The innovative drug delivery system TAR-200 has shown high effectiveness in treating patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. In an international phase 2 study involving 85 patients across 144 centers, complete tumor disappearance was recorded in 82% of participants. Most achieved remission within three months, and in nearly half of them it lasted for a year.
TAR-200 is a compact device containing the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine, which is inserted into the bladder through a catheter and gradually releases the medicine over three weeks. Previously, the drug was administered in liquid form and acted for only a few hours, which limited the therapy’s effectiveness.
When standard therapy with the immunotherapy drug Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) failed, patients were often advised to have their bladder removed. The new technology could become a minimally invasive alternative to surgery. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already granted the system priority review status, which speeds up the process of possible approval.
Perhaps the most important thing here is not even the 82% figure. It is that for patients who had almost no options left, a real chance has appeared not only to extend life, but also to preserve its quality.
