Most patients with metastatic bladder cancer initially receive chemotherapy, but the results were limited. In recent years, one of the two studies therefore focused on the question of whether chemotherapy can be combined with immunotherapy, which stimulates the body’s own immune system to fight cancer cells. According to the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, the risk of death when treated with that combination decreased by 22 percent, compared to chemotherapy alone. The tumor also remained better under control.
Milestone
The other study looked at the combination of immunotherapy with another drug. That study also showed “important and meaningful improvements in overall survival” and in “the time when the tumor is not growing”, according to the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek. According to the research institute specialized in cancer, the risk of death decreased even more in this study.
Medical oncologist Michiel van der Heijden of the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, who was involved in both studies and presented the results of one of them in Madrid, says the results mark a milestone. “These findings open new possibilities for the treatment of bladder cancer. It is a testament to the collective efforts of researchers and, more importantly, the resilience of the patients who participated in this study.”
Health insurance reimbursement
The studies were both so-called phase 3 studies, the final research phase before a drug can be marketed and in which a drug is tested on large groups of patients. 608 patients from 29 countries participated in the study into the combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. The second study involved 886 patients from an unknown number of countries.
Both treatments must still be registered and approved in the Netherlands in order to be reimbursed by health insurance. (AP)
2023-10-22 19:48:27
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