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Kates, Max

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1166-7225

Mayo Clinic

Johns Hopkins University

Citations 6

The GAIN trial: Gemcitabine alternating with intravesical BCG randomized against BCG alone for patients with recurrent “BCG-exposed” high-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) (ALLIANCE A032303).
Dooley, Katharine , Clark, Amanda, Ngo, Zoe, Carvalho, Filipe La Fuente De, Sundi, Debasish , Correa, Andres, Delacroix, Scott Edward, Kates, Max Re, O'Malley, Padraic, Tan, A., Berg, S., Woods, Michael, Galsky, Matthew D. , Rosenberg, Jonathan E., Pietzak, Eugene J , Ballman, Karla V. , Correa, Andres F. , Delacroix, Scott Edward , Kates, Max , Westerman, Mary E. , Rosenberg, Jonathan E

Journal of Clinical Oncology | March 2, 2026 | Volume: 44 | Issue: 7_suppl | Pages: No page available

10.1200/jco.2026.44.7_suppl.tps909 Get It

TPS909 Background: BCG-Exposed NMIBC (a high grade recurrence within 24 months of prior BCG, but not meeting “unresponsive” criteria) is a large patient population with a critical need for more effective treatment strategies that prevent the development of BCG unresponsive disease/progression. The current standard of care is re-treatment with BCG alone, but only ~50% of patients derive clinical benefit. While intravesical gemcitabine (with or without docetaxel) is sometimes used, multiple retrospective studies have found that GemDoce is no better than re-treatment with BCG alone for patients with BCG-exposed NMIBC. A chemoimmunotherapy strategy of intravesical Gemcitabine with BCG (GemBCG) combines the two most effective, inexpensive, and commonly used treatments for NMIBC. Based on compelling biologic rationale and preclinical data, a phase I/II (n=52) trial was initiated of GemBCG in BCG-exposed NMIBC (NCT04179162). GemBCG has minimal side effects (3.8% [2/52] with Grade 3 TRAEs (no grade 4/5 seen) with similar side effects and tolerability to BCG alone. GemBCG has a outstanding early efficacy signal (6-month complete response of 97% [28/29] in patients with CIS, compared to ~50% 6-month complete response w/ BCG alone for BCG exposed CIS). GemBCG has promising preliminary longer term efficacy (18-month HG-RFS of 76% compared to ~45-55% reported with BCG alone, GemDoce, and recombinant BCG in BCG exposed NMIBC). Correlative studies support the hypothesis that the addition of gemcitabine to BCG can favorably modulate the tumor immune microenvironment. Methods: Based on the above rationale, we initiated the “GAIN” trial (A032303/ NCT07000084), a prospective, multicenter, open-label phase III study for patients with BCG-exposed NMIBC randomized to either: re-treatment with BCG only (Arm A, SOC) or Gemcitabine + BCG (GemBCG, Arm B). BCG-exposed NMIBC is defined as a high grade NMIBC (Ta, T1, Tis/CIS) that has recurred within 24 months of prior BCG, but NOT otherwise currently meeting BCG unresponsive NMIBC. The primary objective is to compare high grade recurrence-free survival (HG-RFS) between the two treatment arms. Notable aspects of the trial include: (1) the reduced burden on investigators and research teams due to the NCI’s new streamlined data initiative, (2) liberal inclusion/exclusion criteria and pragmatic design to improve generalizability of results, and (3) Cystoscopic biopsies/TURBT at week 13/month 3 for all participants (both CIS and “papillary only”) for multiple reasons including to allow for earlier detection of BCG unresponsive disease for patient safety, increased rigor of the trial, and objectively evaluate urinary biomarkers/urinary tumor DNA. Clinical trial information: NCT04179162 .
Twelve-Month Results From the CISTO Study Comparing Radical Cystectomy Versus Bladder-Sparing Therapy for Recurrent High-Grade Non–Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
Gore, John L. , Wolff, Erika M. , Nash, Michael G. , Comstock, Bryan A. , Gilbert, Scott M. , Chang, Sam S., Chisolm, Stephanie , MacLean, Douglas B., Wright, Jonathan L. , Kates, Max , Pohar, Kamal S. , Guzzo, Thomas J., Bivalacqua, Trinity J, Nepple, Kenneth G. , Montgomery, Jeffrey S., Scarpato, Kristen R., Master, Viraj A. , Chen, David YT , Mossanen, Matthew , O’Neil, Brock , Tyson, Mark D. , Mansour, Ahmed M. , Chamie, Karim, Riggs, Stephen B. , Kukreja, Janet Baack , Peyton, Cheri L. , Nix, Jeffrey W. , Dickstein, Rian, Sankin, Alex , Lane, Brian R. , Bassett, Jeffrey C. , Patel, Sanjay , Lee, Eugene K. , Ritch, Chad R. , Follmer, Kristin , Kim, Sung Min , Kessler, Larry G. , group, on behalf of the CISTO Collaborative, Gore, John L., Smith, Angela B., Wolff, Erika M., Comstock, Bryan A., Nash, Michael G., Follmer, Kristin M., Lee, Jenney R., Kim, Sung Min, Kessler, Larry G., Gilbert, Scott M., Chang, Sam S., Wright, Jonathan L., Kates, Max R., Pohar, Kamal S., Guzzo, Thomas J., Bivalacqua, Trinity J., Nepple, Kenneth G., Montgomery, Jeffrey S., Scarpato, Kristen R., Woldu, Solomon L., Master, Viraj A., Chen, David Y.T., Mossanen, Matthew, Daneshmand, Siamak, O'Neil, Brock B., Tyson, Mark D., Westerman, Mary E., Kamat, Ashish M., Mansour, Ahmed M., Chamie, Karim, Riggs, Stephen B., Kukreja, Janet B., Modi, Parth K., Garg, Tullika, Peyton, Charles C., Nix, Jeffrey W., Dickstein, Rian, Gadzinski, Adam J., Sankin, Alex, Shore, Neal D., Lane, Brian R., Bassett, Jeffrey C., Patel, Sanjay, Morris, David S., Macleod, Liam C., Lee, Eugene K., Ritch, Chad R., Chisolm, Stephanie, MacLean, Douglas B., Almeida, Fred, Murray, Mary Beth Ballard, Lindsey, Nancy, Lipman, Robert, Oliver, Richard M., Roscoe, Lori A., Sachse, Karen, Lotan, Yair, Porten, Sima P., Taylor, Jennifer M., Steinberg, Gary D., Catto, James W.F., Downs, Tracy M., Malin, Jennifer L., Davicioni, Elai, Rios, Patricia, Yano, Marielle, Jun, Grace, Li, Casey, Nefcy, Christopher, Basu, Anirban, Heagerty, Patrick J., Catto, James W.F. , Sankin, Alexander , Woldu, Solomon L , Master, Viraj A , Chen, David Y T , Daneshmand, Siamak , O'Neil, Brock B , Westerman, Mary E , Kamat, Ashish M. , Modi, Parth K , Peyton, Charles C , Gadzinski, Adam J , Shore, Neal , Patel, Sanjay , Ritch, Chad R , Follmer, Kristin M , Kim, Sung Min , Kessler, Larry G , Bivalacqua, Trinity J. , Daneshmand, Siamak , Westerman, Mary E. , Garg, Tullika K. , Shore, Neal D. , Morris, David S. , Macleod, Liam Connor , Lee, Jenney R. , Smith, Angela B. , group, on behalf of the CISTO Collaborative, Gore, John L., Smith, Angela B., Wolff, Erika M., Comstock, Bryan A., Nash, Michael G., Follmer, Kristin M., Lee, Jenney R., Kim, Sung Min, Kessler, Larry G., Gilbert, Scott M., Chang, Sam S., Wright, Jonathan L., Kates, Max R., Pohar, Kamal S., Guzzo, Thomas J., Bivalacqua, Trinity J., Nepple, Kenneth G., Montgomery, Jeffrey S., Scarpato, Kristen R., Woldu, Solomon L., Master, Viraj A., Chen, David Y.T., Mossanen, Matthew, Daneshmand, Siamak, O'Neil, Brock B., Tyson, Mark D., Westerman, Mary E., Kamat, Ashish M., Mansour, Ahmed M., Chamie, Karim, Riggs, Stephen B., Kukreja, Janet B., Modi, Parth K., Garg, Tullika, Peyton, Charles C., Nix, Jeffrey W., Dickstein, Rian, Gadzinski, Adam J., Sankin, Alex, Shore, Neal D., Lane, Brian R., Bassett, Jeffrey C., Patel, Sanjay, Morris, David S., Macleod, Liam C., Lee, Eugene K., Ritch, Chad R., Chisolm, Stephanie, MacLean, Douglas B., Almeida, Fred, Murray, Mary Beth Ballard, Lindsey, Nancy, Lipman, Robert, Oliver, Richard M., Roscoe, Lori A., Sachse, Karen, Lotan, Yair, Porten, Sima P., Taylor, Jennifer M., Steinberg, Gary D., Catto, James W.F., Downs, Tracy M., Malin, Jennifer L., Davicioni, Elai, Rios, Patricia, Yano, Marielle, Jun, Grace, Li, Casey, Nefcy, Christopher, Basu, Anirban, Heagerty, Patrick J.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | December 15, 2025 | Volume: 44 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 274-285

10.1200/jco-25-01324 Get It

PURPOSE To compare patient-reported and clinical outcomes between radical cystectomy (RC) and bladder-sparing therapy (BST) in patients with recurrent high-grade non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). PATIENTS AND METHODS This pragmatic, prospective observational cohort study was designed with patients, who selected and prioritized outcomes. Eligible adults were candidates for both RC or BST, had previous induction Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), and received their last treatment within 12 months. The primary outcome was the EORTC-QLQ-C30 physical function scale at 12 months. Secondary outcomes included other EORTC-QLQ-C30 scales, depression, anxiety, bladder cancer–specific quality of life (QOL), financial burden, and cancer-specific outcomes. Targeted maximum likelihood estimation (TMLE) was used to calculate average treatment effect (ATE) estimates between arms. Inverse probability weighted risk ratios (wRR) were calculated using quasi-Poisson regression. RESULTS Of 570 participants (mean age 71.4 years; 21% female), 371 selected BST and 199 selected RC. Physical function was significantly worse in the RC arm at 3 months; by 9 months, there was no difference between arms, and at 12 months, physical function did not differ (ATE, 0.9; 95% CI, –0.6 to 2.4; P = .22). RC was associated with better emotional function, generic health-related QOL, and financial burden, and lower depression and anxiety, while BST was associated with better bowel and sexual health. Cancer-specific survival was 99% for BST versus 96% for RC (wRR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.01). RC was associated with a higher risk of adverse events and serious adverse events, including a 90-day mortality rate of 2.5%. CONCLUSION Most patient-prioritized outcomes were similar or better among participants who chose RC compared with BST. These findings support the continued role of RC in managing recurrent high-grade NMIBC.
Upstaging and risk migration with blue light cystoscopy for non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer: Results from a prospective multi-center registry.
Pohar, Kamal S. , Holzbeierlein, Jeffrey M., Kates, Max , Willard, Brian, Taylor, Jennifer M. , Liao, Joseph C. , Kaimakliotis, Hristos Z. , Porten, Sima P. , Tyson, Mark D. , Ghoreifi, Alireza , Ghoreifi, Alireza , Konety, Badrinath R. , Taylor, John Arthur , Steinberg, Gary D. , Lotan, Yair , Daneshmand, Siamak

Journal of Clinical Oncology | February 18, 2025 | Volume: 43 | Issue: 5_suppl | Pages: 686-686

10.1200/jco.2025.43.5_suppl.686 Get It

686 Background: Blue-light cystoscopy (BLC) is an established procedure for use in the diagnosis and surveillance of patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). It is associated with improved detection rates compared to white light cystoscopy (WLC); however, limited data is available regarding its role in upstaging and/or upgrading when used alongside WLC. The aim of this study is to assess the incidence and features of patients undergoing upstaging and/or risk-group migration with the implementation of BLC. Methods: Using data from the prospective multi-institutional Cysview Registry (2014-2024), patients with NMIBC who underwent transurethral resection or biopsy of bladder tumors were identified. The patients in whom malignant lesions were exclusively detected by BLC, as well as those experiencing an upward change in risk category (as defined by the American Urological Association [AUA] classification) based on BLC findings, were documented. The clinical features of these patients were subsequently reviewed. Results: In this study, 2,854 patients were enrolled, who collectively underwent 4,158 resections and provided 6,432 separate pathology samples. A total of 201 (7%) patients had at least one malignant lesion detected exclusively by BLC while having negative WLC. These lesions (total 335) included carcinoma in-situ (CIS) in 145 (43%), low-grade Ta in 53 (16%), high-grade Ta in 95 (28%), high-grade T1 in 37 (11%), and high-grade T2 in 5 (1%). In patients with multifocal disease, BLC resulted in AUA risk-group upward migration in 66 (2.3%) patients.Theclinical features of these two groups are presented in the table. Taken together, the total rate of upgrading or upstaging using BLC was 9.3%, including migration to low-risk in 1.2%, intermediate-risk in 2.1%, and high-risk in 6%. Conclusions: Using BLC during transurethral resection or biopsy of bladder tumors results in risk group migration in over 9% of patients with NMIBC. This impacts patient management, including the administration of intravesical therapy when it was not initially planned, an extension in the duration of therapy, or the decision to proceed with radical cystectomy. Clinical features of patients with malignant lesions detected by BLC only (A) and those with risk group migration (B). Clinical features A B Age, median (IQR), year 71 (63-76) 71 (61-77) Gender, n (%) Male Female 140 (74)49 (26) 54 (82)12 (18) History of smoking, n (%) 117 (62) 40 (61) Primary occurrence, n (%) 65 (34) 14 (21) History on intravesical therapy, n (%) 92 (49) 40 (61) Urine cytology * , n (%) Positive Suspicious Atypical Negative/NA 33 (17)21 (10)41 (20)106 (53) 13 (20)7 (11)10 (15)36 (54) IQR: interquartile range; NA: not available. *Detected by either voided urine or bladder wash.
Racial Differences in the Detection Rate of Bladder Cancer Using Blue Light Cystoscopy: Insights from a Multicenter Registry
Ghoreifi, Alireza , Pohar, Kamal S. , Holzbeierlein, Jeffrey M., Kates, Max , Willard, Brian, Taylor, Jennifer M. , Kaimakliotis, Hristos Z. , Porten, Sima P. , Tyson, Mark D. , Lotan, Yair , Group, Blue Light Cystoscopy with Cysview Registry, Ghoreifi, Alireza , Lotan, Yair , Ladi‐Seyedian, Seyedeh‐Sanam , Konety, Badrinath R. , Taylor, John Arthur , Liao, Joseph C. , Steinberg, Gary D. , Daneshmand, Siamak , Group, Blue Light Cystoscopy with Cysview Registry

Cancers | March 25, 2024 | Volume: 16 | Issue: 7 | Pages: 1268

10.3390/cancers16071268 Get It

The use of blue light cystoscopy (BLC) has been shown to improve bladder tumor detection. However, data demonstrating the efficacy of BLC across different races are limited. Herein, we aim to evaluate heterogeneity in the characteristics of BLC for the detection of malignant lesions among various races. Clinicopathologic information was collected from patients enrolled in the multi-institutional Cysview® registry (2014–2021) who underwent transurethral resection or biopsy of bladder tumors. Outcome variables included sensitivity and negative and positive predictive values of BLC and white light cystoscopy (WLC) for the detection of malignant lesions among various races. Overall, 2379 separate lesions/tumors were identified from 1292 patients, of whom 1095 (85%) were Caucasian, 96 (7%) were African American, 51 (4%) were Asian, and 50 (4%) were Hispanic. The sensitivity of BLC was higher than that of WLC in the total cohort, as well as in the Caucasian and Asian subgroups. The addition of BLC to WLC increased the detection rate by 10% for any malignant lesion in the total cohort, with the greatest increase in Asian patients (18%). Additionally, the positive predictive value of BLC was highest in Asian patients (94%), while Hispanic patients had the highest negative predictive value (86%). Our study showed that regardless of race, BLC increases the detection of bladder cancer when combined with WLC.
Utility of Blue Light Cystoscopy for Post-bacillus Calmette-Guérin Bladder Cancer Recurrence Detection: Implications for Clinical Trial Recruitment and Study Comparisons
Chappidi, Meera R. , Meng, Maxwell V. , Bivalacqua, Trinity J. , Holzbeierlein, Jeffrey M., Kaimakliotis, Hristos Z. , Konety, Badrinath R. , Liao, Joseph C. , Pohar, Kamal S. , Taylor, Jennifer M. , Tyson, Mark D. , Willard, Brian, Porten, Sima P. , Kates, Max , Yang, Heiko , Daneshmand, Siamak , Steinberg, Gary D. , Lotan, Yair

Journal of Urology | October 25, 2021 | Volume: 207 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 534-540

10.1097/ju.0000000000002308 Get It

Role of blue‐light cystoscopy in detecting invasive bladder tumours: data from a multi‐institutional registry
Ahmadi, Hamed , Ladi‐Seyedian, Seyedeh‐Sanam , Konety, Badrinath R. , Pohar, Kamal S. , Holzbeierlein, Jeffrey M., Kates, Max , Willard, Brian, Taylor, Jennifer M. , Kaimakliotis, Hristos Z. , Porten, Sima P. , Tyson, Mark D. , Group, the Blue Light Cystoscopy with Cysview Registry, Lotan, Yair , Daneshmand, Siamak , Liao, Joseph C. , Steinberg, Gary D. , Lotan, Yair , Daneshmand, Siamak , Group, the Blue Light Cystoscopy with Cysview Registry

BJU International | October 13, 2021 | Volume: 130 | Issue: 1 | Pages: 62-67

10.1111/bju.15614 Get It

Objectives To evaluate the role of blue‐light cystoscopy (BLC) in detecting invasive tumours that were not visible on white‐light cystoscopy (WLC). Patients and Methods Using the multi‐institutional Cysview registry database, patients who had at least one white‐light negative (WL–)/blue‐light positive (BL+) lesion with invasive pathology (≥T1) as highest stage tumour were identified. All WL–/BL+ lesions and all invasive tumours in the database were used as denominators. Relevant baseline and outcome data were collected. Results Of the 3514 lesions (1257 unique patients), 818 (23.2%) lesions were WL−/BL+, of those, 55 (7%) lesions were invasive (48 T1, seven T2; 47 unique patients) including 28/55 (51%) de novo invasive lesions (26 unique patients). In all, 21/47 (45%) patients had WL−/BL+ concommitant carcinoma in situ and/or another T1 lesions. Of 22 patients with a WL−/BL+ lesion who underwent radical cystectomy (RC), high‐risk pathological features leading to RC was only visible on BLC in 18 (82%) patients. At time of RC, 11/22 (50%) patients had pathological upstaging including four (18%) with node‐positive disease. Conclusions A considerable proportion of invasive lesions are only detectable by BLC and the rate of pathological upstaging is significant. Our present findings suggest an additional benefit of BLC in the detection of invasive bladder tumours that has implications for treatment approach.