[Molecular tumor board-urothelial cancer]

Abstract

Background: Molecular tumor boards (MTB) are becoming more common. There are several molecular alterations in urothelial cancer a molecular tumor board can potentially rely on.

Objectives: The aim is to specify molecular alterations and their correlations with different clinical endpoints and to highlight potential questions addressed to a MTB for urothelial cancer.

Materials and methods: Descriptive review of the literature based on PubMed.

Results: The landscape of molecular alterations in urothelial cancer is heterogeneous. Thus, recent biomarker research has been focusing on biomarker panels and classifiers instead of single biomarkers. Recently, molecular subtypes of urothelial cancer have been identified and correlated with different clinical endpoints. Furthermore, circulating tumor cells and tumor DNA are under investigation as potential biomarkers. In addition to treatment response and prognosis, molecular markers are also needed to improve clinical staging prior to radical cystectomy or for proper patient selection for neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Erdafitinib is the first targeted therapy (fibroblast growth factor receptor [FGFR] alteration) in urothelial cancer that was recently approved (in the USA).

Conclusions: Due to the lack of external validation, none of the identified biomarkers is currently established in clinical routine. In addition, there is no single driver mutation in urothelial cancer that facilitates the development of biomarkers and targeted therapies.

Keywords: Alteration, molecular; Biomarkers, cancer; Predictive marker; Prognostic marker.