For nearly five decades, intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) has remained the cornerstone adjuvant therapy for patients with high-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). In this context, the phase 3 POTOMAC trial reported by de Santis and colleagues [1] represents an important attempt to enhance outcomes in BCG-naïve high-risk NMIBC by combining immune checkpoint inhibition with standard intravesical BCG therapy. Addition of durvalumab to BCG induction and maintenance met the primary endpoint, with a statistically significant improvement in disease-free survival (DFS) observed in comparison to BCG induction plus maintenance alone (hazard ratio [HR] 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.50–0.93) [1].
For nearly five decades, intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) has remained the cornerstone adjuvant therapy for patients with high-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). In this context, the phase 3 POTOMAC trial reported by de Santis and colleagues [1] represents an important attempt to enhance outcomes in BCG-naïve high-risk NMIBC by combining immune checkpoint inhibition with standard intravesical BCG therapy. Addition of durvalumab to BCG induction and maintenance met the primary endpoint, with a statistically significant improvement in disease-free survival (DFS) observed in comparison to BCG induction plus maintenance alone (hazard ratio [HR] 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.50–0.93) [1].