A plain language summary exploring a new treatment combination for untreated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer: enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab.

This summary provides the results of a study of two treatments for cancer, enfortumab vedotin and pembrolizumab, that were studied together against locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer (la/mUC), a cancer that occurs most commonly in the bladder.

In the 45 patients studied, around 16% did have serious side effects, but most side effects were manageable. Twenty-four percent of patients, however, stopped the study treatment because of their side effects. Within about 2 months of starting treatment, most patients' (73%) tumors were smaller and stayed smaller, on average, for more than 2 years.

The combination of enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab is a new treatment option for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer when they cannot receive the typical treatment, cisplatin. Advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer is a type of cancer where the cancer has already spread outside of the bladder or urinary tract.

Future oncology (London, England). 2023 Nov 23 [Epub ahead of print]

Christopher J Hoimes, Thomas W Flaig, Matthew I Milowsky, Terence W Friedlander, Mehmet Asim Bilen, Shilpa Gupta, Sandy Srinivas, Jaime R Merchan, Rana R McKay, Daniel P Petrylak, Carolyn Sasse, Blanca Homet Moreno, Yao Yu, Anne-Sophie Carret, Jonathan E Rosenberg

Duke Cancer Institute; Duke University, Durham, NC, USA., University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center, Aurora, CO, USA., University of North Carolina, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, NC, USA., University of California San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA., Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Hematology & Medical Oncology, Atlanta, GA, USA., Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA., Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, USA., University of Miami, Medical Oncology, Miami, FL, USA., University of California San Diego Moores Cancer Center, San Diego, CA, USA., Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center, New Haven, CT, USA., Astellas Pharma Global Development, Northbrook, IL, USA., Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA., Seagen Inc., Bothell, WA, USA., Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center & Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA.