A two-drug combo before surgery cut bladder cancer deaths by 42%

A two-drug combination given before surgery lowered the risk of death by 42 percent for a defined group of people with bladder cancer, UCLA Health reported from the phase 3 VOLGA trial. The randomized study enrolled 695 patients who cannot take cisplatin and who were having the bladder removed. Durvalumab plus enfortumab vedotin, given before that surgery, raised two-year survival to 78.4 percent, compared with 69.4 percent without the combination. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. UCLA co-led the trial. AstraZeneca, which makes durvalumab, funded the study, so the money behind the research comes from a company with a drug in it. The finding applies to this cisplatin-ineligible group in the trial. It is not a cure, and it is not a result for every person with bladder cancer.