July GU Cancer Highlights: Top 5 Updates Patients Should Know

As July concludes, new treatments offer advances across kidney and bladder cancer, with breakthroughs in personalized vaccines and non-surgical therapies.

As July concludes, advances in genitourinary oncology offer new treatments across kidney and bladder cancers, with breakthroughs in personalized vaccines, non-surgical therapies, and evolving quality-of-life. Key updates from the 2025 Kidney Cancer Research Summit and recent trial data illustrate how these advances is reshaping care.

Research into personalized cancer vaccines continues to gain momentum, while new bladder cancer agents show potential to reduce recurrence and spare patients from surgery. Moreover, real-world stories from survivors underscore how diagnosis and treatment can reshape patient lives.

Read on for the latest developments, from clinical innovation to survivor insight!

Personalized Cancer Vaccines May Advance Kidney Cancer Care

Personalized cancer vaccines may represent an important advancement in helping the immune system more accurately identify and attack tumors, according to Dr. David A. Braun. In an interview with CURE during the 2025 Kidney Cancer Research Summit, Braun discussed how these vaccines differ from existing immunotherapies.

“We're steering the immune system to attack a specific target, and in this case, that target is the cancer itself. We find what is essentially the footprint: what makes that tumor unique? Those are the neoantigens. Then, we design a vaccine that steers the immune system to attack those targets,” he said during the interview.

He is an assistant professor of medicine (Medical Oncology) and a Louis Goodman and Alfred Gilman Yale Scholar at Yale School of Medicine, as well as a member of the Center of Molecular and Cellular Oncology at Yale Cancer Center.

While some therapies have activated the immune system to some extent, they do not guide it toward a specific target. Personalized cancer vaccines aim to address this gap by directing the immune system to recognize tumor-specific features, known as neoantigens. By identifying what makes a patient's tumor unique, researchers can develop a vaccine that trains the immune system to attack those specific markers, much like how traditional vaccines target infectious agents.

New Agent Shows Notable Responses in Some Bladder Cancers

In the phase 2b OPTIMA II trial, patients with low-grade, intermediate-risk non–muscle invasive bladder cancer who achieved a complete response with Zusduri (mitomycin) remained event-free for a median of two years, with a median response duration of 3.5 years, according to a news release from UroGen. Among 41 responders, 17 entered long-term follow-up, where the median duration of response extended to 42.1 months.

“Low-grade intermediate-risk bladder cancer is a chronic, recurring disease that often requires repeated surgical intervention,” Dr. Neal D. Shore, medical director for the START Carolinas/Carolina Urologic Research Center and lead author of the study, said in the news release. “The long-term data from the extension study of OPTIMA II highlight Zusduri’s ability to deliver sustained responses in an outpatient setting, which may be especially valuable for recurrent patients and thus for physicians who prefer a different, non-surgical treatment option.”

Zusduri, given weekly for six weeks via bladder instillation, may offer a durable, non-surgical option for recurrent disease. Side effects included dysuria, urinary frequency, and hematuria. Patients are advised to avoid urine contact for 24 hours due to potential discoloration.

A Bladder Cancer Survivor Recounts His Diagnosis

In a candid blog post, Chester Freeman recounts his experience of being diagnosed with bladder cancer nine years ago after noticing dark red blood in his urine, a frightening symptom that led to a diagnosis via cystoscopy and biopsy. Despite leading a healthy lifestyle and having no common risk factors like smoking, the cancer appeared unexpectedly. Interestingly, the he says that his father-in-law had also been diagnosed with bladder cancer just months earlier, and they both shared exposures to formaldehyde and old lead pipes. Chester says that although his cancer was caught early, it later recurred during a difficult period.

The blog further describes how, after losing both parents and living with the fear of cancer’s return, Chester was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Despite added challenges such as diabetes, he expresses gratitude for bladder cancer remission and focus on embracing life’s joys like music, art, and nature.

“I have a heightened sense of awareness about myself and my body and I’m learning to appreciate my life as it is, living with cancer. I take the good days and the bad days with courage, strength, and determination,” Chester concludes in the blog.

New Perspectives After Two Cancer Diagnoses

In another blog post, Burt Rosen shares how being diagnosed three years ago with two primary cancers — stage 4, grade 2 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor and renal clear cell carcinoma — became a turning point that profoundly reshaped their life. While confronting a life-threatening illness, he found clarity and meaning, shifting away from career ambitions and superficial concerns toward a more intentional, emotionally connected, and present way of living. A tattoo reading just be serves as a daily reminder to live in the moment and release control over what cannot be changed.

“Yes, I have a life-threatening illness, but my diagnosis changed me as a person. And in a good way. No longer am I on the career treadmill... and concerned with things that don’t matter. Now, I am a changed person. I appreciate life and the world more,” Rosen expressed.

The diagnosis also intensified the author’s passion for connection and service. Rosen concludes by acknowledging that while these passions always existed, cancer magnified their importance and urgency in ways they never expected.

Maintaining Quality of Life, Not Just Extending It

In an interview at the 2025 Kidney Cancer Research Summit, Dr. Thomas Powles discussed how the Quality-Adjusted Time Without Symptoms or Toxicity (Q-TWiST) analysis can support treatment decisions for patients with advanced metastatic clear cell renal cancer. This quality-of-life metric estimates how much time patients spend free from significant side effects and disease progression, offering a more patient-centered perspective, particularly when cure is no longer the goal.

“Ultimately, [new] data supports shared decision-making between patients and their doctors. It helps clarify the real benefit of treatment, emphasizing that it’s not just about how long patients live, but how well they live, especially when a cure is no longer the goal,” Powles, a professor of Genitourinary Oncology, lead for Solid Tumor Research, and director of the Barts Cancer Centre at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, in London, England, said in the interview.

By the time patients reach third-line therapy, they have typically received both VEGF-targeted treatments and immunotherapy, often accompanied by cumulative side effects and ongoing cancer symptoms. In this setting, quality of life becomes just as important as traditional outcomes. Q-TWiST helps patients and clinicians weigh the true value of remaining treatment options and encourages shared decision-making focused on maintaining quality of life.

Reference

1. “Five-Year Long-Term Extension Study of the OPTIMA II Trial Demonstrates Long-Term Durability of Response to ZUSDURI in Patients With Low-Grade Intermediate-Risk Non–Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer.” News release. UroGen. July 21, 2025.

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