Dr Enrique Grande speaks to ecancer about the results from the DISCUS trial, a pivotal study investigating whether fewer cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy can maintain treatment effectiveness while improving patient quality of life in advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC).

The trial found that the quality of life was significantly better in patients receiving 3 cycles compared to 6 cycles, with a clinically meaningful +8.5-point difference favouring the shorter treatment duration.

Dr Grande highlights that overall survival was identical in both arms (median 18.9 months), showing no compromise in efficacy with fewer chemotherapy cycles. and fewer high-grade adverse events in the 3-cycle arm were seen.

These results show that three cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy followed by avelumab maintenance provides better quality of life without reducing survival outcomes, potentially redefining the standard of care in advanced urothelial carcinoma.