“Management of patients with high-risk MIBC remains an unmet need”

“Scientific efforts of the last decade have yielded several novel diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities for patients suffering from localized muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and metastatic disease. The management of patients with high-risk MIBC remains an unmet need. The EAU scientific committee office came up with a very challenging session for EAU21.”

“To date, several definitions have been applied to determine which patients are considered at high-risk of recurrence after curative intent following radical cystectomy (RC). The current therapies that have arisen on the bladder cancer BC armamentarium have generated a myriad of options in terms of medical and surgical therapies, as well as optimal sequencing strategies. At EAU21 we will be looking at the increasing popularity of PET/CT for the staging of advanced bladder cancer, and what is the most appropriate pre-interventional staging modality.”

“The EAU Guidelines provide clear statements regarding the usage of perioperative systemic therapy in patients with MIBC. Then should we always perform a radical cystectomy after completer response? Our advanced bladder cancer plenary session will host a debate on the topic.”

“Immunotherapy has recently brought a paradigm shift on treatment options for several cancers. In bladder cancer, several treatment options are currently available on metastatic disease. These outcomes provided the rationale to attempt utilization on an early phase of the disease. We will be exploring neo-adjuvant immunotherapy.”

“And last but not least, molecular markers appears to be a the ‘new kids on the block.’ Many efforts have been recently made to classify urothelial carcinoma of the bladder from a molecular point of view, which has several implications for treatment choices and prognosis. This is a hot topic at EAU21 and we will see if molecular markers are suitable for being used currently in daily practice.”