Simon Crabb and Petros Grivas on the most interesting trials presented at ASCO GU 2022 in the field of urothelial carcinoma. They discuss emerging data in the neoadjuvant setting for cisplatin-ineligible patients, such as cohort H from the EV-103 trial, and the best sequencing strategy in upper-track disease setting. They also review the updates on metastatic disease highlighting the longer follow-up results from JAVELIN Bladder 100 and the interesting outcomes from the ATLANTIS trial. In the context of the BAYOU study, they talk about the importance of patient selection and the difficulty of writing the eligibility criteria for what platinum ineligibility really means. They also consider how the results from TROPHY-U-01 cohort 3 support further investigation and conclude that in this rapidly evolving setting, the future relies on combination therapy.
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.
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.
Michiel Van der Heijden and Ignacio Durán Martínez share their thoughts on the use of maintenance therapy after first-line chemotherapy for metastatic urothelial cancer and discuss new strategies in first line, such as single agent immunotherapy compared with chemotherapy and chemo-immuno combinations. They also comment on the upcoming results of the CheckMate 901 trial of nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus chemotherapy and highlight EV-302 study of enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab compared with chemotherapy.
Michiel Van der Heijdan 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 Heijdan’s medical training was briefly interrupted by a laboratory research fellowship with Rene Bernards at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. Since 2013, Dr Heijdan 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 Heijdan 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.
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.
