An immune drug avelumab has resulted in a survival advantage in bladder cancer, and will potentially benefit thousands of patients each year, said new study.

‘An immune drug avelumab has resulted in a survival advantage in bladder cancer, and will potentially benefit thousands of patients each year.
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Clinical Trial Study 




JAVELIN Bladder 100, the phase III global trial funded by Pfizer and Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany, evaluated the efficacy of the immunotherapy therapy in bladder cancer patients whose disease has not shown any progression after chemotherapy.
From over 200 sites around the world, a total of 700 patients were then assigned to 2 treatment groups after chemotherapy completion, the first group received standard care on its own, and the second group received immunotherapy drug avelumab and standard care.
Avelumab was linked to 31 percent reduction in risk of death of bladder cancer and extended median survival in advanced bladder cancer by more than seven months. 11% of patients stopped the intake of the immunotherapy medication due to treatment problems.
Study lead Thomas Powles, Professor of Genitourinary Oncology at Queen Mary University of London, and Director of Barts Cancer Centre, Barts Health NHS Trust, said: "This is the first time that an immunotherapy clinical trial has shown a survival benefit for first-line therapy in metastatic bladder cancer.
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Bladder cancer
- 81,400 new cases of bladder cancer
- 17,980 deaths from bladder cancer
- 9 out of 10 people with this cancer are over the age of 55
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Source-Medindia