Neoadjuvant Pembrolizumab and Radical Cystectomy in Patients with Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

The PURE-01 study introduced a new approach in the treatment of bladder cancer. Instead of proceeding directly with surgery, patients received pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug, before surgery. After a three-year follow-up, the results are very promising. 

Event-free survival was 74.4%, indicating that many patients responded positively to this treatment. 

Overall survival was 83.8%, representing a significant improvement in survival prospects. 

One interesting aspect was the use of PD-L1 expression as an indicator of response to treatment, suggesting that it could help identify patients who will benefit most from this innovative therapy. These results bring new hope for bladder cancer patients and open the way for new treatment options.

Giuseppe Basile 1, Marco Bandini 1, Ewan A Gibb 2, Jeffrey S Ross 3 4, Daniele Raggi 5, Laura Marandino 5, Tiago Costa de Padua 5, Emanuele Crupi 5, Renzo Colombo 1, Maurizio Colecchia 6 7, Roberta Lucianò 6, Luigi Nocera 1, Marco Moschini 1, Alberto Briganti 1 7, Francesco Montorsi 1 7, Andrea Necchi 5 7

Affiliations
1 Department of Urology, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
2 Decipher Urologic Cancers, Veracyte Inc, Vancouver, Canada.
3 Foundation Medicine Inc, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
4 SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York.
5 Department of Medical Oncology, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
6 Department of Pathology, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
7 Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.