About

Trinity J. Bivalacqua, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He is an active urologist practicing at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. Dr. Bivalacqua serves as the Co-Director of the Genitourinary Cancer Service Line at the Abramson Cancer Center and is the Director of Urologic Oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. His department is Surgery, specifically within the Division of Urology. His educational background includes a B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Tulane University and an M.D./Ph.D. from Tulane University School of Medicine. His professional focus encompasses urologic oncology, with particular expertise in bladder cancer, penile reconstruction, and ischemic priapism. He is involved in research related to cancer treatment, tissue engineering, and disease mechanisms, contributing to the advancement of urological surgical practices and cancer therapies.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Oncology
• Urology
• Gynecology
• Pathology
• Radiology

Selected publications

• ABLE-32: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED, PHASE 3B CLINICAL TRIAL OF NADOFARAGENE FIRADENOVEC-VNCG VERSUS OBSERVATION IN PATIENTS WITH INTERMEDIATE-RISK NON–MUSCLE-INVASIVE BLADDER CANCER

  Urologic Oncology Seminars and Original Investigations · 2025-02-27

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• DO THE METASTATIC PATTERNS OF SEMINOMA SUPPORT PRIMARY RPLND AS THE TREATMENT OF CHOICE IN STAGE II SEMINOMA COMPARED TO NON-SEMINOMA?

  Urologic Oncology Seminars and Original Investigations · 2025-02-27

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Urine Tumor DNA to Stratify the Risk of Recurrence in Patients Treated with Atezolizumab for Bacillus Calmette-Guérin–unresponsive Non–muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer

  European Urology · 2025-05-21 · 14 citations

  articleOpen access

  Urine DNA profiling stratified the risk of recurrence after treatment with atezolizumab in patients with bacillus Calmette-Guérin–unresponsive non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Patients with positive urine findings had fewer complete responses and exhibited worse event-free survival, highlighting the potential of this test to guide early treatment decisions. As new treatments for bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) emerge, better methods are needed to guide therapeutic decisions. This study analyzed urine tumor DNA (utDNA) from patients treated with atezolizumab in the SWOG S1605 trial to determine whether utDNA profiling can stratify the risk of treatment failure. Urine samples were analyzed using the UroAmp assay at baseline and 3 mo from 89 and 77 patients, respectively. Only 13% of UroAmp-positive patients at baseline achieved a complete response at 6 mo compared with 71% of UroAmp-negative patients ( p < 0.001). The 18-mo event-free survival (EFS) was significantly lower for UroAmp-positive patients at baseline (23%) than for UroAmp-negative patients (51%; hazard ratio [HR] 2.8, p < 0.001). Among patients with no clinical evidence of disease at 3 mo ( n = 51), the 18-mo EFS was 38% for UroAmp-positive and 86% for UroAmp-negative (HR 3.5, p = 0.01) patients. These findings suggest that utDNA profiling at baseline and after 3 mo of treatment can help identify patients with BCG-unresponsive NMIBC who are less likely to benefit from systemic immunotherapy.

  PublisherDOI

• Molecular Characterization of N-Methyl-N-Nitrosourea (Mnu)-Induced Urothelial Carcinoma in a Rat Model Reveals Hallmarks of Both Luminal and Basal Subtypes

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• MP19-11 THE PENN COHORT: CAN MRI "DECIPHER" YOUR PROSTATE RISK?

  The Journal of Urology · 2025-04-08

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Case study: Pulsed electric field ablation for salvage prostate cancer ablation

  Urology Case Reports · 2025-03-27

  articleOpen access

  Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) ablation is an emerging non-thermal ablation device with previous uses in lung, liver and sarcoma cancers. We present a case of prostate cancer recurrence post-radiation managed with PEF ablation. Under transperineal guidance, targeted PEF was delivered to the area of concern on previous biopsies and PSMA. In follow up the patient had a marked decline in PSA levels and resolution on follow-up PSMA. The patient experienced no significant side effects, preserving urinary continence and sexual function. These outcomes underscore PEF ablation's potential as a safe and effective salvage therapy with minimal impact on quality of life.

  PublisherDOI

• Adopting the Fruits of Innovation: Using New Drugs to Treat Nonmuscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

  The Journal of Urology · 2025-10-21

  editorial1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• PIVOT-006: A PHASE 3, RANDOMIZED STUDY OF ADJUVANT INTRAVESICAL CRETOSTIMOGENE GRENADENOREPVEC VERSUS SURVEILLANCE FOR THE TREATMENT OF INTERMEDIATE-RISK NON-MUSCLE INVASIVE BLADDER CANCER

  Urologic Oncology Seminars and Original Investigations · 2025-02-27

  article
  PublisherDOI

• The Role of Liquid Biopsy in the Management of Patients with Genitourinary Malignancies

  European Urology · 2025-08-19 · 6 citations

  review
  PublisherDOI

• FINAL RESULTS: BOND-003 COHORT C- PHASE 3, SINGLE-ARM STUDY OF INTRAVESICAL CRETOSTIMOGENE GRENADENOREPVEC FOR HIGH-RISK BCG-UNRESPONSIVE NON-MUSCLE INVASIVE BLADDER CANCER WITH CARCINOMA IN SITU

  The Journal of Urology · 2025-04-25 · 13 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant K08DK090370

  NIH · $794k · 2017

• NIH Grant R03DK101701

  NIH · $162k · 2016

Frequent coauthors

• Max Kates

  Johns Hopkins University

  306 shared

• Noah M. Hahn

  Johns Hopkins Medicine

  207 shared

• Hunter C. Champion

  Unité de Nutrition Humaine

  189 shared

• Arthur L. Burnett

  Johns Hopkins University

  179 shared

• George J. Netto

  University of Alabama at Birmingham

  168 shared

• Phillip M. Pierorazio

  155 shared

• Shahrokh F. Shariat

  Medical University of Vienna

  151 shared

• David J. McConkey

  146 shared