Experts Discuss New Advances in Bladder Cancer Following ESMO 2025

Following the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Congress held in Berlin, Germany, we sat down with leading experts in oncology to discuss the latest advances in bladder cancer research and treatment. Joining us for this discussion were Dr. Joshua Sabari, Dr. Petros Grivas and Dr. Chandler Park.

Sabari opened the conversation by introducing the panel and setting the stage for a discussion focused on recent perioperative and adjuvant trials in bladder cancer. Grivas highlighted the exciting developments from the EV-303 (Keynote 905) trial, which enrolled patients with localized muscle-invasive bladder cancer eligible for surgical resection. In this study, patients who were cisplatin-ineligible received radical surgery alone or perioperative therapy with Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) plus Keytruda (pembrolizumab).

Patients receiving the combination therapy underwent three cycles of neoadjuvant treatment, followed by surgery, and then up to eight cycles of pembrolizumab postoperatively. The results were striking, the experts emphasized. Grivas noted that while toxicity was consistent with expectations with the combination, only about 60% of patients completed the adjuvant therapy phase, prompting discussion about the necessity of adjuvant therapy in all patients.

Park elaborated on the clinical significance of these outcomes for patients and their families. He explained that a path CR means no cancer is found in the tissue after surgery, which is a big improvement compared with past results. This milestone, Park emphasized, reflects the potential of modern perioperative therapies to meaningfully impact patient outcomes.

Both Grivas and Park underscored the importance of ongoing research into the combination therapy to optimize therapy sequencing and improve tolerability while maximizing efficacy. Overall, the insights shared by these experts demonstrate how recent trials presented at ESMO 2025 may translate into meaningful changes in clinical practice.

Sabari serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He is also the director of High Reliability Organization Initiatives at Perlmutter Cancer Center.

Park is a medical oncologist specializing in Genitourinary Medical Oncology at the Norton Healthcare Institute in Louisville, Kentucky.

Grivas is a professor in the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutch. He serves as medical director for both Local and Regional Outreach as well as the International Program at Fred Hutch. In addition, he holds a professorship in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

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