Professor Thomas Powles
MBBS, MRCP, MD
Professor of Genitourinary Oncology; Director, Barts Cancer Centre at St. Bartholomew's Hospital; Lead for Solid Tumour Research
Group Leader
Research Focus
My main research interests are in genital and urinary cancers, and I lead a spectrum of clinical studies from phase I to randomised phase III. The majority of the studies are translational phase II studies investigating novel targeted and immune therapies.
Key Publications
Overall Survival with Adjuvant Pembrolizumab in Renal-Cell Carcinoma. N Engl J Med (2024) 390(15):1359-1371. PMID: 38631003
Enfortumab Vedotin and Pembrolizumab in Untreated Advanced Urothelial Cancer. N Engl J Med (2024) 390(10):875-888. PMID: 38446675
Adjuvant Pembrolizumab after Nephrectomy in Renal-Cell Carcinoma. N Engl J Med (2021) 385(8):683-694. PMID: 34407342
Enfortumab Vedotin in Previously Treated Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma. N Engl J Med (2021) 384(12):1125-1135. PMID: 33577729
Avelumab Maintenance Therapy for Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma. N Engl J Med (2020) 383(13):1218-1230 PMID: 32945632
Major Funding
- Co-Lead, Barts Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC)
- Co-Lead, NIHR Biomedical Research Centre
Other Activities
- Editor-in-chief of the Annals of Oncology Journal
- Co-lead of European Guidelines for GU cancer
- Co-lead of the Uromigos podcast
Research
Prof. Powles has had a major role in the development of biomarkers and new drug strategies in urology cancers. This includes multiple EMA and FDA approvals. Notably, front line immune/targeted therapy combinations in RCC, immune checkpoint inhibitions alone or in combination in bladder cancer and antibody drug conjugates in urothelial cancer. His biomarker work has resulted in a greater understanding of resistance to immune therapy (TGFb), personalised therapy in bladder cancer (PD-L1, CD8) and renal cancer (MET) and the development of circulating biomarkers (ctDNA).
His current work focuses on early bladder and kidney cancer with novel adjuvant/neoadjuvant therapies and the identification of patients at risk of relapse after surgery.
Major Funding
- Co-Lead, Barts Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC)
- Co-Lead, NIHR Biomedical Research Centre
Recent Publications
Expression-based subtypes define pathologic response to neoadjuvant immune-checkpoint inhibitors in muscle-invasive bladder cancer Robertson AG, Meghani K, Cooley LF et al. Nature Communications (2023) 14(7)
Nivolumab plus Gemcitabine-Cisplatin in Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma van der Heijden MS, Sonpavde G, Powles T et al. The New England journal of medicine (2023) 389(7) 1778-1789
Standard Versus Modified Ipilimumab, in Combination With Nivolumab, in Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Randomized Phase II Trial (PRISM). Vasudev NS, Ainsworth G, Brown S et al. J Clin Oncol (2023) (2) JCO2300236
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37931206
Atezolizumab plus Magrolimab, Niraparib, or Tocilizumab versus Atezolizumab Monotherapy in Platinum-Refractory Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma: A Phase Ib/II Open-Label, Multicenter, Randomized Umbrella Study (MORPHEUS Urothelial Carcinoma) Drakaki A, Powles T, Bamias A et al. Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (2023) 29(7) 4373-4384
Corrigendum to “Pembrolizumab Plus Axitinib Versus Sunitinib as First-line Treatment of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma: 43-month Follow-up of the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-426 Study” [Eur. Urol. (2023)] (European Urology (2023) 84(5) (449–454), (S0302283823029019), (10.1016/j.eururo.2023.06.006)) Plimack ER, Powles T, Stus V et al. European Urology (2023) 84(7) e123-e124
Pembrolizumab Plus Axitinib Versus Sunitinib as First-line Treatment of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma: 43-month Follow-up of the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-426 Study Plimack ER, Powles T, Stus V et al. European Urology (2023) 84(7) 449-454
Characterization of Patients with Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Undergoing Deferred, Upfront, or No Cytoreductive Nephrectomy in the Era of Combination Immunotherapy: Results from the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium. Takemura K, Ernst MS, Navani V et al. Eur Urol Oncol (2023) (2)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37914579
LITESPARK-012: pembrolizumab plus lenvatinib with or without belzutifan or quavonlimab for advanced renal cell carcinoma. Choueiri TK, Powles T, Voss MH et al. Future Oncol (2023) (2)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37882432
The cancer-immunity cycle: Indication, genotype, and immunotype Mellman I, Chen DS, Powles T et al. Immunity (2023) 56(7) 2188-2205
Definitions, End Points, and Clinical Trial Designs for Bladder Cancer: Recommendations From the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer and the International Bladder Cancer Group. Kamat AM, Apolo AB, Babjuk M et al. J Clin Oncol (2023) (2) JCO2300307
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37793077
Biography
Professor Thomas Powles is the Chair of Barts Cancer Centre, London, one of the UK’s largest Cancer Centres. He leads the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre and Biomedical Research Cancer Grants at Barts Health and Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London.
He has led 23 randomised cancer trials, including studies that resulted in multiple EMA and FDA approvals. He has also led clinical and high-impact translational science projects, leading to over 20 articles in New England journal of Medicine, Nature and Nature Medicine.
He has an H-index of over 100 and has given plenary presentations at all the major cancer meetings. He co-leads the Uromigos podcast, which has 400,000 listens, and European Guidelines for GU cancer. He is editor-in-chief of the Annals of Oncology Journal.
In 2023 he was selected a Nature’s 10 global scientist and in 2024 TIME magazine's 100 Healthcare List.