Bladder cancer breakthrough? new combo aims to save the bladder
NCT ID NCT07717242
First seen Jul 21, 2026 · Last updated Jul 22, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This phase 2 trial tests whether adding one of four different drugs to a standard immunotherapy combination can help people with HER2-positive muscle-invasive bladder cancer avoid bladder removal. Participants receive disitamab vedotin and toripalimab plus a sensitizing agent, then are assessed for complete response. Those who respond may continue on a bladder-preserving path instead of surgery.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- a combination of disitamab vedotin (a targeted antibody-drug conjugate), toripalimab (an immunotherapy), and one of four sensitizing agents (sitagliptin, tazemetostat, tafolecimab, or ursodeoxycholic acid)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could offer a way to treat muscle-invasive bladder cancer without removing the bladder, preserving quality of life.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase trial with a small number of participants, so results may not apply broadly. The combination therapies may cause side effects or fail to improve outcomes.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 80 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Jul 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Voluntarily participate in this study, provide written informed consent, and be able to understand and agree to comply with the study requirements and assessment schedule. 2. Age ≥18 years on the date of signing the informed consent form. 3. Histologically confirmed and radiologically assessed cT2-T4aN0M0 urothelial carcinoma of the bladder according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th edition TNM staging system. For tumors with mixed histology, urothelial carcinoma must be the predominant component (at least 50%). 4. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1. 5. HER2 expression ≥1+ confirmed by immunohistochemistry using a pretreatment tumor specimen tested at a local laboratory. 6. Availability of tumor tissue obtained from transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT), together with the corresponding pathology report. Fresh surgical tissue or unstained pathology slides may be submitted. 7. Adequate organ function, as determined by the following screening laboratory values obtained within 14 days before enrollment: a. For assessment of the following hematologic parameters, participants must not have received growth factor support within 14 days before sample collection: i. Absolute neutrophil count ≥1.5 × 10\^9/L; ii. Platelet count ≥90 × 10\^9/L; iii. Hemoglobin ≥90 g/L. b. International normalized ratio (INR) or activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) ≤1.5 × the upper limit of normal (ULN). c. Total serum bilirubin ≤1.5 × ULN. For participants with Gilbert syndrome or indirect bilirubin elevation of extrahepatic origin, total bilirubin must be ≤3 × ULN. d. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase ≤2.5 × ULN. e. Pulmonary function indicating ability to tolerate surgery. 8. Women who are not pregnant or women of childbearing potential must be willing to use highly effective contraception during the study and for at least 120 days after the last dose of disitamab vedotin or toripalimab, whichever occurs later, and must have a negative urine or serum pregnancy test within 7 days before enrollment. Non-sterilized male participants must be willing to use highly effective contraception during the study and for at least 120 days after the last dose of disitamab vedotin or toripalimab, whichever occurs later. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Prior treatment with therapies targeting PD-1, PD-L1, PD-L2, CTLA-4, LAG-3, HER2, or Nectin-4, or with other antibodies or drugs specifically targeting T-cell co-stimulatory or checkpoint pathways. 2. Receipt of other approved systemic anticancer therapy or systemic immunomodulators, including but not limited to interferon, interleukin-2, or tumor necrosis factor, within 28 days before enrollment. 3. Prior radiotherapy for bladder cancer. 4. Prior antitumor drug therapy, except for the following: 1. For participants who previously received systemic chemotherapy, a treatment-free interval of at least 12 months from the last treatment to the start of neoadjuvant study treatment is required. 2. Local intravesical chemotherapy or immunotherapy must have been completed at least 1 week before the start of neoadjuvant study treatment. 5. Major surgery or major trauma within 28 days before enrollment. Placement of a vascular access device and TURBT are not considered major surgery. 6. Severe chronic or active infection requiring systemic antibacterial, antifungal, or antiviral treatment within 14 days before enrollment. HBV infection will be assessed according to Exclusion Criterion 13. 7. Receipt of a live vaccine within 28 days before enrollment. Seasonal injectable influenza vaccines are generally inactivated and are permitted; intranasal vaccines are live vaccines and are not permitted. 8. Active autoimmune disease requiring systemic treatment and considered by the investigator to affect study treatment. 9. Requirement for long-term high-dose corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive agents considered by the investigator to affect study treatment. 10. Any history of uncontrolled systemic disease that, in the investigator's judgment, may affect treatment, including abnormal potassium, sodium, or calcium levels; hypoalbuminemia; interstitial lung disease; noninfectious pneumonitis; diabetes mellitus; hypertension; cardiovascular disease; or other uncontrolled systemic disease. 11. For Arm A, any of the following: 1. Treatment with a DPP-4 inhibitor within 60 days before the first administration of study treatment. 2. Diabetes mellitus requiring any glucose-lowering medication, including long-acting or short-acting insulin, DPP-4 inhibitors, GLP-1 receptor agonists, or other glucose-lowering drugs. 3. Fasting blood glucose \<4 mmol/L. 12. For Arm D, any of the following: 1. Acute cholecystitis or cholangitis. 2. Biliary obstruction. 3. Recurrent biliary colic attacks. 4. Radiopaque calcified gallstones. 5. Impaired gallbladder function. 6. Nonvisualization of the gallbladder on radiography. 13. Untreated chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis B virus carrier status with HBV DNA ≥500 IU/mL (2500 copies/mL). Participants with inactive hepatitis B surface antigen carrier status or stable active HBV infection after continuous antiviral therapy, with HBV DNA \<500 IU/mL, may be enrolled. HBV DNA testing is required only for participants positive for hepatitis B core antibody. 14. Active hepatitis C. Participants with negative HCV antibody results, or participants with positive HCV antibody results but negative HCV RNA results during screening, may be enrolled. HCV RNA testing is required only for participants with positive HCV antibody results. 15. History of immunodeficiency, including positive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing, other acquired or congenital immunodeficiency disorders, prior allogeneic stem cell transplantation, or prior organ transplantation. 16. Known allergy to other monoclonal antibodies. 17. Known allergy to any study drug or excipient. 18. Toxicities from any prior treatment that have not recovered to baseline or a stable level, unless the investigator determines that such toxicities are unlikely to pose a safety risk, for example alopecia, neuropathy, or specific laboratory abnormalities. 19. Any underlying medical condition, alcohol or drug abuse, or dependence that may interfere with study drug administration, affect interpretation of study results, or place the participant at high risk of treatment complications. 20. Concurrent participation in another interventional clinical study.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital
RECRUITINGGuangzhou, Guangdong, 510000, China
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can age predict bladder cancer treatment success?
- Can a Bladder-Instilled drug plus immunotherapy beat High-Risk bladder cancer?