Metastatic Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma

This phase II trial tests how well pemetrexed works in treating patients with urothelial bladder cancer and other solid tumors that have spread from where they first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic) with mutations that result in a loss of function in the MLL4-protein/KMT2D-gene or UTX-protein/KDM6A-gene or MTAP enzyme. Loss of function due to a genetic mutation means a gene's activity may be reduced or eliminated. Mutations that result in a loss of function in the MLL4-protein or KMT2D-gene are found in 9.96% of all cancers including bladder carcinoma patients, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and esophageal adenocarcinoma patients. In addition, mutations that result in a loss of function in the UTX-protein or KDM6A-gene are found in approximately 5% of all tumors, including bladder cancers, endometrial cancer, and esophagogastric cancer amongst many other tumor types. Pemetrexed is in a class of medications called antifolate antineoplastic agents. It works by stopping cells from using folic acid to make deoxyribonucleic acid and may kill tumor cells. Giving pemetrexed may increase response in patients with metastatic urothelial bladder cancer and other solid tumors with the loss of function in the MLL4-protein/KMT2D-gene or UTX-protein/KDM6A-gene or MTAP enzyme.

This phase II trial compares therapeutic plasma exchange followed by enfortumab vedotin and pembrolizumab to standard of care next-line therapy for the treatment of patients with bladder or upper urinary tract cancers that have spread from where they first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic) and that have not responded to previous treatment (refractory). TPE is a process that slowly removes a patient's blood through an intravenous or central line. The blood is sent through a machine that separates the plasma (the liquid part of blood) from other blood components (red cells, white cells, platelets). The plasma is then removed. The remaining blood components are combined with replacement fluid and returned to the patient's bloodstream through the intravenous or central line. Enfortumab vedotin is a monoclonal antibody, enfortumab, linked to an anticancer drug called vedotin. It works by helping the immune system to slow or stop the growth of cancer cells. Enfortumab attaches to a protein called nectin-4 on cancer cells in a targeted way and delivers vedotin to kill them. It is a type of antibody-drug conjugate. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Treatment with enfortumab vedotin and pembrolizumab is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of bladder cancer, but TPE is not. Combining TPE with enfortumab vedotin and pembrolizumab may work better than standard of care options for treating metastatic and refractory bladder and urinary tract cancers. This study also evaluates the effect of TPE with standard of care antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) in treating patients with refractory metastatic bladder cancer. ADC therapy is treatment with a monoclonal antibody linked to a chemotherapy drug. It is a form of targeted therapy because it attaches to specific molecules (receptors) on the surface of tumor cells, and delivers chemotherapy to kill them. Giving TPE with standard of care ADC therapy may be effective in treating patients with refractory metastatic bladder cancer.

This study is being done to collect tissue samples to test how accurately a tumor response platform, Elephas, can predict clinical response across multiple types of immunotherapies, chemoimmunotherapy and tumor types.

This phase IV trial tests the impact of standard of care enfortumab vedotin and pembrolizumab followed by removal of all or part of the bladder (cytoreductive cystectomy) and/or removal of all or part of the tube that carriers urine from the kidneys to the bladder (ureterectomy) on outcomes in patients with bladder and upper urothelial tract that has spread to nearby tissue or lymph nodes (locally advanced) or that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic). Enfortumab vedotin is a monoclonal antibody, enfortumab, linked to an anticancer drug called vedotin. It works by helping the immune system to slow or stop the growth of tumor cells. Enfortumab attaches to a protein called nectin-4 on tumor cells in a targeted way and delivers vedotin to kill them. It is a type of antibody-drug conjugate. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the tumor and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving standard of care enfortumab vedotin and pembrolizumab followed by cytoreductive cystectomy and/or ureterectomy (CC/U) may improve outcomes in patients with locally advanced or metastatic bladder or upper urothelial tract cancer.