{"entity":{"id":"durvalumab-plus-bcg","kind":"pairing","name":"Durvalumab + BCG in BCG-naive high-risk NMIBC","aka":[],"tldr":"Systemic immunotherapy layered on top of bladder BCG reduced recurrence, at the cost of systemic side effects in a disease usually treated locally.","summary":"Durvalumab given systemically alongside intravesical BCG in BCG-naive high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer is a combination pairing that reduced recurrence at the cost of systemic side effects in a disease usually treated locally. The rationale is that BCG primes a local Th1 immune response in the bladder, and PD-L1 blockade prevents that response from becoming exhausted while potentially reaching micrometastatic disease. The phase 3 POTOMAC trial was positive for disease-free survival and led to approval in May 2026. The result is not automatically a class effect, because ALBAN, which tested atezolizumab plus BCG, was negative, while CREST, which tested sasanlimab plus BCG, was positive.","asOf":"2026-09-07","links":[{"label":"ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03528694: POTOMAC","url":"https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03528694"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["urothelial"],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":["durvalumab","bcg-intravesical"],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":["potomac"],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"a":"durvalumab","b":"bcg-intravesical","rationale":"BCG primes a local Th1 response; PD-L1 blockade prevents its exhaustion and may reach micrometastatic disease.","evidence":"One positive phase 3 (POTOMAC), one negative (ALBAN), one positive with a different agent (CREST).","pairingType":"combination"},"route":"/pairings/durvalumab-plus-bcg/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"urothelial","kind":"cancer","name":"Bladder & urothelial cancer","route":"/cancers/urothelial/"}],"drug":[{"id":"durvalumab","kind":"drug","name":"Durvalumab","route":"/drugs/durvalumab/"},{"id":"bcg-intravesical","kind":"drug","name":"Intravesical BCG","route":"/drugs/bcg-intravesical/"}],"trial":[{"id":"potomac","kind":"trial","name":"POTOMAC","route":"/trials/potomac/"}]}}