Bladder cancer is the 10th leading cause of cancer death in the United States. It was estimated over 84,0000 people were diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2025 and over 17,000 individuals succumbed to their disease. The bladder cancer therapeutic landscape is rapidly evolving, with advancements in both detection and available treatment options. Moreover, delivery of optimal bladder cancer care requires multi-disciplinary teams including urologists, medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists, key advanced practice providers and patient navigators. Patients with bladder cancer are treated in diverse practice settings and their experiences can be uniquely complex and stressful.

Recognizing the need to improve the experience and quality of care for patients with bladder cancer, Pfizer Global Medical Grants, working with Conquer Cancer’s EveryGrant, funded 6 new quality improvement grants through the “Optimizing the Experience of Patients with Bladder Cancer Through Multi-Disciplinary Care” program, powered by EveryGrant.® The 6 grants totaling approximately $1.5 million focused on addressing the gaps that impact the experiences and outcomes of patients with bladder cancer.

This is the fifth grant program funded by Pfizer and developed by EveryGrant, an end-to-end grants management service by Conquer Cancer. Designed specifically for the cancer community, EveryGrant acts as the liaison between researchers and grant programs. The first Pfizer supported program launched in 2021 and supported six research projects to identify and address disparities in the care of people living with metastatic breast cancer across the United States. Since then, the grant program was expanded on a global scale, including 9 grants in Latin America, 12 grants in Southeast Asia, and 12 grants in Sub-Saharan Africa. The current program, focused on bladder cancer care in the United States, is the first project to expand this model to other disease areas.  

In developing this quality improvement program supported by Pfizer, Conquer Cancer acted not only as project manager, but as a convener, engaging the broader bladder cancer community to design an impactful grant program. This involved convening a panel of experts, including medical oncologists, urologists, radiation oncologists, and patient advocates, at the 2025 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium to identify critical areas of need that could be addressed through a quality improvement initiative. Based on this feedback, Conquer Cancer worked with professional organizations, including ASTRO and LUGPA, to ensure the program would attract applicants from across the spectrum of bladder cancer care. To select the most impactful projects, Conquer Cancer assembled an external review panel of experts in bladder cancer, quality improvement, and patient advocates. This panel ensured that the 6 funded proposals met rigorous standards for patient impact, feasibility, and sustainability.

“The grant proposals displayed work ensuring bladder cancer patients receive quality care by leveraging technology, processes, and patient feedback. Utilization of Quality Improvement methodologies enhanced to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide patient education and empowerment to be their own best advocate to facilitate shared decision with the right provider” said patient advocate Darrel Nakagawa. “With significant improvement in approved therapies for all stages of bladder cancer, these projects focused on ensuring our systems enable quality care is exciting for the future of bladder cancer care for patients.”

“As a researcher and medical oncologist specializing in genitourinary cancers, I am thrilled to see these projects supported by Pfizer External Research & Grants,” said Benjamin Garmezy, MD, Associate Director of Genitourinary Cancer Research for Sarah Cannon Research Institute and chair of the grant review committee. “By exploring innovative approaches such as using electronic medical records more effectively, creating new communication tools, and facilitating more in-home support for patients, we are driving research to improve multi-disciplinary care and the overall experience and outcomes of patients with bladder cancer.”

Optimizing the Experience of Patients with Bladder Cancer Through Multi-Disciplinary Care Awardees:

Franklin Gaylis, MD 
Unio Health Partners
Torrance, California
“Optimizing the Experience of Patients with Bladder Cancer Through Multi-Disciplinary Care”

Michael Gong, MD 
The Ohio State University Medical Center 
Columbus, Ohio
“Empowering Bladder Cancer Patients Through Multidisciplinary Digital Navigation”

Daniel Lage, MD 
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 
New York, New York
“RECOVER-BC-Advanced: Post-Discharge Supportive Oncology at Home for Hospitalized Patients with Advanced Bladder Cancer”

Shalini Moningi, MD
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio
“Optimizing the Experience of Patients with Bladder Cancer Through Multi-Disciplinary Care”

Parminder Singh, MD 
Mayo Clinic Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
“Enhancing Bladder Cancer Care Through NLP-Supported Patient Tracking and Scheduling”

Justin Tang, MD 
Montefiore Medical Center 
New York, New York
“Enhancing Shared Decision-Making, Care Coordination, Symptom Monitoring, and Patient Satisfaction in Bladder Cancer Through a Customized Mobile Health Platform”

Conquer Cancer EveryGrant inquiries: Contact Andrew.smith@conquer.org