Current Status and Future Perspectives of Immunotherapy for Locally Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma: A Comprehensive Review

Advancements in the understanding of tumor immunology in urothelial carcinoma (UC) have led to U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of five novel anti-programmed cell death protein-1/ligand 1 (PD-1/L1) checkpoint inhibitors. In 2017, the anti-PD-L1 antibody atezolizumab and the anti-PD-1 antibody pembrolizumab gained approval for use in cisplatin-ineligible patients with locally advanced and metastatic UC. These approvals were based on single-arm trials, IMvigor210 (atezolizumab) and KEYNOTE-052 (pembrolizumab). Since then, additional checkpoint inhibitors, including avelumab, durvalumab, and nivolumab, have gained approval. Preliminary results suggest additional benefits with combinations of these agents in both first- and subsequent-line therapies, inferring a paradigm shift in the future treatment approach in advanced UC. Ongoing clinical trials will investigate how to utilize predictive biomarkers for optimal patient selection and to incorporate immunotherapy into earlier lines of multimodal treatment. In this comprehensive review, we summarize the evidence supporting the use of checkpoint inhibitors for patients with UC, and highlight ongoing clinical trials that are investigating novel combinations of immunotherapy in various disease settings.

Current Status and Future Direction of Immunotherapy in Urothelial Carcinoma

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Since 2016, five new programmed cell death protein 1/ligand 1 (PD-1/L1) checkpoint inhibitors have been approved for metastatic urothelial carcinoma. This review will summarize the data supporting the widespread use of these agents and highlight areas of ongoing clinical development.

RECENT FINDINGS

PD-1/L1 axis inhibition has demonstrated clear superiority to chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic urothelial cancer in the second-line setting. A multitude of ongoing studies are investigating the feasibility and efficacy of incorporating established and novel immunotherapies into earlier lines of therapy, including non-metastatic muscle-invasive bladder cancer and even non-muscle-invasive disease. Early-phase clinical trials have begun to explore the safety and activity of novel immune-oncology combinations across a range of clinical settings. Immunotherapy has a clearly defined role in the treatment of metastatic urothelial cancer both in the platinum-refractory setting and in the first-line cisplatin-ineligible setting. Ongoing clinical trials will dictate how to best incorporate immunotherapy into earlier lines of therapy and define the safety and activity of novel immunotherapy agents and combinations.

The Role of Angiogenesis Inhibitors in the Era of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Targeted Therapy in Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

OPINION STATEMENT

The treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has evolved to include targeted therapy, immunotherapy as well as chemotherapy for selected patients in the first-line setting. Angiogenesis inhibitors have been used in combination with chemotherapy in the first-line and maintenance settings providing improved progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR), as well as overall survival (OS) in selected studies. Biologic rationale exists for combining anti-angiogenic agents with immunotherapy and targeted kinase inhibitors (TKIs). A recent study has demonstrated improved survival when anti-PD-L1 therapy was added to chemotherapy plus bevacizumab. Subgroup analysis of patients with mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene and rearrangements in the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene also demonstrated benefit with combined anti-PD-L1, bevacizumab, and platinum chemotherapy. Further investigation into combination therapy is warranted in the EGFR- and ALK-positive population given this signal. Anti-angiogenics combined with EGFR-targeted treatment in the wild-type population have shown modest PFS benefit with no OS benefit, and their routine use has not been adopted. The combination of EGFR inhibitors plus vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors in the EGFR mutation-positive population has demonstrated substantial improvements in response and PFS; however, given the higher toxicity and lack of survival benefit to date, combination therapy in this group should be used with caution. At the present time, use of bevacizumab can be recommended with atezolizumab and chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of non-squamous NSCLC patients. Data with other checkpoint inhibitors and anti-angiogenics are too early to make firm recommendations regarding their use.