New Bladder-Sparing cocktail aims to beat cancer without surgery
NCT ID NCT02621151
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This phase II trial tests whether adding the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to standard chemotherapy and radiation can help people with muscle-invasive bladder cancer avoid bladder removal. The study enrolls 60 patients who cannot or choose not to have surgery. The main goal is to see how many remain cancer-free in the bladder after two years.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) combined with gemcitabine chemotherapy and radiation therapy
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could offer a bladder-sparing treatment option for people with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who cannot or choose not to have bladder removal surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a phase II trial with only 60 participants, so results are preliminary. The combination therapy may cause side effects from chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy, and may not be more effective than standard treatments.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Memorial Sloan Kettering
New York, New York, 10065, United States
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NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center
New York, New York, 10016, United States
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University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, 60637, United States
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University of Michigan Health System
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States
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University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7305, United States