Summer Reads 2026

Summer is here! It’s the season for slowing down, recharging, and perhaps finally reading those papers you’ve been meaning to get to. To make it easier, the UROONCO BCa editorial board has done the sorting for you.

We’ve selected 5 clinical trials that genuinely made us stop and think about urothelial carcinoma. Among them are potential practice-changers, thought-provoking studies, and early signals of where the field may be heading.

In muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), enfortumab vedotin (EV) plus pembrolizumab challenges the cisplatin era, while SAKK 06/19 explores whether intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) deserves a place in the perioperative setting. In non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), CISTO compares radical cystectomy with bladder-sparing treatment after BCG failure, and HuNIRe questions whether a second transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT) is always necessary. Meanwhile, in upper tract urinary carcinoma (UTUC), a new risk model brings kidney-sparing surgery one step closer to truly personalized follow-up.

No fluff. No 40-page slog. Just the trials worth your summer reads.

MIBC

• The phase 3 result many saw coming, now in black and white: perioperative EV-pembro beats cisplatin-gemcitabine in both event-free and overall survival, with higher pathological complete responses to boot. Yes, the grade ≥3 toxicity is real, but this is the trial that puts a genuine question mark over how we’ll approach the perioperative setting from here. Enfortumab vedotin and pembrolizumab in cisplatin-eligible bladder cancer; Galsky et al NEJM 2026
• An unexpected pairing: old-school intravesical BCG meets modern chemoimmunotherapy. This first-of-its-kind phase II study delivers high pathological complete and overall response rates with a safety profile that behaves. Enough to make you wonder whether the randomised trial is where things really get interesting. Addition of intravesical recombinant bacillus calmette-guérin to perioperative chemoimmunotherapy in muscle invasive bladder cancer: Primary analysis of the single-arm phase II trial SAKK 06/19; Richard Cathomas et al. J Clin Oncol. 2026.

NMIBC

• The conversation nobody enjoys having after BCG failure: cut or spare? At 12 months, cancer-specific survival is remarkably similar either way. The twist is in the quality-of-life data, which leans toward cystectomy in a way that could reshape how you frame the discussion with your patients. Twelve-month results from the CISTO study comparing radical cystectomy versus bladder-sparing therapy for recurrent high-grade non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer; John L Gore et al. J Clin Oncol. 2026
• This prospective study challenges the routine use of second TURBT by identifying selected patients with T1 NMIBC in whom the procedure may be safely omitted, potentially reducing unnecessary interventions without compromising oncological outcomes. Second transurethral resection of bladder tumor can be safely omitted in selected patients with T1 non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: Results from the prospective HuNIRe trial; Roberto Contieri et al. Eur Urol Oncol. 2026

UTUC

• This retrospective study identifies key prognostic factors for recurrence and progression after endoscopic kidney-sparing surgery for UTUC and proposes a novel risk stratification model. Distinguishing 3 risk groups with different 5-year survival outcomes, it offers a practical tool to support more individualised patient selection and surveillance strategies, which help identify who needs closer follow-up and who can be reassured. Risk of recurrence and progression after endoscopic kidney-sparing surgery for upper tract urothelial carcinoma; Andrea Gallioli et al. Eur Urol Oncol. 2026.