Prof Andrea Necchi speaks to ecancer about the GDFather-NEO phase II trial which evaluated the combination of visugromab (GDF-15 inhibitor) with nivolumab as neoadjuvant therapy in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) who were ineligible for cisplatin.

Among 28 evaluable patients, the combination therapy achieved markedly improved outcomes compared with nivolumab alone, including a pathologic complete response rate of 33.3% vs 7.7% and major pathologic response of 66.7% vs 23.1%.

Dr Necchi says that the regimen was well tolerated, demonstrating that GDF-15 blockade significantly enhances immunotherapy efficacy in MIBC and supports further investigation as a potential new neoadjuvant standard.