Scholtes et al., European Urology Open Science, 2026
21 October 2026
In a prospective study with Erasmus MC and four other Dutch hospitals, we generated drug-response profiles from fresh bladder tumor tissue for 48 patients within 14 days of sample collection. Among the patients with available clinical outcomes after platinum-based chemotherapy, ex vivo chemosensitivity scores significantly distinguished responders from nonresponders.
We also observed patient-specific ex vivo responses to the drugs tested, including exploratory testing with the antibody drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin.
While the clinical comparison in bladder cancer is still small, these findings - together with our earlier study in ovarian cancer - strengthen the case that functional ex vivo drug responses can reflect clinical outcomes across tumor types.