Immune checkpoint inhibitors as a real hope in advanced urothelial carcinoma
- PMID: 30457576
- PMCID: PMC6234462
- DOI: 10.4155/fsoa-2018-0033
Immune checkpoint inhibitors as a real hope in advanced urothelial carcinoma
Abstract
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.
Keywords: atezolizumab; avelumab; durvalumab; gene signature; immune checkpoint inhibitors; immunotherapy; nivolumab; pembrolizumab; programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1); urothelial carcinoma.
Conflict of interest statement
Financial & competing interests disclosure The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
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