Action Bladder Cancer UK are pleased that NICE have approved a new treatment for use within the NHS in England and Wales.

 Enfortumab vedotin with pembrolizumab (EVP) will be available for use in treating patients with untreated unresectable (cancer which cannot be completely removed by surgery) or metastatic urothelial cancer when platinum-based chemotherapy is suitable. This is welcome news for a badly neglected group of patients. There is a real unmet need for effective, and well-tolerated, treatments for bladder cancer. There are very limited first-line treatment options currently available for advanced bladder cancer. Chemotherapy (which is commonly used), may not be well tolerated by many people, and can have side effects that affect quality of life. EVP has demonstrated in clinical trials that it provides an effective treatment option - it increases how long people have before their cancer gets worse and how long they live compared with current treatments available. EVP has also demonstrated that it is usually well-tolerated, which has a direct effect on quality of life, both for the patient and also for their loved ones. Patients and families welcome this safe and effective new treatment.

This is a very welcome, and significant, step forward for this hard to treat cancer. After many decades where there has been no real advance in bladder cancer treatment, the development of new treatments in recent years, and the prospect of further new treatments receiving approval for use, is long overdue. ABC UK looks forward to these much-needed new treatments being made available for use in the UK - and improving care and outcomes for those with bladder cancer.