Chemotherapy Plus Immune Check-Point Inhibitors in Metastatic Bladder Cancer

• DOI: 10.3233/blc-190260
• Publication Date: 2020-02-14T14:23:04Z
• Authors: Adriana Soares; Rafael Carmo; Catarina Rodrigues; Inês Teles Grilo; Enrique Grande
• Keywords: 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; 3. Good health

Urothelial tumors are one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide. Cisplatin-based chemotherapy has been the standard first-line treatment for metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC). After nearly three decades of limited advances in the treatment, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are now available. Responses to immunotherapy (IO) may be long lasting and sustained but only occur in 20–30% of patients. Studies have shown that combining IO with different targeted therapies can lead to potentiating effects with promising results. The first result combining ICI plus chemotherapy shows positive outcomes over standard-of-care in first line mUC. The aim of this article is to review the results, the benefits and new challenges that the combination of chemotherapy and IO can bring to patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma.