AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi Demonstrates Significant Survival Benefits in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

Significant Survival Benefits:
AstraZeneca's Imfinzi, in combination with chemotherapy before and after surgery, has shown statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) in the NIAGARA Phase III trial.

First Immunotherapy Regimen:
This is the first immunotherapy regimen to significantly extend overall survival in MIBC, marking a potential practice-changing development in the treatment of this disease.

Safety Profile:
The perioperative Imfinzi regimen was generally well-tolerated, with no new safety concerns observed in either the neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting. The addition of Imfinzi did not increase the discontinuation rate due to adverse events and did not compromise patients' ability to complete surgery compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone.

Clinical Impact:
The NIAGARA trial results support AstraZeneca's strategy to move immunotherapy to the early stages of cancer treatment, aiming to maximize benefits for patients. This approach could transform the standard of care for MIBC patients.

Background:
Muscle-invasive bladder cancer accounts for about a quarter of all bladder cancer cases, with high rates of recurrence and poor prognosis even after standard treatment, including neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical cystectomy.