Challenge the expert
Watch two lively expert debates to expand your knowledge of first- and subsequent-line immunotherapy treatment options; see how three experts work together on real-life cases to find possible solutions.
Program launch date: November 2020
Urothelial carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. This innovative program comprises a suite of educational resources for those managing patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC), having a particular focus on the use of immunotherapy strategies. Providing relevant, informative and interactive activities, this resource aims to better equip medical oncologists, urologists and other healthcare professionals to understand evidence-based best practice for the management of mUC.
Expand and test your knowledge of treatment options for mUC with our case studies and eLearning activities, whilst keeping informed of recent developments with news articles and expert discussions. Browse our expert-led resources below:
Watch two lively expert debates to expand your knowledge of first- and subsequent-line immunotherapy treatment options; see how three experts work together on real-life cases to find possible solutions.
Two summary articles – considering first- and subsequent-line immunotherapy for advanced mUC – consolidate the often overwhelming array of clinical trials in two useful guides.
A three-part case study series looking at how to manage patients with mUC. Working through these cases, learners can review the evidence, test their knowledge and help guide their everyday clinical practice.
Expert-to-expert discussions focusing on the latest developments in the management of mUC; our experts share their thoughts and opinions on findings presented at three key congresses in the field of urothelial carcinoma: ASCO GU 22, ESMO IO and the ASCO 22 Annual Meeting.
Three CME-accredited eLearning video modules guide the learner through clinical findings and real-world evidence with expert commentary to help support their decisions regarding first-line, subsequent-line and maintenance therapy.
A series of articles and videos, presented by leading experts, analysing significant results and discussing the latest research presented at key congresses to keep HCPs informed on the latest news.
Medical Oncologist,
Bethesda, Maryland USA
Dr Apolo is a nationally and internationally recognized medical oncologist who is an expert in bladder cancer and genitourinary (GU) tumors research. She is dedicated to improving the treatment and survival of patients with these tumors. Her research involves developing and designing clinical trials to test novel agents. She has been instrumental in the clinical development of multiple immunotherapeutic agents and immunotherapeutic combinations, from first-in-human studies through phase 3 clinical trials.
Dr Apolo has been an investigator on more than 35 clinical trials, authored over 100 scientific papers or chapters which have been cited over 5700 times, and has given over 100 scientific presentations at universities and national/international meetings.
Nothing to disclose.
Professor of Therapeutics-Internal Medicine-Oncology,
Medical School University of Athens, Greece
Professor Aristotle Bamias is Professor of Therapeutics-Internal Medicine-Oncology at the Medical School University of Athens, Greece. He studied Medicine at the Medical School of the University of Athens, obtained his PhD at the University of London and served as Lecturer in Medical Oncology at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London.
Professor Bamias’ main research focus in oncology is urogenital and gynecological tumors. He has authored or co-authored more than 290 original papers and reviews in peer-reviewed journals including the N Engl J Med, Lancet, Lancet Oncology and J Clin Oncol.
A founding member and Chair of the Hellenic Genito-Urinary Cancer Group (HGUCG), Professor Bamias is also a member of other organizations, such as the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium (IMDC) and the Retrospective International Study of Cancers of the Urothelial Tract (RISC) Investigators. Since 2012, Professor Bamias has been a member of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Faculty for Genitourinary Cancer, and he chaired this group from 2016 to 2020. He has been part of several international advisory boards and steering committees of international trials.
His molecular and clinical research has won multiple awards, stipends and prizes, and he has authored and co-authored more than 200 publications.
Professor Bamias has previously received honoraria, and/or advisory, research support from BMS, MSD, Roche, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Janssen and Ipsen.
Vice Chairman at the Department of Urology,
University of Tübingen, Germany
Professor Jens Bedke is Vice Chairman at the Department of Urology, University of Tübingen, Germany. Professor Bedke’s main research areas include uro-oncology, tumor immunology and metabolomics.
He has a special interest in the research of renal cell cancer and bladder carcinoma, with a focus on translational studies with immune-targeting agents. His clinical focus is the surgical therapy of uro-oncologic tumors, with a special emphasis on robotic and open radical prostatectomy, nephron-sparing surgery and cystectomy. He has more than 200 peer-reviewed publications in the N Engl J Med, Lancet and Lancet Oncology. Professor Bedke additionally coordinates the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Tübingen University. He actively participates in several clinical trials as Principal Investigator, including the current checkpoint inhibitory trials in perioperative treatment of bladder and metastatic kidney carcinoma. A member of several national and international societies, including the European Association of Urology (EAU), American Urological Association (AUA) and European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), Professor Bedke’s main goal is to integrate the different aspects of specialized surgical care, dedicated medical oncology, and innovative scientific research towards a patient-centered translational treatment.
Professor Bedke has previously received honoraria for speaker, consultancy or advisory roles from AstraZeneca, Astellas, BMS, Eisai, Ipsen, MSD, Novartis, Roche, EUSA Pharma, Nektar and Pfizer; and institutional financial interests (paid directly to his institution) from Eisai, Ipsen, MSD, Novartis, Roche and Pfizer.
Consultant Medical Oncologist,
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Simon Chowdhury received his first degree from the University of Cambridge and qualified as a doctor at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Medical School. He completed his PhD in tumour targeting at University College London and also trained at St George’s and The Royal Marsden Hospitals.
He was a visiting fellow at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, with which he retains strong links. Between 2000 and 2003, Simon was a research fellow for Cancer Research UK.
He is actively involved in clinical trial research into urological cancer and is a member of the London Kidney Cancer Group which aims to develop further clinical trials in the London area.
He is the joint lead for the treatment of urological cancers within the south east London Cancer Network.
Simon Chowdhury discloses the following relationships and financial interests from Janssen, Astellas, Bayer, BeiGene, Curve Therapeutics, Huma, Novartis, Pfizer, Remedy Bio and Telix.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated
Associate Professor in Medical Oncology,
University of Southampton, UK
Dr Simon Crabb is an Associate Professor in Medical Oncology at the University of Southampton in the UK. His research interests lie in the development of novel systemic treatment strategies for bladder and prostate cancers, cancer therapy resistance mechanisms, and epigenetic therapeutics.
He was awarded his PhD in 2006 for research on the pre-clinical development of histone deacetylase inhibitors. This was followed by post-doctoral training as a Clinical Research Fellow at the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver and the Cancer Research UK Centre in Southampton. Dr Crabb is the Associate Clinical Director of the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, Deputy Director of the Southampton Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, Chair of the Genomics England Clinical Interpretation Partnership for bladder cancer, and a member of the NCRI Bladder and Renal Group, the NCRI Prostate Group, and the Experimental Medicine Expert Review Panel for Cancer Research UK. He is a lead for early phase cancer trials. He is an active contributor to the UK academic trials portfolio in urological malignancies, including as Chief Investigator for the SPIRE, AURORA, GUSTO, MANCAN2 and ProCAID trials.
Dr Crabb discloses the following relationships and financial interests. He has received honoraria from Merck Sharp and Dohme Ltd, Roche, AstraZeneca, Astellas, Bayer, Novartis, Janssen and Pfizer. Dr Crabb has also received research funding from Astex, Clovis Oncology, Roche and AstraZeneca.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Leader of the Genitourinary Oncology Program,
Medical Oncology Department,
Hospital Universitario Marques de Valdecilla, Santander, Spain
Ignacio Durán is a medical oncologist with interests in clinical and translational research and medical education. He is the Leader of the Genitourinary Oncology Program at the Medical Oncology Department at the Hospital Universitario Marques de Valdecilla in Santander, Spain.
Dr Durán earned his medical degree in 1997 at the Universidad de Salamanca and went on to attain his doctorate in 2005 at the Universidad Complutense with highest commendation. Between 2004 and 2007, he completed a fellowship in drug development and genitourinary tumours at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Canada, and received a Master’s Degree in the teaching of medicine at the University of Toronto.
Dr Durán is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the European Society of Medical Oncology, the European Association of Urology and the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology. He is president and co-founder of GO NORTE, a collaborative group of Spanish medical oncologists with interest in GU oncology of the North area of Spain including over 25 hospitals.
His major research interests include genitourinary tumours and anticancer clinical drug development. He has authored numerous publications covering diverse areas of medical oncology in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Throughout his career, Dr Durán is recipient of the ASCO Foundation Merit Award, the Novartis Young Canadian Investigator Award and the University Health Network Outstanding Research Presentation Award.
Ignacio Durán discloses the following relationships and financial interests: he has been an invited speaker, has participated in compensated activities, has been an advisor or received funding/grants with the following companies over the past two years: ASTELLAS, Bristol Myers Squibb, EUSA PHARMA, Immunomedics, Inc., IPSEN, Jansen, MSD, Novartis, PFIZER, Roche Genentech and Astra Zeneca.
Dr Durán has been a Member of the board of Directors for ASEICA and has been an external advisor to the board of directors of the Spanish Association of cancer research since 2021. At GO NORTE he has a Leadership Role whereby he is the president of an independent cooperative group of GU Oncologists from the North of Spain.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated
Director of the Medical Oncology Program and Clinical Research lead,
MD Anderson Madrid International Cancer Center
Dr Enrique Grande, MD, PhD, MSc, was recently appointed as Director of the Medical Oncology Program and Clinical Research lead at the MD Anderson Madrid International Cancer Center. His research focuses on Genitourinary and Endocrine tumors and he actively collaborates in the development of the Translational Research and Early Drug Development Unit. Dr Grande was awarded his PhD for a pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in liver metabolism, and he holds a Master’s degree in the molecular biology of cancer from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO). A published author of more than 150 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, Dr Grande is also the founder of the Spanish group for research on orphan and uncommon tumours (GETHI). Dr Grande is Professor at the Francisco de Vitoria University and editor of several international journals. He participated in recent trials in the field of bladder cancer that led to approval of the new drugs we now have available and chairs the steering committee of the IMVIGOR 130 trial.
Dr Enrique Grande has received honoraria or consultation fees from Adacap, AMGEN, Angelini, Astellas, Astra Zeneca, Bayer, Blueprint, Bristol Myers Squibb, Caris Life Sciences, Celgene, Clovis-Oncology, Eisai, Eusa Pharma, Genetracer, Guardant Health, HRA-Pharma, IPSEN, ITM-Radiopharma, Janssen, Lexicon, Lilly, Merck KGaA, MSD, Nanostring Technologies, Natera, Novartis, ONCODNA (Biosequence), Palex, Pharmamar, Pierre Fabre, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi-Genzyme, Servier, Taiho and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Professor and Chairman of the Department of Urology,
Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
Marc-Oliver Grimm earned his medical and doctoral degrees and completed his urology residency at Heinrich-Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany. Additionally, he trained at the Department of Urology and the Comprehensive Cancer Centre at the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus in Dresden, Germany.
Dr Grimm’s major interests are clinical trials for renal, bladder, and prostate cancers, and translational research with a focus on biomarkers in renal cell and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancers.
Dr Grimm is chairing the German Guidelines Groups for Prostate Cancer and a member of the Bladder Cancer Group. He currently serves on the board of the German Society of Urology and the EAU Section of Oncological Urology. He is also a member of the Scientific Congress Office of the European Association of Urology. Dr Grimm has authored numerous oncology publications in peer-reviewed journals and continues to lead as an investigator in phase 2 and 3 uro-oncology trials.
Marc-Oliver Grimm discloses the following relationships and financial interests having claimed honoraria and consultation fees from the following: Amgen, Apogepha, AstraZeneca, Bayer, BMS, ClinSol, Eisai, EUS, Hexal, Ipsen, Janssen, Merk Serono, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi and Takeda research support: BMS Intuitive.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Clinical Director of the GU Cancers Program and Associate Professor,
Division of Oncology, University of Washington School of Medicine, USA
Dr Petros Grivas is board-certified medical oncologist with expertise in genitourinary (GU) cancers. He is the Clinical Director of the GU cancers Program at University of Washington and Associate Professor (Department of Medicine, Division of Oncology).
He received an M.D. and Ph.D. in Greece in 2005 and 2009, respectively. He completed Internal Medicine Residency at Hahnemann University Hospital/Drexel University College of Medicine (Philadelphia) in 2010, and a Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) in 2013. He was Clinical Lecturer before he was recruited as Assistant Professor at Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland). Dr Grivas has played a leading role in several clinical trials leading to FDA approval of new drugs for urothelial cancer. He is considered a thought leader and international expert and has lectured in several countries, serving as a reviewer of grants, abstracts and manuscripts, pursuing community outreach, leading large studies and publishing practice changing novel research. Dr Grivas is dedicated to efficient, personalized, outstanding patient care and optimal patient-physician relationships.
Dr Grivas discloses the following relationships and financial interests. He has performed a consulting/advisory role for Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, EMD Serono, Seattle Genetics, Pfizer, Janssen, Mirati Therapeutics, Exelixis, Roche, Genentech, Dyania Health, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, QED Therapeutics, 4D Pharma PLC, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Astellas Pharma, Guardant Health, Urogen pharma and Gilead Sciences. Dr Grivas has also received research/funding grants from pfizer, Clovis Oncology, Bavarian Nordic, Immunomedics, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Debiopharm Group, Merck, QED Therapeutics, Kure It Cancer Research, GlaxoSmithKline, Mirati Therapeutics, EMD Serono and G1 Therapeutics.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Associate Professor of Medical Oncology,
CEU Cardenal Herrera University in Valencia, Spain
María José Juan-Fita has been Associate Professor of Medical Oncology at the CEU Cardenal Herrera University in Valencia, Spain for the past five years, and is a medical oncologist in the Genitourinary Uro-oncology Unit of the Medical Oncology Department at the Hospital Instituto Valenciano de Oncologia in Valencia.
She studied for her medical degree at the Universidad de Valencia in 2005, where she also completed her PhD in 2015 receiving the highest commendation.
In 2009, María José Juan-Fita completed a three-month fellowship in genitourinary tumours at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, USA.
Dr María José Juan–Fita has received honoraria or consultation fees from Janssen, Astellas, BMS, Novartis, Pierre-Fabre, Bayer and MSD.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Professor of Urology and Chairman of the Department of Urology,
University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
Axel Merseburger studied medicine at Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany, before completing a residency in surgery and urology at the Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany, and a research fellowship at the Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA. Prior to his current role, he was Associate Professor and Professor at Hannover Medical School, and Chairman of the Department of Urology at the University of Lübeck, in Lübeck.
Professor Merseburger is trained in all aspects of open and endoscopic urology and has a specific interest in laparoscopic and robotic-assisted surgery, particularly for the management of prostate, renal and bladder cancer.
Professor Merseburger’s research activity encompasses both molecular and clinical aspects of uro-oncology, focusing on biomarkers and prognostic factors for prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and transitional cell carcinoma. He is Principal Investigator in multiple phase 2 and 3 uro-oncology clinical trials. Professor Merseburger is a member of various uro-oncology organisations, is Chairman of the European Scholarship Programme (ESUP) of the European Association of Urology (EAU), and was the Chairman of the EAU Guideline Group for Lasers and Technologies.
Professor Merseburger is a reviewer and editorial board member for several urology and oncology journals, and serves as Associate Editor of the World Journal of Urology and Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Haematology and Oncology and Aktuelle Urologie. He has published widely in the field, having authored or co-authored over 300 peer-reviewed articles.
Professor Merseburger has received honoraria or consultation fees from: AstraZeneca, Astellas, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eisai, EUSAPharma, Ferring Ipsen, MedUpdate, MSD, Merck Serono, Janssen, Pfizer, Takeda, Novartis, Recordati and Roche.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Division of Genitourinary Medical Oncology,
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Elizabeth Plimack, MD, MS, is a board-certified medical oncology physician, Professor of Medical Oncology, Chief of the Division of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and Director of Genitourinary Clinical Research at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her clinical research focus includes kidney, bladder, prostate and testicular cancers, with research efforts focused on the development of new therapies for bladder and kidney cancer.
Dr Plimack serves in multiple leadership roles including serving on the Board of Directors at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) Clinical Trials Consortium and on the Scientific Advisory Boards at Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network and The Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute. She is a member of Temple Health LEAD 365’s Physician Leadership Academy, the Bladder Cancer Task Force at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Management Committee at Bladder Cancer Research Network, the Kidney Cancer and Bladder/Penile Cancer Guidelines Panels and the 2021 Young Investigator Award Committee at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.
Dr Plimack has been the recipient of numerous awards for her work. She serves on the Editorial Boards of Cancer and Journal of Clinical Oncology and has authored or coauthored at least 163 peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr Plimack is a member of ASCO, SUO and the American Association of Cancer Research.
Professor Plimack has previously received honoraria and/or consultation fees from Astellas, AstraZeneca, BMS, Exelexis, Merck, Natera and Seattle Genetics. She has also received research grants from Astellas, BMS, Genentech and Merck.
Professor of Medicine and Clinical Director,
Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine,
Meyer Cancer Center, New York-Presbyterian, New York, USA
Cora Sternberg is Professor of Medicine and Clinical Director of the Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, Meyer Cancer Center, New York-Presbyterian, New York, USA. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (undergraduate and medical schools), completed her fellowship and was on the staff at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer in New York.
Professor Sternberg is an internationally respected leader in the fields of medical oncology and urological malignancies and a recognized expert in the area of new drug development. She is particularly known for her influential work in bladder cancer and for her publications on novel therapies for prostate cancer and targeted agents in renal cell carcinoma. She has been Principal Investigator for numerous studies, and is an internationally respected researcher who has lectured extensively at universities and cancer symposia worldwide. Professor Sternberg has published over 400 articles in peer-reviewed publications, including more than 100 first-authored articles. She has co-edited six textbooks, guest-edited six others and published over 80 book chapters. She is also Associate Editor and editorial board member of several International journals.
Professor Sternberg has previously received consultancy fees from Pfizer, MSD, Merck, AstraZeneca, Astellas, Sanofi-Genzyme, Roche-Genentech, Incyte, BMS, Foundation Medicine, Immunomedics now Gilead, Medscape, UroToday, CCO Clinical, Janssen and NCI.
Medical Oncologist Research Group Leader,
The Netherlands Cancer Institute, The Netherlands
Michiel Van der Heijden received his medical degree from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam in 2002 and his PHD degree in 2005 at the University of Amsterdam, on work done in Scott Kern’s laboratory at St John Hopkins University in Baltimore (pancreatic cancer genetics).
He then went on to do his internal medicine residency at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam (2005-2009) and his medical oncology fellowship at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam (2011-2013). Dr Heijden’s medical training was briefly interrupted by a laboratory research fellowship with Rene Bernards at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. Since 2013, Dr Heijden has been working as a medical oncologist research group leader at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. His work focusses on the improvement of clinical treatment of bladder cancer, with a special interest in immunotherapy in early disease settings and translational research into the reasons for (non) response to therapy.
Michiel Van der Heijden discloses the following relationships and financial interests. He has been an invited speaker, has participated in compensated activities, has received financial support/sponsorship from Companies including; Bristol Myers Squibb, Roche, AstraZeneca Janssen and Seattle Genetics.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
This independent programme is supported by an educational grant from Pfizer and Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
All content has been developed independently by Springer Healthcare IME, in conjunction with an expert Faculty.
