Bladder cancer cocktail aims to wipe out tumors before surgery

NCT ID NCT04630730

Ongoing Disease control Sponsor: Swiss Cancer Institute Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This phase 2 trial tests whether giving a live BCG vaccine directly into the bladder, followed by immunotherapy (atezolizumab) and standard chemotherapy (cisplatin/gemcitabine), can completely clear muscle-invasive bladder cancer before patients undergo bladder removal surgery. The study enrolls 46 adults with stage cT2-cT4a bladder cancer. The goal is to increase the rate of pathological complete remission, which could eventually help some patients avoid radical surgery or radiation.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) bladder instillation, atezolizumab (immunotherapy), cisplatin and gemcitabine (chemotherapy)
What this could lead to: If successful, this combination could increase the chance of eliminating all cancer before bladder removal surgery, potentially allowing some patients to avoid surgery or radiation entirely.
What could go wrong: This is a small, early-phase trial with only 46 participants and no comparison group, so results may not apply broadly. The combination of treatments also carries risks of serious side effects from chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

infiltrating bladder urothelial carcinoma urinary bladder carcinoma Urinary Bladder Neoplasms

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

BLADDER CANCER

Contacts and locations

Locations

Hôpitaux Universitaires Genève HUG

Geneva, 1211, Switzerland
Istituto Oncologico della Svizzera Italiana - Ospedale Regionale Bellinzona e Valli

Bellinzona, 6500, Switzerland
Kantonsspital Baden

Baden, 5404, Switzerland
Kantonsspital Graubuenden

Chur, 7000, Switzerland
Kantonsspital St. Gallen

Sankt Gallen, 9007, Switzerland
Klinik Hirslanden - Onkozentrum Hirslanden

Zurich, Canton of Zurich, 8032, Switzerland
Lindenhofspital

Bern, 3012, Switzerland
Luzerner Kantonsspital

Lucerne, 6000, Switzerland
UniversitaetsSpital Zuerich

Zurich, 8091, Switzerland
Universitaetsspital Basel

Basel, 4031, Switzerland

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