Staggering results have been reported from a clinical trial of a new delivery method for chemotherapy drugs used to treat bladder cancer.
Keck Medicine of USC reports that in the majority of cases the cancer disappeared after only three months of treatment, and almost half the patients were cancer-free a year later.
The system is called TAR-200, and is composed of a pretzel-shaped delivery device that’s inserted into the bladder. Its slow release of the drug gemcitabine allows this chemotherapy medicine to stay in the organ for days, compared to mere hours as is the case with the current standard-of-care.
TAR-200 is designed for treating high-risk and treatment-resistant non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, the most common form.
“Traditionally, these patients have had very limited treatment options. This new therapy is the most effective one reported to date for the most common form of bladder cancer,” said Sia Daneshmand, MD, director of urologic oncology with Keck Medicine of USC and lead author of a study detailing the clinical trial results published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
“The findings of the clinical trial are a breakthrough in how certain types of bladder cancer might be treated, leading to improved outcomes and saved lives.”
The trial was a major undertaking—involving 144 locations worldwide and 85 patients who had this kind of bladder cancer, were treated with another immunotherapy drug called Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, and whose cancer returned.
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Keck Medicine reports that the TAR-200 was administered every 3 weeks for 6 months, and then 4 times a year for the next 2 years.
In 70 out of 85 patients, the cancer disappeared and for almost half the patients, was still gone a year later. The treatment was well-tolerated, with minimal side effects, the institute concluded.
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Daneshmand, who has been researching this method of drug delivery since 2016, said that the trials mark “an exciting moment in history.”
“Our mission is to deliver cancer-fighting medications into the bladder that will offer lasting remission from cancer, and it looks like we are well on our way toward that goal.”
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