Andrea Necchi, Head of Genitourinary Medical Oncology at Ospedale San Raffaele, shared on X:
“With GDFatherNeo ESMO26 We brought visugromab+nivo combination neoadjuvantly in pts with MIBC after the initial phase 1 data in refractory setting.
- 33% CR rates vs 8% Nivo+placebo
- All pCR pts still event-free (median FUP 15.7m)
- Only 1 relapse event in major responders in N+V arm (pTa relapse)
- 4/5 pCR skipped RC in N+V arm.
- Safety was quite good.
- Pre-existing CD8+ infiltration associated with N+V Response.
It was an illuminating academic-industry collaboration for me.
Results simultaneously released today in Nature Medicine.”
Title: Neoadjuvant nivolumab with or without visugromab in muscle-invasive bladder cancer: the phase 2a GDFATHER-NEO trial
Authors: Andrea Necchi, Chiara Mercinelli, Brigida A. Maiorano, Michela Piacentini, Antonio Cigliola, Roberto Iacovelli, Chiara Ciccarese, Chiara Ligato, Patrizia Giannatempo, Alessandro Rametta, Paolo Gontero, Francesco Soria, Christine Schuberth-Wagner, Joerg Wischhusen, Bernhard Rössler, Michael Metterlein, Stefan Ries, Thorsten Ross, Aasim Amin, Tobias Dreker, Frank Hermann, Lena Lemke, Kathrin Klar, Olga Mitina, Ana Kamova, Petra Fettes, Alexandra Auckenthaler, Sujata Rao, Eugen Leo, Felix S. Lichtenegger
You can also read: KEYNOTE-866 at ESMO 2026: Perioperative Pembrolizumab Plus Chemotherapy in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
