Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Durvalumab Plus Radiotherapy in Second-Line Treatment for Advanced Bladder Cancer.

Background: Bladder cancer is a common malignancy that arises from the urothelium. Treatment options for advanced bladder cancer remain limited, particularly in patients who have progressed after first-line therapy. Immunotherapy with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors, such as durvalumab, has shown promise in improving outcomes in these patients. Radiotherapy (RT) is another modality that can be integrated to enhance local tumour control. This study explored the efficacy and safety of combining durvalumab with RT as a second-line treatment for patients with advanced bladder cancer, aiming to provide insights into its potential therapeutic benefits. Bladder cancer is a type of malignant tumour that arises from the epithelial lining of the bladder and commonly manifests as haematuria and frequent urination.

Methods: A total of 58 patients who were diagnosed with advanced bladder cancer and treated at our hospital between January 2020 and June 2022 were retrospectively analysed. Patients were divided into two groups: A control group (n = 33) receiving durvalumab monotherapy and an observation group (n = 25) receiving durvalumab combined with RT. The remission rates, two-year survival rates, median survival times, serum tumour marker levels and adverse events of the two groups were compared.

Results: Before treatment, the differences in the serum tumour marker levels between the two groups (p > 0.05) were not significant. Compared with the control group, the observation group presented significantly lower serum tumour marker levels (p < 0.05). Furthermore, compared with the control group, the observation group had a higher overall clinical objective response rate (96.00% vs. 75.76%) and a better two-year survival rate (40.00% vs. 15.15%). Additionally, progression-free survival (PFS) was longer in the observation group (18 months vs. 16 months, p = 0.001).

Conclusions: Durvalumab combined with RT as a second-line treatment for advanced bladder cancer effectively reduces the expression of tumour markers and improves two-year survival and PFS, offering valuable clinical insights.