Expert Interview of Specialist Insights in Urothelial Cancer

Release date: 25-10-2024

Expiration date: 24-10-2025

The therapeutic landscape for urothelial cancer has undergone significant transformation in recent years, with the addition of PD1/PD-L1 targeting immune checkpoint inhibitors and novel targeted therapies and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) adding to the complexity of treatment options available for patients throughout the course of their disease. The optimal sequencing of treatments depends on an understanding of the relevance of different pathological subtypes of the disease and of the latest clinical evidence and guidelines that support the use of different therapies. These considerations were discussed in detail during the recent ‘Urothelial Cancer Preceptorship’, in which experts in the field provided a detailed grounding of the disease process and management from diagnosis through to salvage treatments of advanced disease.

View the Expert Interview on Specialist Insights in Urothelial Cancer from each faculty member which features specific expert insights on the topics related to the faculty presentations and the key questions discussed during the preceptorship. The enduring materials aimed to enable clinicians to integrate the latest advances and use of novel therapies for advanced urothelial cancer into safe and effective patient care. The presentation slides of the Preceptorship are also available to download.

Based on the Expert Interview of Specialist Insights and Preceptorship held on 18 and 19 September 2024.

This program is available with subtitles in the following languages:

Faculty

Enrique Grande, MD, MSc, PhD

Enrique Grande, MD, MSc, PhD | Chair

MD Anderson Cancer Center Madrid

Madrid, Spain

Enrique Grande is the current Director of the Medical Oncology Program at the MD Anderson Cancer Center Madrid. Dr. Grande is focused on the research into genitourinary tumors and is actively involved in collaborating on the development of the Translational Research and Early Drug Development Unit. Dr. Grande was awarded his PhD for a pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in liver metabolism, and he holds a master’s degree in the molecular biology of cancer from the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO). A published author of more than 200 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, Dr. Grande is also the founder of the Spanish group for research on orphan and uncommon tumors (GETHI). Dr. Grande is the editor of several international journals and has been the editor of a range of books related to oncology. Dr. Grande has participated in the most recent trials in the field of genitourinary and neuroendocrine tumors that led to the approval of the new drugs we now have available.

Francisco X. Real, MD, PhD

Francisco X. Real, MD, PhD

National Cancer Research Center

Madrid, Spain

Francisco X. Real (Paco) has been Professor of Cell Biology at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain, since 2004, and he has also worked at Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), Madrid, Spain, since 2007. He obtained his MD from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in 1980 and his PhD in 1986. He trained in Medical Oncology at Memorial Hospital in New York where he was a Staff Physician from 1986 to 1988. He carried out his doctoral and postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Lloyd J. Old at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. His work focused on the development of immunological strategies for the treatment of melanoma and epithelial cancers. In 1988, he joined the Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica, Barcelona, where he focused on the cell and molecular biology of epithelial cancers. He was also involved in setting up the Biomedical Sciences studies at Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

At CNIO, Professor Real's group has made significant contributions to the molecular mechanisms involved in pancreatic cancer and in pancreatitis and the molecular pathology and epidemiology of bladder and pancreas cancer. His work combines the use of patient samples, cultured cells, and genetically modified mice, giving a similar relevance to all of them. One important aim of the group’s work is to bring the fundamental knowledge generated in the laboratory to an improved understanding of disease and to develop improved strategies for prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of pancreatic and bladder cancer.

Professor Real has published more than 300 original papers and his work has been published in Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Cell Biology, Nature Communications, Nature Reviews Cancer, Gut, Gastroenterology, PNAS, JNCI, J Clin Invest, N Engl J Med, and Lancet, among others. He has received more than 29,000 citations (Google Scholar); his H index is 96. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of several institutions including the Discovery Research Committee of Cancer Research UK (London), Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers (Paris), CARPEM (Paris), Pancreatic Cancer Research UK (London), and Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (Brussels). He is an Associate Editor of Gut and Bladder Cancer. In 2015, he was President of the European Pancreatic Club.

Félix Guerrero-Ramos, MD, PhD, FEBU

Félix Guerrero-Ramos, MD, PhD, FEBU

Hospital Doce de Octubre

Madrid, Spain

Félix Guerrero-Ramos co-leads the Oncological Urology section at Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre in Madrid, Spain, where he also performs several surgeries as a staff urologist. He is a Residency Programme Director at Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre and also collaborates as an academic tutor for final year students from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (School of Medicine). In addition, Dr. Guerrero-Ramos is adjunct Professor of Medicine at CEU San Pablo University. He also has a private practice as the Head of the Oncological Urology Unit at HM Hospitales and ROC Clinic in Madrid.

Dr. Guerrero-Ramos obtained his MD from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in 2008, followed by training as a urologist at Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre. During his residency period, he completed an observership at University College Hospital in London, UK. He gained his fellowship from the European Board of Urology in Brussels, Belgium, in June 2014 and his PhD from Universidad Complutense de Madrid in December 2015 with a distinction “cum laude”; his doctoral thesis was titled “Comparative analysis of surgical complications in a programme of uncontrolled DCD kidney donation under normothermic preservation.”

Dr. Guerrero-Ramos’ research is mainly focused on urological oncology (especially bladder and kidney cancer). He is the Principal Investigator for several phase I/II/III trials in urothelial and renal cancer. He has been an invited speaker for national and international meetings and has also been the organizer and director of several courses, mainly focused on urothelial and renal cancer. He is the author or coauthor of over 45 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, over 100 communications in several worldwide congresses, and 12 book chapters.

Natalia Carballo, MD

Natalia Carballo, MD

MD Anderson Cancer Center Madrid

Madrid, Spain

Natalia Carballo is the current Head of Radiation Oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Madrid, Spain. She is also the Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson Houston, Texas, USA, and at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid.

Dr. Carballo focuses on thoracic and gastrointestinal oncology and has a particular interest in special techniques, including radiosurgery, extreme hypofractionation, and deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) technique. She is also the Principal Investigator for the National Cancer Institute (NCI)’s international program: “Cancer Moonshot Screening in Lung Cancer Research” and was the local organizer of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) 2021 congress in Madrid. Dr. Carballo is also involved with several Spanish boards and is an opinion leader in radiotherapy.

  • Molecular Pathology and Biology of Urothelial Cancer | Francisco X. Real, MD, PhD

  • Optimal Management for NMIBC and MIBC Patients | Félix Guerrero-Ramos, MD, PhD, FEBU; Natalia Carballo, MD

  • Highlights of the Evolving Therapeutic Landscape in Urothelial Cancer | Enrique Grande, MD, MSc, PhD

This activity is designed for medical oncologists and urologists involved or interested in the management of urothelial cancer.

The aim of this educational activity is for participants to:

    • Develop a greater awareness of the different molecular and pathologic subtypes of urothelial cancers and the role of prognostic and predictive biomarkers in patient management
    • Appreciate the current and evolving treatment options for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC)
    • Become familiar with the indications and limitations of local treatments for MIBC
    • Establish confidence and expertise in the selection and timing of systemic treatment options throughout the clinical course of locally advanced and metastatic urothelial cancers
    • Improve the understanding of emerging therapies and treatment combinations that are currently being developed for UC

This educational activity is provided by ACE Oncology.

This educational activity is supported by an independent grant from the Healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

This activity provides content that is evidence-based, balanced, and free of commercial bias, with a primary objective to improve competence and performance of learners in order to improve patient care.

The faculty reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouses/life partners have with commercial interest related to the content of this activity:

 

Enrique Grande has received honoraria for speaker engagements, advisory roles or funding for continuing medical education from Advanced Accelerator Applications, AMGEN, Angelini, Astellas, Astra Zeneca, Bayer, Blueprint, Bristol Myers Squibb, Caris Life Sciences, Celgene, Clovis-Oncology, Dr. Reddy’s, Eisai, Esteve, Eusa Pharma, Genetracer, GSK, Guardant Health, HRAPharma, IPSEN, ITM-Radiopharma, Janssen, Lexicon, Lilly, Merck KGaA, MSD, Nanostring Technologies, Natera, Novartis, ONCODNA (Biosequence), Palex, Pharmamar, Pierre Fabre, Pfizer, Raffo, Roche, Sanofi-Genzyme, Servier, Taiho, Tecnofarma, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Zodiac. He has also received grants for clinical research from Astellas, Astra Zeneca, IPSEN, Lexicon, Merck KGaA, MTEM/Threshold/Tersera, Nanostring Technologies, Pfizer and Roche. He has agreed to disclose any unlabeled/unapproved uses of drugs or products referenced in his presentation.

 

Félix Guerrero-Ramos has served as an advisor or consultant for Pfizer, BMS, AstraZeneca, Janssen and Combat Medical. He has also served as a speaker or a member of a speakers bureau for Astellas Oncology, Janssen, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Combat Medical and Nucleix. He has agreed to disclose any unlabeled/unapproved uses of drugs or products referenced in his presentation.

 

Francisco X. Real has received grants for research from VCN Biosciences and Janssen. He has agreed to disclose any unlabeled/unapproved uses of drugs or products referenced in his presentation.

 

Natalia Carballo has no financial relationships to disclose. She has agreed to disclose any unlabeled/unapproved uses of drugs or products referenced in her presentation.

 

The employees of ACE Oncology have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

 

ACE Oncology requires instructors, planners, managers, and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of this activity to disclose any real or apparent conflict of interest (COI) they may have as related to the content of this activity. All identified COIs are thoroughly vetted and resolved according to ACE Oncology’s policy. ACE Oncology is committed to providing its learners with high-quality activities and related materials that promote improvements or quality in healthcare and not a specific proprietary business interest of a commercial entity.

 

 

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