Combination approach shows promise for treating rare, aggressive cancers (Bladder and prostate cancers)

Medical Xpress / University of California, Los Angeles ^ | Nov. 12, 2024 | Dr. Arnold Chin et al

[ConservativeMind]

A research team has shown that combining pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug, with standard chemotherapy can improve treatment outcomes for patients with small cell bladder cancer and small cell/neuroendocrine prostate cancer.

Small cell carcinomas can arise in various tissues—including the bladder, prostate, lung, ovaries and breast—and are known for their rapid progression, tendency to relapse after initial treatment and poor overall survival rates. The survival time for patients with advanced small cell bladder cancer is only about 7 to 13 months and only 7 to 9 months for patients with small cell/neuroendocrine prostate cancer.

The early-stage study showed that using pembrolizumab with chemotherapy resulted in 43% of patients having a partial or complete regression of disease, with 86% of patients with bladder cancer and 57% of those with small cell/neuroendocrine prostate cancer living two years.

Chin designed a clinical trial across all small cell/neuroendocrine urologic cancers combining pembrolizumab and chemotherapy as a first-line therapy for bladder and prostate small cell cancers.

The trial involved 15 patients who were separated into two cohorts. The first included seven participants with advanced or metastatic small cell bladder cancer, while the other group included eight patients with primary small cell or neuroendocrine prostate cancer. The study was designed for patients who would normally receive chemotherapy as their care.

The researchers found that patients showed favorable responses using this treatment regimen. In the bladder cancer group, only one out of seven patients experienced disease progression after a median follow-up of almost three years.

For the prostate cancer group, median survival for patients with small cell/neuroendocrine prostate cancer in the trial reached 27 months, which is longer than expected compared to the historical average of just 7 to 9 months.

The combination treatment was also well-tolerated, with no patients needing to stop therapy due to side effects.

[ConservativeMind]

Small cell bladder cancer and small cell/neuroendocrine prostate cancer finally has a combo treatment to radically help increase chances of survival.

[ConservativeMind]

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[rexthecat]

I’m a Vietnam vet with Agent Orange prostate cancer. I’m always looking for treatment updates. Thanks for posting.