The Evolution of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma.
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SUBMITTER: Houssiau H
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8997155 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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The Evolution of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma.
Houssiau Hélène H Seront Emmanuel E
Cancers 20220324 7
Urothelial carcinoma is an aggressive cancer and development of metastases remains a challenge for clinicians. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are significantly improving the outcomes of patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC). These agents were first used in monotherapy after failure of platinum-based chemotherapy, but different strategies explored the optimal use of ICIs in a first-line metastatic setting. The "maintenance" strategy consists of the introduction of ICIs in patients ...[more]
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Project description:Metastatic urothelial cancer is an aggressive disease associated with a poor prognosis. In the first-line setting, platinum-based chemotherapy is the standard of care but resistance rapidly occurs. After failure of platinum-based therapy and in cisplatin-ineligible patients, therapeutic options are limited. Malignant cells evolve mechanisms to evade immune recognition, including the expression of cell-surface molecules, named immune checkpoints, on tumor and tumor-specific lymphocytes. Immunotherapy, by targeting these checkpoints, represents a new tool to improve the patient outcome in advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC). Recently, the US FDA approved, in a short time, several immune checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic UC, both after failure of platinum-based therapy and in first-line setting in cisplatin-ineligible patients. This article aims to review the place of immunotherapy in advanced UC.
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Project description:BackgroundSites of metastasis have prognostic significance in advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC), but more information is needed regarding outcomes based on metastatic sites in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). We hypothesized that presence of liver/bone metastases would be associated with worse outcomes with ICI.MethodsWe identified a retrospective cohort of patients with aUC across 26 institutions, collecting demographics, clinicopathological, treatment, and outcomes information. Outcomes were compared with logistic (observed response rate; ORR) and Cox (progression-free survival; PFS, overall survival; OS) regression between patients with/without metastasis beyond lymph nodes (LN) and those with/without bone/liver/lung metastasis. Analysis was stratified by 1st or 2nd+ line.ResultsWe identified 917 ICI-treated patients: in the 1st line, bone/liver metastases were associated with shorter PFS (Hazard ratio; HR: 1.65 and 2.54), OS (HR: 1.60 and 2.35, respectively) and lower ORR (OR: 0.48 and 0.31). In the 2nd+ line, bone/liver metastases were associated with shorter PFS (HR: 1.71 and 1.62), OS (HR: 1.76 and 1.56) and, for bone-only metastases, lower ORR (OR: 0.29). In the 1st line, LN-confined metastasis was associated with longer PFS (HR: 0.53), OS (HR:0.49) and higher ORR (OR: 2.97). In the 2nd+ line, LN-confined metastasis was associated with longer PFS (HR: 0.47), OS (HR: 0.54), and higher ORR (OR: 2.79); all associations were significant.ConclusionBone and/or liver metastases were associated with worse, while LN-confined metastases were associated with better outcomes in patients with aUC receiving ICI. These findings in a large population treated outside clinical trials corroborate data from trial subset analyses.
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