Keeping Up With the Expanding Role of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Bladder Cancer

Jointly provided by

       

Support for this activity has been provided through an educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.

Release date: 10/9/2025

Expiration date: 10/9/2026

Estimated time to complete: 0.5 hour

Overview

As the molecular events responsible for invasive bladder cancer have become better understood in recent years, immunotherapies have emerged as a new therapeutic option. In particular, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been shown to improve outcomes and are now a guideline-recommended treatment for locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer (UC), as well as an increasingly important component of treatments for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). These newer immunotherapy treatments, however, are associated with unique, sometimes life-threatening, adverse events (AEs).

This activity reviews the expanding use of ICIs in bladder cancer, including updates in treatment guidelines and management strategies for common treatment-related AEs, and looks at new and emerging clinical trial data.

Faculty

Elizabeth R. Plimack, MD, MS, FASCO
Deputy Director, Fox Chase Cancer Center
Professor of Medical Oncology
Temple Health
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Target Audience

This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of medical oncologists, urologists, advanced practice providers, nurses, and other health care providers involved in the care of patients with bladder cancer.

Learning Objectives

After completing this activity, participants should be better able to: 

  • Summarize evidence supporting the use of first-line treatments that incorporate ICIs for locally advanced or metastatic UC in accordance with clinical guidelines 
  • Describe anticipated AEs associated with ICIs used to treat locally advanced or metastatic UC and their management strategies
  • Interpret emerging clinical trial data on the effectiveness of perioperative ICI-containing regimens for the management of patients with MIBC

Joint Accreditation Statement

In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Partners for Advancing Clinical Education (Partners), the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN), and RedMedEd. Partners is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the health care team.

Physician Continuing Education

Partners designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

American Board of Internal Medicine Maintenance of Certification

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 0.5 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to the ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

To receive CME credit and/or MOC points, you must pass the posttest and complete the evaluation. For ABIM MOC points, your information will be shared with the ABIM through Partners Joint Accreditation Program and Activity Reporting System (JA-PARS). Please allow 6–8 weeks for your MOC points to appear on your ABIM records. By sharing your Diplomate Board ID # and DOB, you are giving Partners permission to use this information/data to report your participation to these boards’ JA-PARS.

Disclosure

Partners requires every individual in a position to control educational content to disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies that have occurred within the past 24 months. Ineligible companies are organizations whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, reselling, or distributing health care products used by or on patients.

All relevant financial relationships for anyone with the ability to control the content of this educational activity are listed below and have been mitigated according to Partners policies. Others involved in the planning of this activity have no relevant financial relationships.

Elizabeth R. Plimack, MD, MS, FASCO, has the following relevant financial relationships: 
Consultant, Advisor, Speaker: 23andMe, AbbVie, Adaptimmune, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Aura Biosciences, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eisai, Daichii Sankyo, EMD Serono, Flatiron, Merck, Pfizer, SeaGen, Signatera, Synthekine, UroGen 

Partners
Staff involved in the development and review of this activity have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

BCAN
The BCAN planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationships. 

RedMedEd
The RedMedEd planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Unapproved Product Use

This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the US Food and Drug Administration. The planners of this activity do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications. The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the planners. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer

Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications and/or dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.

Method of Participation

There are no fees to participate in the activity. Participants must review all activity information, including the learning objectives, disclosure statements, and content. To receive CME credit for participation, participants must complete the posttest and program evaluation. Certificates can be printed immediately.

Contact Information

For additional information about the accreditation of this activity, please visit partnersed.com.
For technical questions related to this activity, please contact RedMedEd at 610.251.6841 or education@redmeded.com.

Hardware/Software Requirements

  • AiPad, iPad Mini, iPhone, or Android devices with an Internet connection and running current available OS
    • Internet browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari
  • A computer with an Internet connection
    • Internet browsers (PC): Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge
    • Internet browsers (Mac): Chrome, Firefox, Safari

Privacy

This website is managed by RedMedEd, and RedMedEd’s printed privacy policy applies to this site. CME credit for this activity is provided by Partners. If you register for CME credit for this educational activity, RedMedEd will forward relevant personally identifiable information to Partners so that records can be maintained concerning any credits issued to you. Aggregated data concerning registrations, posttests, and evaluations may be shared, but RedMedEd will not knowingly share any personally identifiable information. The information you provide on this site may be used to contact you about your CME credit or other relevant educational activities provided through Partners or RedMedEd. For more information, contact education@redmeded.com.

Copyright

© 2025. This CME/CE-certified program is held as copyrighted by BCAN and RedMedEd. Through this notice, BCAN and RedMedEd grant permission of its use for educational purposes only. These materials may not be used, in whole or in part, for any commercial purposes without prior permission in writing from the copyright owners.