Immunotherapy plus chemo shows promise for rare bladder cancers
NCT ID NCT04383743
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This pilot study tested whether giving pembrolizumab (an immunotherapy) along with standard chemotherapy before surgery could help people with rare types of muscle-invasive bladder cancer. 17 participants received the combination, and researchers measured how many had no cancer left at the time of surgery. The goal is to see if this approach works better than chemotherapy alone for these less common bladder cancer variants.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
Active substance
pembrolizumab (immunotherapy) and cisplatin-based chemotherapy
What this could lead to
If successful, this approach could improve the chance of eliminating all cancer before surgery for people with rare bladder cancer types.
What could go wrong
This is a very small pilot study with only 17 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The combination also carries risks of side effects from both immunotherapy and chemotherapy.
Disclaimer
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the original study
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Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.
This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.
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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
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Locations
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Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium
Seattle, Washington, 98109, United States