Precision medicine for urothelial carcinoma: An international perspective

Abstract

The treatment landscape of urothelial cancers has evolved in the last decade with the approval of chemotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, targeted therapies, and antibody drug conjugates. Although improvements in response and survival have been achieved with these strategies, in some scenarios their benefit is still questionable. Current efforts to identify prognostic and predictive biomarkers are crucial for better patient selection and treatment outcomes. In this paper we will review the most promising biomarkers under investigation, such as molecular classifiers, genomic alterations, programmed cell death ligand 1 expression, tumor mutational burden, circulating tumor DNA, urinary biomarkers among others, for muscle invasive bladder cancer and metastatic urothelial cancers. Deeper understanding of these biomarkers will aid clinical decision-making and help tailor treatment strategies.

Keywords: Antibody drug conjugate; Bladder cancer; Checkpoint inhibitors; Immunotherapy; Precision medicine; Targeted therapy; Urothelial cancer.