Clinical trials

The goal of this prospective clinical trial is to investigate the safety and efficacy of ST-02 (mucoadhesive gemcitabine suspension for pyelocaliceal instillation) to treat Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma (UTUC) in participants who have a low-grade tumor. The main questions this study aims to answer are: 1. Can ST-02 effectively eradicate UTUC by 3 months? 2. Is ST-02 safe for patients with UTUC? Participants in this study will receive ST-02, a new formulation with gemcitabine once weekly for six weeks. Gemcitabine is known to be an effective drug in treating urothelial carcinoma. This new formulation will be instilled directly into the upper urinary tract (renal pelvis) and will allow the chemotherapeutic to work locally for an extended period of time. The administration process will be retrograde (via a small catheter inserted up into the kidney, under anesthesia) or antegrade (via a nephrostomy, in the clinic) once weekly for six weeks. Safety and efficacy will be monitored for up to a year after the initial response assessment.

Invasive bladder cancer is managed with neoadjuvant therapy followed by bladder removal (cystectomy). Research shows that approximately 40% of patient will have no remaining cancer left in their bladder after completion of the initial systemic treatment, and perhaps could have avoided the surgery. However, currently physicians lack the ability to identify these patients. The investigators believe that by using advanced imaging (MRI), bladder biopsies and novel biomarkers that detect tumor DNA in blood, they can better identify participants without any remaining cancer after chemotherapy. This will make active surveillance of these participants safer. In this study, participants without evidence of residual cancer will be randomized to active surveillance vs conventional bladder treatment (bladder removal, or chemo-radiation of the bladder). This study will be a pilot randomized control trial (RCT), and if successful, it will transition to a larger phase 3 RCT.