London, UK – August 26, 2025

New Hope for Bladder Cancer Patients as Treatment Doubling Survival Approved

In a significant medical breakthrough, a new combination therapy for advanced bladder cancer has been approved for use on the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom. The treatment, which combines two immunotherapy drugs, has been hailed by experts as a “major step forward” that could fundamentally change the lives of thousands of patients, with clinical trials showing it can almost double survival rates.

The new therapy, which combines the drugs enfortumab vedotin and pembrolizumab, offers a much-needed alternative to standard chemotherapy, which has been the primary treatment for advanced bladder cancer for decades. Clinical trials involving hundreds of patients demonstrated remarkable results. While patients on standard chemotherapy typically survived for just over a year, those who received the new combination treatment lived for an average of over two and a half years. The treatment also significantly improved progression-free survival, keeping the cancer at bay for an average of 1.5 years, compared to just over six months with traditional chemotherapy.

Headlines of the Report

 * Game-Changing Approval: The new combination therapy for advanced bladder cancer has been approved for NHS use in the UK, offering the first major treatment advance in over 40 years.

 * Survival Rates Doubled: Clinical trials showed the new treatment extended average patient survival from approximately 1.5 years to more than 2.5 years, a truly transformative outcome.

 * Complete Response: The treatment also demonstrated a remarkable complete response rate, with nearly 30% of patients having no detectable signs of cancer after treatment, more than double the rate seen with chemotherapy.

 * New Mechanism of Action: The therapy works in a two-pronged approach, with one drug directly targeting and killing cancer cells while the other helps the body’s immune system to recognize and attack any remaining cancer.

 * Thousands to Benefit: The NHS estimates that around 1,250 patients in England each year will be eligible to receive the treatment, which is administered through a drip in a hospital or clinic setting.

The new treatment’s approval by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been met with widespread optimism from the medical community and patient advocates. Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Cancer, called the treatment “one of the most hopeful advances in decades,” emphasizing that it will give thousands of people with bladder cancer “more precious time.”

The new therapy’s innovative approach involves a sophisticated two-pronged attack on cancer cells. Enfortumab vedotin acts as a kind of “smart missile,” directly targeting cancer cells and delivering a chemotherapy payload. The second drug, pembrolizumab, is an immunotherapy that works by unblocking the body’s natural immune response, allowing it to better recognize and fight the cancer. This combination of targeted therapy and immunotherapy has proven to be highly effective and has a more manageable side effect profile than traditional chemotherapy. The approval of this new treatment represents a major milestone in the fight against bladder cancer and underscores the NHS’s commitment to embracing cutting-edge innovation to improve patient outcomes.