Sumanta Kumar Pal, MD, presented “FGFR3 Inhibitors for Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer” for the Grand Rounds in Urology audience in March 2021.
How to cite: Pal, Sumanta Kumar. “FGFR3 Inhibitors for Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer.” March 2021. Accessed Nov 2024. https://grandroundsinurology.com/fgfr3-inhibitors-for-upper-tract-urothelial-cancer/
FGFR3 Inhibitors for Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer – Summary
E. David Crawford, MD, Professor of Urology at the University of California, San Diego, and Editor-in-Chief of Grand Rounds in Urology, interviews Sumanta Kumar Pal, MD, Clinical Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research and Co-Director of the Kidney Cancer Program at City of Hope in Duarte, California, about his recent paper looking at FGFR3 inhibitors for treating upper tract urothelial cancer. Dr. Pal explains that upper tract urothelial cancer, which is both more rare and more aggressive than lower tract urothelial cancers, seems to be enriched in mutations in FGFR3, making FGFR3 inhibition a potentially good treatment for this disease state. While one such inhibitor, erdafitinib, is already approved for treating upper tract urothelial cancer, Dr. Pal suggests that a different inhibitor, infigratinib, has a profile that might lend itself better to clinical practice, with lower incidence of hyperphosphatemia and other side effects. He goes over the results of the initial phase 1 study of infigratinib, noting the 25% response rate and considering different biomarkers as indicators of response. Dr. Pal concludes by introducing the Proof 302 study, a phase 3 trial looking at infigratinib for upper tract urothelial cancer which he hopes urologists will consider signing eligible patients up for.
For more on upper tract urothelial cancer, visit our Next Generation UTUC Learning Center.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sumanta (Monty) Kumar Pal, M.D., is an internationally recognized leader in the area of genitourinary cancers, including kidney, bladder, and prostate cancer. He is co-director of City of Hope's Kidney Cancer Program and is the head of the kidney and bladder cancer disease team at the institution.
Dr. Pal entered college at the age of 13 and began medical school at University of California Los Angeles at the age of 17. After completing his residency training at UCLA, Dr. Pal completed a fellowship program in medical oncology at City of Hope's comprehensive cancer center where he has remained on faculty since 2009.
Over that span of time, he has published more than 340 PubMed cited articles that have been featured in prominent journals including Cancer Discovery, The Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet Oncology, Cancer Cell and European Urology.
Dr. Pal holds patents for new drugs currently under development in prostate cancer and also maintains one of the largest portfolios of clinical trials for kidney and bladder cancer research on the West Coast. He developed an integrated program that focuses heavily on collaborations with basic science researchers at Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope and urologists in the Department of Surgery.
Dr. Pal sits on the editorial board for Kidney Cancer and is a reviewer for multiple journals including Lancet Oncology, The Journal of Clinical Oncology, The Journal of Urology, European Urology and many others. Dr. Pal has received grants from the National Institute of Health, the Comprehensive Cancer Network, SWOG Cancer Research Network and multiple other leading entities in support of his formidable research.
