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March 4, 2026Journal of Clinical Oncology0 citations

Induction enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab followed by maintenance pembrolizumab in first-line metastatic urothelial carcinoma (IMPROEV).

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PGPooja GhataliaERE. F. RossSCSuzanne Cole

Key Points

  • The study aims to assess the effectiveness of enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab followed by pembrolizumab maintenance in improving outcomes for metastatic urothelial carcinoma.
  • Single-arm, open-label, nonrandomized phase II trial
  • Enrollment of 97 previously untreated patients
  • Induction treatment with EV and pembrolizumab for 6 cycles, followed by maintenance pembrolizumab
  • Assessment of primary endpoint: 18-month progression-free survival (PFS)
  • Exploratory ctDNA analysis from baseline through progression.
  • Significant improvements in overall survival and progression-free survival compared to chemotherapy
  • Induction therapy is hypothesized to reduce cumulative toxicity and maintain oncologic control
  • High percentage of patients maintaining disease control post-treatment suggests potential durable benefits.
  • Endpoints include peripheral neuropathy incidence and quality of life indices.

Abstract

TPS893 Background: Enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab (EV/P) is the preferred first-line regimen for metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC), demonstrating significant improvements in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) compared with platinum-based chemotherapy. However, continuation until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity leads to cumulative adverse events, particularly peripheral neuropathy, which is a common cause of treatment discontinuation. Post-hoc exposure–response analyses indicated that early EV dose intensity was associated with response, while declining serum EV concentrations over time did not compromise efficacy. In EV-103 and EV-201, 38–50% of patients who discontinued EV or EV/P maintained disease control for years, suggesting durable benefit after treatment cessation. These data support a finite-duration, induction–maintenance strategy over the traditional “treat-to-toxicity” approach. We hypothesize that induction EV/P followed by pembrolizumab maintenance in responders will preserve durable oncologic control while reducing cumulative toxicity and improving quality of life. Methods: IMPROEV is a single-arm, open-label, nonrandomized phase II trial enrolling 97 previously untreated patients with locally advanced or metastatic UC across four centers. Patients who received prior neoadjuvant or adjuvant checkpoint inhibitor therapy ≥12 months before enrollment are eligible. Patients receive EV 1.25 mg/kg IV on days 1 and 8 plus pembrolizumab 200 mg IV on day 1 of each 21-day cycle for 6 cycles (18 weeks). Patients achieving confirmed complete or partial response per RECIST v1.1 transition to P 400 mg IV every 6 weeks for up to 2 years. Those with stable disease may continue EV/P or transition to P alone at investigator discretion. The primary endpoint is 18-month PFS. Secondary endpoints include OS, duration of response, treatment-free interval, incidence of peripheral neuropathy, and quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30, BLM30, CIPN20). Exploratory analyses will evaluate ctDNA dynamics from baseline through progression. The trials uses a one-arm, two-stage design testing the null hypothesis that the proportion of patients who progress or die within 18 months ( p 0 ) is ≤0.56 versus the alternative ( p a ) of 0.67, with 11.4% type I error and 80.3% power. Stage I will enroll 31 evaluable patients; if >22 progress or die within 18 months, accrual will stop. Otherwise, 66 additional patients will be enrolled in stage II. Enrollment is expected to begin in Fall 2025. Clinical trial information: NCT07221942 .

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Ghatalia et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69a7cd6ed48f933b5eed9c0chttps://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2026.44.7_suppl.tps893
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