boost the results of the immunotherapy drug. Adding radiation to cancer treatment is called radiation therapy. Radiation is x-ray treatment delivered to an area where the cancer has spread with a high level of precision. Radiation is delivered on three separate days, which are spread across two weeks.
In this trial, the patients have metastatic bladder cancer and cannot receive additional chemotherapy. A computer will randomly assign them by chance to receive either immunotherapy alone, the normal treatment for patients not on this trial, or to receive immunotherapy with the three separate days of radiation. Doctors will monitor and manage any side effects of these treatments.
They will measure whether the area where the bladder cancer has spread grows, stays the same, shrinks, or disappears. This trial is funded by the National Cancer Institute and conducted by Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. Alliance develops and conducts clinical trials testing promising new cancer therapies.