Pembrolizumab perioperative therapy with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for treating cisplatin eligible muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Pembrolizumab perioperative (preoperative and postoperative) therapy in combination with neoadjuvant (before surgery) chemotherapy is in development for the treatment of patients with cisplatin eligible muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). MIBC is when the cancer has spread beyond the lining of the bladder and into the muscle layer. The most well-known risk factor for MIBC is smoking. The most common symptom of MIBC is blood in the urine. The main treatment option is a radical cystectomy, a surgery where parts or all of the bladder is removed. Therefore, other treatment approaches with long disease control excluding surgery are needed.