In a span of a few months, results have been reported from three randomized controlled trials evaluating the benefit of combining immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) with intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) for BCG-naïve, high-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC). This group constitutes one of the broadest segments of the bladder cancer population, and there is a major unmet need to improve the efficacy of BCG while limiting additive toxicity. The POTOMAC trial revealed a significant difference in event-free survival (EFS) in favor of durvalumab plus BCG induction and maintenance (I + M) in comparison to BCG I + M alone (81.8% vs 77.4% 3-yr EFS) [1].
In a span of a few months, results have been reported from three randomized controlled trials evaluating the benefit of combining immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) with intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) for BCG-naïve, high-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC). This group constitutes one of the broadest segments of the bladder cancer population, and there is a major unmet need to improve the efficacy of BCG while limiting additive toxicity. The POTOMAC trial revealed a significant difference in event-free survival (EFS) in favor of durvalumab plus BCG induction and maintenance (I + M) in comparison to BCG I + M alone (81.8% vs 77.4% 3-yr EFS) [1].