Treatment Patterns and Real-World Outcomes for Locally Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Cancer in the Era of Immunotherapy

Abstract

Background and objective: There are limited data on real-world outcomes for patients with advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) since immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) became available. Our objective was to analyze outcomes for patients with mUC since ICIs became available.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 131 patients with mUC attending the outpatient clinic of a single tertiary care center who received systemic therapy between June 2017 and July 2021 with follow-up up to December 2022. Summary and descriptive statistics were calculated for categorical and continuous variables. The Kaplan-Meier method was applied to calculate survival, and a Cox proportional-hazards model was used to explore associations between clinical variables and outcomes.

Key findings and limitations: The median patient age was 68 yr (range 35-90). The first systemic therapy administered was platinum-based in 79% of cases and ICI-based in 21%. Some 61% of the cohort received a second systemic treatment, with 75% of these an ICI. Median overall survival for the entire cohort was 24 mo (interquartile range 9-35). Patients on ICI therapy for ≥6 mo had median overall survival of 59 mo (95% confidence interval 39 mo-not reached). Metastatic sites on initiation of ICI therapy and C-reactive protein kinetics were prognostic in patients receiving ICIs. Limitations include the retrospective design and inherent selection bias.

Conclusions and clinical implications: More than 60% of patients with mUC received second-line treatment, and 75% of these received an ICI. Patients staying on immunotherapy for more than 6 mo have substantially better outcomes in comparison to patients with less time on immunotherapy and historical cohorts.

Patient summary: We looked at the lines of therapy and outcomes for patients with advanced or metastatic cancer of the urinary tract, starting from when immunotherapy drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) became available. We found that 60% of patients have received second-line therapy, which is a double the rate in comparison to historical groups of patients. Patients with long-term ICI therapy (>6 months) had significantly better outcomes, with a median survival of more than 3 years.

Keywords: Advanced urothelial cancer; Checkpoint inhibitor; Chemotherapy; Immunotherapy; Metastatic urothelial cancer; Overall survival; Progression-free survival.