Navigating Bladder Cancer: Team-Based Care and Clinical Trials

At the 2026 NCCN Annual Conference, Dr. Thomas Flaig sat down with CURE to discuss how patients can navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of bladder cancer treatment.

With significant advances emerging over the past decade, treatment decisions have become increasingly complex, particularly for those with muscle-invasive disease. In this conversation, Flaig emphasizes the importance of building a multidisciplinary care team that includes medical oncology, surgery and radiation oncology to guide personalized treatment planning. He also highlights the critical role of clinical trials in driving progress across cancer care.

Flaig currently serves as a professor of Medicine-Medical Oncology and is the vice chancellor for Research at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine.

Transcript

What advice would you give patients navigating bladder cancer treatment in today’s rapidly evolving landscape, particularly when it comes to building a care team and considering clinical trials?

Over the last 10 years, we've had a lot of development, and the fields move quickly. So I would recommend to patients that they look for a multidisciplinary team — medical oncologist, surgeon, radiation oncologist — because a lot of these therapies are going to rely on that team working together to find the best therapy for a patient. That's particularly true for patients with muscle-invasive disease, where they have a localized cancer, but it's a serious cancer. So, I would also encourage patients to look for clinical trials.

If you look at all the great things, these new options that we have had in bladder cancer over the last few years, all of them have come through clinical trials. In many cases, certainly in my practice, I've had patients for whom we'll have a clinical trial available and they'll get early access to that potential option as they're thinking through things.

I would strongly encourage patients to pursue clinical trial opportunities when it fits for them.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.