Summary
This study wants to find out if a blood test can help doctors decide which patients need more treatment after surgical removal of the bladder, kidney, ureter, or urethra. This blood test looks for small pieces of cancer DNA, called ctDNA, in the blood. If ctDNA is found, it means some cancer cells may still be in the body. The trial will give some patients an extra medicine, called immunotherapy, to help their immune system find and kill any remaining cancer. This will help doctors learn if using the blood test to guide treatment will help patients live longer without their cancer coming back.
Description
This phase II/III trial examines whether patients who have undergone surgical removal of bladder, kidney, ureter or urethra, but require an additional treatment called immunotherapy to help prevent their urinary tract (urothelial) cancer from coming back, can be identified by a blood test. Many types of tumors tend to lose cells or release different types of cellular products including their DNA which is referred to as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) into the bloodstream before changes can be seen on scans. Health care providers can measure the level of ctDNA in blood or other bodily fluids to determine which patients are at higher risk for disease progression or relapse. In this study, a blood test is used to measure ctDNA and see if there is still cancer somewhere in the body after surgery and if giving a treatment will help eliminate the cancer. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab and relatlimab, can help the body's immune system to attack the cancer, and can interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. This trial may help doctors determine if ctDNA measurement in blood can better identify patients that need additional treatment, if treatment with nivolumab prolongs patients' life and whether the additional immunotherapy treatment with relatlimab extends time without disease progression or prolongs life of urothelial cancer patients who have undergone surgical removal of their bladder, kidney, ureter or urethra.
Principal Investigator
Research Contact
Lisa Luikart email lisa.luikart@vandaliahealth.org
304.388.9944