(Length of Discussion: 30 min)

Petros Grivas and Alicia Morgans discuss the progress in systemic and immunotherapy in advanced bladder cancer.  They discuss the biologic and immunologic background of urothelial cancer that paves the way for the development of potential biomarkers, as well as possible therapeutic targets in this disease.  They share insights on the significant advances in systemic therapy particularly in the advent of immunotherapies specifically with immune checkpoint inhibitors that target the PD1 and PDL1 molecules. They also discuss clinical trials in the immunotherapy combination setting, the FDA designation or erdafitinib, the importance of biomarker selection, and the improvement in administration of chemotherapy in urothelial cancer.

Further information on the Clinical Trials in advanced urolthelial carcinoma: 
From the Desk of Evan Yu: "Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptors, a New Hope for Patients with Urothelial Carcinomas"
From the Desk of Evan Yu: “Taking out the Tregs by Inhibiting IDO1”
From the Desk of Evan Yu: "Options for Cisplatin-ineligible Patients with Muscle-invasive Localized Urothelial Carcinoma"
FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Erdafitinib in the Treatment of Metastatic Urothelial Cancer

Biographies:
Petros Grivas MD, PhD a medical oncologist at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance with expertise in genitourinary cancers such as bladder cancer, prostate cancer and testis cancer.  He is the Clinical Director, of the Genitourinary Cancers Program at the University of Washington Medicine and an Associate Professor of the Department of Medicine, Division of Oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Alicia Morgans, MD, MPH