Novel treatment effective for bladder cancer, study in mice shows

An epigenetics drug currently being used for the treatment of blood cancers and rare sarcomas can stop the growth of bladder cancer by activating the immune system, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study done in mice.
 

It's the first time a drug used in hematologic malignancies and rare sarcomas has been used to treat one of the most common solid tumors. The drug, tazemetostat, was originally developed to treat lymphoma.

"We've discovered for the first time that the drug actually works by activating the immune system, not just by inhibiting the tumor," said lead study author Dr. Joshua Meeks, an associate professor of urology and of biochemistry and molecular genetics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine physician/scientist.

The study will be published Oct. 5 in Science Advances.

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