Purpose
To evaluate neoadjuvant sacituzumab govitecan (SG), followed by radical cystectomy (RC), in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) who are ineligible for/refuse neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). We report the results of the primary analysis and biomarker analyses of the phase II SURE-01 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05226117).
Patients and Methods
Patients were age 18 years and older, had Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-1, had histologically confirmed cT2-T4aN0M0 MIBC, were ineligible/refusing NAC, and were scheduled for RC received four cycles of SG 10 mg/kg on day 1 and day 8, once every 3 weeks, followed by RC. The primary outcome measure was the pathologic complete response (pT0N0) rate. Transcriptome-wide analyses and comprehensive genomic profiling assays were performed on baseline tumor samples.
Results
From March 2022 to July 2025, 44 patients were treated and efficacy evaluable. After the initial eight patients enrolled, the protocol was amended with a SG dose of 7.5 mg/kg, with primary prophylaxis for neutropenia, due to the occurrence of two deaths (one treatment-related). Subsequent grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse-events occurred in 5 patients (13.9%). Twenty-six patients (59.1%) had a cT3-4 stage and 20 (45.5%) had a variant histology. Fourteen patients (31.8%) refused to undergo RC, accounting for 12 repeating a transurethral resection of the bladder tumor and two undergoing active surveillance. The median follow-up was 22 months (IQR, 15-26). In the intention-to-treat population, although the protocol-defined ypT0N0 rate was 9.1% (95% CI, 2.5 to 21.7), the overall ypT0N0-x rate was 29.5% (95% CI, 16.7 to 45.2), with an enrichment of ypT0 responses in nonluminal subtypes (46% v 14% of luminal). The 24-month event-free survival (EFS) rate was 71.4% (95% CI, 58 to 87.8), with longer EFS for participants with lower TOP1-expressing tumors.
Conclusion
Neoadjuvant SG, at the reduced dose of 7.5 mg/kg, was active with a manageable safety profile, corroborating TROP2 as a suitable target for MIBC.