Prognostic factors in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma who have treated with Atezolizumab

Prognostic role of circulating cytokines and inflammation indexes for avelumab maintenance in metastatic urothelial carcinoma

Background

Avelumab maintenance after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy represents a cornerstone for the treatment of metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC). However, identifying prognostic biomarkers is paramount for optimizing patients' benefits while minimizing toxicity. Cytokines represent circulating mediators of the complex interaction between cancer, the immune system, and inflammation. Inflammation, a hallmark of cancer, can be expressed by circulating factors. In different tumor subtypes, peripheral blood biomarkers, such as circulating cytokines, and systemic inflammatory indexes, have been addressed as potential prognostic factors for immune checkpoint inhibitors. However, their role in mUC still needs to be determined.

Methods

Between February 2021 and April 2023, we prospectively collected plasma cytokines and inflammation indexes in 28 patients with mUC before starting avelumab as first-line maintenance. The primary endpoint was the relationship between baseline cytokines and inflammatory indexes with the clinical benefit (CB), defined as the number of Responders. Secondary endpoints included the correlation of baseline cytokines and inflammatory indexes with progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and the number and grade of immune-related adverse events.

Results

High pre-treatment levels of interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-2, and low levels of IL-6, IL-8, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), and systemic-inflammation index (SII) were associated with clinical benefit and longer survival. In the multivariate analysis, low IL-8, NLR, and SII levels maintained a positive prognostic value for OS.

Conclusion

Our data suggest that, in mUC patients receiving avelumab, pre-treatment levels of plasma cytokines and inflammatory indexes may serve as potential prognostic biomarkers for response and efficacy. In particular, patients with signs of pre-therapeutic inflammation showed a significantly lower response and survival to avelumab. On the contrary, low systemic inflammation and high levels of cytokines characterized responders and longer survivors.

Tumor-associated neutrophils suppress CD8+ T cell immunity in urothelial bladder carcinoma through the COX-2/PGE2/IDO1 Axis

BACKGROUND

Many urothelial bladder carcinoma (UBC) patients don't respond to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy, possibly due to tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) suppressing lymphocyte immune response.

METHODS

We conducted a meta-analysis on the predictive value of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in ICB response and investigated TANs' role in UBC. We used RNA-sequencing, HALO spatial analysis, single-cell RNA-sequencing, and flow cytometry to study the impacts of TANs and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) on IDO1 expression. Animal experiments evaluated celecoxib's efficacy in targeting PGE2 synthesis.

RESULTS

Our analysis showed that higher TAN infiltration predicted worse outcomes in UBC patients receiving ICB therapy. Our research revealed that TANs promote IDO1 expression in cancer cells, resulting in immunosuppression. We also found that PGE2 synthesized by COX-2 in neutrophils played a key role in upregulating IDO1 in cancer cells. Animal experiments showed that targeting PGE2 synthesis in neutrophils with celecoxib enhanced the efficacy of ICB treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

TAN-secreted PGE2 upregulates IDO1, dampening T cell function in UBC. Celecoxib targeting of PGE2 synthesis represents a promising approach to enhance ICB efficacy in UBC.

Prognostic role of systemic inflammation indexes in metastatic urothelial carcinoma treated with immunotherapy

Aims

Inflammation indexes had been associated with overall survival (OS) and immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Materials & methods

in 72 patients treated with ICIs for metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) we evaluate differences in OS, response rate and toxicities, according to baseline inflammation indexes values.

Results

neutrophil-to-lymphocite ratio (NLR) <3 was associated to longer progression-free survival (PFS; 4.9 vs 3.1 months) and OS (15.7 vs 7.6 months); monocyte-to-lymphocite ratio (MLR) <0.4 was associated to longer PFS (4.6 vs 2.8 months). Overall response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR) were higher in these patients. Patients with an irAE had longer PFS and OS.

Conclusion

baseline inflammatory indexes are prognostic for mUC patients treated with ICIs.

Effect of liver metastasis on the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer patients: a systemic review and meta-analysis

Liver metastasis is a frequent phenomenon in advanced tumor disease. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are a new class of therapeutics that can improve the prognosis of cancer patients. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the relationship between liver metastasis and survival outcomes of patients receiving ICIs treatment. We searched four main databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were the survival outcomes of our concern. Hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to evaluate the relationship between liver metastasis and OS/ PFS. Finally, 163 articles were included in the study. The pooled results showed that patients with liver metastasis receiving ICIs treatment had worse OS (HR=1.82, 95%CI:1.59-2.08) and PFS (HR=1.68, 95%CI:1.49-1.89) than patients without liver metastasis. The effect of liver metastasis on ICIs efficacy differed in different tumor types, and patients with urinary system tumors (renal cell carcinoma OS: HR=2.47, 95%CI:1.76-3.45; urothelial carcinoma OS: HR=2.37, 95%CI:2.03-2.76) had the worst prognosis, followed by patients with melanoma (OS: HR=2.04, 95%CI:1.68-2.49) or non-small cell lung cancer (OS: HR=1.81, 95%CI:1.72-1.91). ICIs efficacy in digestive system tumors (colorectal cancer OS: HR=1.35, 95%CI:1.07-1.71; gastric cancer/ esophagogastric cancer OS: HR=1.17, 95%CI:0.90-1.52) was less affected, and peritoneal metastasis and the number of metastases have a greater clinical significance than liver metastasis based on univariate data. For cancer patients receiving ICIs treatment, the occurrence of liver metastasis is associated with poor prognosis. Different cancer types and metastatic sites may hold a different prognostic effect on the efficacy of ICIs treatment in cancer patients.

Impact of Performance Status on Oncologic Outcomes in Patients with Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

CONTEXT

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are widely used in the management of patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC). However, its performance in aUC patients with poor performance status (PS) remains unknown.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to assess the impact of patients' performance status on the oncologic outcomes in patients with aUC treated with ICIs.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus from inception until July 2022 to identify studies assessing the association between the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) PS and the oncologic outcomes in patients with aUC treated with ICIs in randomised (RCTs) and nonrandomised (NRCTs) control studies according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement. The outcomes of our interests were overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), progression-free survival (PFS), and objective response rate (ORR).

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

Overall, six RCTs comprising 5428 patients and 32 NRCTs comprising 6069 patients were included. The meta-analysis of the RCTs revealed that patients with ECOG PS = 0 and PS ≥1 had a trend towards better OS with ICIs compared with those treated with chemotherapy (pooled hazard ratio [HR]: 0.86, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.71-1.04, and HR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.53-1.03, respectively). There was no significant difference in terms of response to ICIs between patients with poor and good PS (I² = 0%, p = 0.46). The meta-analysis of the NRCTs revealed that patients with PS ≥2 had significantly worse OS than those with PS <2 (pooled HR: 2.52, 95% CI: 2.00-3.17), as well as worse CSS (pooled HR: 3.35, 95% CI: 1.90-5.91), PFS (pooled HR: 2.89, 95% CI: 1.67-5.01), and ORR (pooled odds ratio: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.27-0.82). Similarly, patients with PS ≥1 had significantly worse oncologic outcomes than those with PS = 0.

CONCLUSIONS

In the NRCTs, poor PS was correlated with worse oncologic outcomes in aUC patients treated with ICIs. In the RCTs, ICIs performed better than chemotherapy across all PS categories. These findings should be interpreted with caution due to the high heterogeneity across the studies and patient populations. More RCTs including poor PS are needed to assess the impact of PS on ICI therapy outcomes.

PATIENT SUMMARY

Immune therapy for patients with urothelial carcinoma should not be restricted on the grounds of performance status. However, patients with poor performance status should be considered for other factors such as life expectancy and comorbidities.

Five-Year Outcome and Safety in Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Blockade Therapies for Urothelial Carcinoma: Experience From Real-World Clinical Practice

BACKGROUND

In this study, we report real-world results from the 5-year follow-up data of urothelial carcinoma patients treated with immune checkpoint blockade therapies (ICTs).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Metastatic urothelial carcinoma patients treated with at least one course of ICT were included in the study. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR), and secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), duration of treatment with ICT, and safety. Median follow-up, PFS, and OS were estimated by using the Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS

Data of 201 eligible patients were analyzed. The median age of the patients was 66 (37-86) years, and 156 (84.3%) were male. The majority of patients (94.6%) had Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) PS scores of 0 to 1 and primary tumor in the bladder was predominant (87.5%). The median follow-up time was 54 (1.15-65) months. The rate of complete response (CR) to ICT, partial response (PR) rate, and ORR were 10.4% (n = 21), 22.4% (n = 45), and 32.4% (n = 66), respectively. The median duration of response (DOR) was 34.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 29.2-42.1). Of the 66 patients who responded to treatment, 28 (42%) had an ongoing response at the time of the analysis. Median PFS and OS were 3.8 (2.6-5.8) months and 9.4 (7.4-11.4) months, respectively. The 5-year PFS and OS rates were 9.8% and 12.8%, respectively. Fifty-eight percent of patients experienced a treatment-related adverse event of any grade, and 33 (16.4%) patients had a grade 3 to 4 adverse event.

CONCLUSION

This 5-year analysis of real-world data confirms the durable response and long-term survival with ICT in metastatic urothelial carcinoma patients.

Treatment Options for Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma After First-Line Chemotherapy

Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is a frequently diagnosed tumor and an important cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Until a few years ago, despite the unquestioned role of platinum-based chemotherapy, therapeutic choices beyond the first line were limited and related to unsatisfactory outcomes. Metastatic UC has always been associated with a poor prognosis, with overall survival only slightly above a year. In the recent past, huge progress has been made in our understanding of the molecular and genomic disease characteristics, to enable stratification of patients in terms of prognosis and treatment responses. Unfortunately, we still do not have the perfect combination of clinical biomarkers to tailor the optimal treatment for each patient, despite making several efforts in this direction. The therapeutic arsenal has been augmented by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), which nowadays represent the backbone of the second-line setting. Equally revolutionary was the FDA's approval of erdafitinib, a potent fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitor, the use of which is reserved for patients whose tumor harbors specific FGF pathway alterations. Recently, the therapeutic landscape of metastatic UC has been enhanced by the introduction of novel compounds, consisting of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Enfortumab vedotin is an antibody targeting nectin-4, a cell adhesion molecule highly expressed in UC, conjugated to monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), a microtubule-disrupting agent. Sacituzumab govitecan is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting Trop-2, a transmembrane glycoprotein, conjugated to the active metabolite of irinotecan. These two compounds have received accelerated approval by the FDA in patients pretreated with platinum-based chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Several ongoing trials are investigating the role of ICIs combined with chemotherapy, antiangiogenic drugs, or other ICIs, as well as the efficacy of PARP inhibitors and target therapies, hoping to provide information for some important unmet needs. In this review, we aim to evaluate the current potential treatment options after first-line chemotherapy.