Experts hail bladder cancer drug 'breakthrough'

Medical experts in Sheffield have hailed as a "game changer" trials of a drug that could reduce the recurrence of bladder cancer.

Using the immunotherapy drug durvalumab before and after surgery reduced the recurrence of operable bladder cancer by a third, the trial found.

Overall survival rates among patients treated with the drug were 25% higher.

Prof James Catto from the University of Sheffield described the findings as a "major breakthrough" in treating bladder cancer.

The University of Sheffield led the trial, alongside Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London.

The third phase of the trial examined 1,063 patients with operable bladder cancer.

The study compared the outcomes of patients who had chemotherapy and surgery with those who had both chemotherapy and durvalumab before surgery and eight cycles of durvalumab after.

It found patients who received durvalumab were 32% less likely to experience disease progression, recurrence or death.

Prof Catto said: "For many years survival rates for advanced bladder cancer have remained stagnant, but our findings offer hope to thousands of patients who face this devastating diagnosis.

"Our hope is that this treatment can be made available for NHS patients as soon as possible following regulatory approval."

Syed Hussain, oncology professor at the University of Sheffield, added: "With the magnitude of survival benefit seen, [the trial] will certainly be a game changer.

"By bringing these exciting new treatments earlier in the disease pathway, we will continue to see more patients being cured of muscle invasive bladder cancer."

Bladder cancer is the ninth most common cancer in the UK, with 17,000 diagnoses and 5,000 deaths in England each year, according to the university.

It has the highest lifetime treatment costs per patient of any cancer due to its high recurrence rate and ongoing invasive monitoring.

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