Long-term survival following anti-PD-(L)1 monotherapy in advanced urothelial cancer and an assessment of potential prognostic clinical factors: a multicentre observational study

• Published in: BJC Reports Vol. 2; no. 1; pp. 1 - 8
• Main Authors: Stockem, Chantal F., Einerhand, Sarah M. H., Rodríguez, Isabel Miras, Salhi, Youssra, Pérez, Esther, Bakaloudi, Dimitra R., Talukder, Rafee, Caramelo, Belen, Morales-Barrera, Rafael, De Meulenaere, Astrid, Rametta, Alessandro, Bottelli, Andrea, Lefort, Felix, Giannatempo, Patrizia, Vulsteke, Christof, Carles, Joan, Duran, Ignacio, Grivas, Petros, de Liaño, Alfonso Gómez, Robbrecht, Debbie G. J., Valderrama, Begoña P., van der Noort, Vincent, van der Heijden, Michiel S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 23.10.2024; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cancer Research; Oncology
• ISSN: 2731-9377
• DOI: 10.1038/s44276-024-00104-3

Background Anti-PD-(L)1 agent are approved as first- and second-line treatment options in advanced urothelial cancer (UC), but information about long-term survival is scarce. There is a need for prognostic factors, as these may help in the decision-making concerning anti-PD-(L)1 in patients with UC. Here, we examined long-term survival following anti-PD-(L)1 in advanced UC and assessed clinical factors for their correlation with survival. Methods We collected data from patients with advanced UC treated with anti-PD-(L)1 between 2013 and 2023. Overall- and progression-free survival (OS, PFS) were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method. Independent variables were analysed by uni- and multivariate Cox regression for their association with OS and PFS. Results Survival analyses included 552 patients. Patient characteristics in our cohort were consistent with those of a typical advanced UC population. After median follow-up of 49 months, five-year OS and PFS rates were 16.0% and 6.9% respectively. The absence of visceral and/or bone metastases and elevated C-reactive protein level, gamma-glutamyltransferase level and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio were identified as favourable prognostic factors for OS. Conclusions A selected subset of patients with advanced UC may experience long-term clinical benefit from anti-PD-(L)1 treatment. We identified prognostic factors that might be used for risk assessment and clinical trial stratification.