Photocure: New data presented at EAU 2023 highlight the effects of blue light cystoscopy in bladder cancer

Oslo, Norway, March 14, 2023: Photocure ASA (OSE: PHO), the Bladder Cancer Company, announces its participation in the congress, and two abstract presentations at the European Association of Urology congress (EAU) in Milan, Italy, highlighting the benefits of Blue Light Cystoscopy (BLC®) in Bladder Cancer management.

The EAU annual meeting is one of the largest international meetings in the urology calendar, showcasing the latest and most relevant knowledge in this area of patient care. This year’s event was held on March 10 -13, 2023 and attracted urologists from all over the world. In addition to an active presence & support for the event, Photocure will also be making bladder cancer session highlights available post event by means of video interviews with the presenters of these sessions. This initiative is supported by two of the leading names in Bladder Cancer in Europe, Prof. M. Rouprêt, APHP, Sorbonne University Paris, France and Prof. P. Gontero, Division of Urology, University of Studies of Torino, Italy.

In addition to this activity, two abstract presentations were presented as part of the EAU scientific program that feature the blue light cystoscopy procedure:

Immunological changes following blue light cystoscopy with hexaminolevulinate in bladder cancer (A0431 - Sunday 10:45)

The project conducted at Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, presents results from a pilot study of bladder cancer patients, showing that blue light cystoscopy with Hexaminolevulinate (HAL) during TURBT* may influence the immune cell composition and tumor microenvironment. Preliminary findings suggest that BLC-guided TURBT changes the expression of immune cells of both the adaptive and innate immune system compared to WLC-guided TURBT. Further studies are required to validate the clinical impact of these observations.

Blue Light Cystoscopy Delays Time to Recurrence in Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer Patients Treated in a Real-World Setting (A0710 – Sunday 15:45)

Real-world data taken from the Blue Light Cystoscopy with Cysview® Registry (Clinicaltrials.gov; NCT02660645), the largest non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer registry in the U.S., showed that use of BLC significantly decreased the risk of recurrence and prolonged time to recurrence compared to White Light alone (HR 0.33; 95% 95% CI 0.2-0.40, p<0.0001). Additionally, BLC in patients with primary tumors extended time to recurrence compared to recurrent patients (HR 1.12; 95% CI 0.89-1.41, p<0.001), suggesting that the earlier use of BLC might have more favorable long-term outcomes in a real-world setting.

"These new study results continue to emphasize the importance of performing a thorough TURBT using Blue Light Cystoscopy in the treatment of bladder cancer, and also demonstrate the strong interest from the scientific community to investigate Hexvix®/Cysview’s potential immunologic effects in bladder cancer management. BLC has been shown to clinically increase TURBT quality, more accurately stage disease for treatment, and enable better recurrence monitoring, supporting the long-term utility to help improve the lives of patients with bladder cancer,” said Dan Schneider, President and CEO of Photocure.

*TURBT: trans-urethral resection of bladder tumors

“As we continue to broaden the awareness of BLC with Hexvix throughout Europe, it is a privilege to participate in the EAU congress, and to see so much engagement from the scientific community and urologists alike. The expanding number of scientific sessions featuring Blue Light is impressive this year. It empowers us on our journey to bring this important product and procedure to even more new users in Europe” added Susanne Strauss, Vice President and General Manager Europe.

About Photocure ASA
Photocure: The Bladder Cancer Company delivers transformative solutions to improve the lives of bladder cancer patients. Our unique technology, making cancer cells glow bright pink, has led to better health outcomes for patients worldwide. Photocure is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: PHO). For more information, please visit us at www.photocure.com, www.hexvix.com, www.cysview.com.