A phase 3 trial found that a combination of a Pfizer and Astellas drug, enfortumab vedotin, and Merck's drug, pembrolizumab, has significantly improved survival rates for patients with advanced bladder cancer.
The latest results from the trial, which focused on patients with untreated, locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer, showed that the combination therapy reduced the risk of death by 49% compared to traditional chemotherapy.
With an additional 12 months of follow-up, the median overall was 33.8 months for the combination therapy, nearly double the 15.9 months for chemotherapy patients. The treatment also found a 52% reduction in disease progression or death.
The combination also demonstrated strong results in terms of response rates and duration, with 67.5% of patients having an objective response rate compared to 44.2% for chemotherapy.