A new type of drug that helps target chemotherapy directly at cancer cells significantly increases the survival of patients with the most common form of bladder cancer, a new study suggests.
The risk of death was 30% lower with the new drug than with chemotherapy, with an average duration of about 13 months for the new drug, according to the new study.
Urothelial cancer is the most common type of bladder cancer and accounts for about 90% of cases.
It is also found in the renal pelvis (where urine accumulates inside the kidneys), ureter (a tube that connects the kidneys to the filter) and the urethra.
A new class of drugs called drug-antibody (ADC) conjugates work by getting a drug-linked antibody similar to chemotherapy.
The antibody specifically targets and binds to the cancer cells, taking the chemotherapy-like drug, allowing it to simply work on those cancer cells and avoid normal cells in the body.
Leading UK researcher Tom Powles, professor of genitourinary oncology at Queen Mary University in London, and director of the Barts Cancer Center, Barts NHS Trust NHS, said: “ has been difficult to achieve in this difficult disease.
“He reduced the mortality rate by 30% and overcame chemotherapy in all cases, so this is a huge concern. ”
Globally, approximately 549,000 new cases of bladder cancer and 200,000 deaths are reported each year.
Chemotherapy is one of the most widely used treatments for this type of cancer, which works by targeting all cells in the body, successfully working on cancer cells, but also affecting non-cancerous cells. cancer, causing side effects.
Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the results of a phase three study were presented at the American Society of Oncology 2021 Genitourinary Cancer Symposium.
The trial included 608 patients in 19 countries and tested a new ADC drug enfortumab vedotin, developed by Astellas Pharma Inc and Seagen Inc in adult patients with locally advanced metastatic urothelial cancer.
They were previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy and an immunotherapy drug called a PD-1 / L1 inhibitor.
The survival rate, i.e. the period without cancer progression, was 5.6 months for the new drug versus 3.7 months for chemotherapy.
The overall response rate, the percentage of patients with complete or partial response, was 40.6% vs. 17.9% of patients in the arm chemotherapy.
The side effects of the drug were easy to treat and completely similar to chemotherapy, the study found.
They included pins and needles and skin broth, which the researchers say requires careful management.
Enfortumab vedotin was also found to have a tolerable safety profile.
The drug is already available in the US after being accelerated by the Food and Drug Administration and is currently awaiting regulatory approval in the UK.
Researchers say it could be available to NHS patients in a few months if it goes through the Early Access Treatment Scheme (EAMS).
The trial was led in the UK by Queen Mary University in London and Barts NHS Health Trust.