Despite advances in treatment, there remains a significant unmet need in patients with advanced or metastatic bladder cancer.
Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy is an important treatment choice for these patients.
Higher ORRs have been observed in patients with high PD-L1 expression versus those with low/negative PD-L1 expression.
Staining tumour samples for PD-L1 expression can inform treatment decisions.
Unmet need in bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is the ninth most common cancer worldwide, with ~430,000 new cases diagnosed in 2012.1
Despite advances in treatment, the prognosis for patients with bladder cancer, and in particular advanced or metastatic disease, remains poor.2–4
Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy is an important treatment choice in bladder cancer
The PD-1/PD-L1 pathway is an important checkpoint used by tumour cells to inhibit antitumour responses.5
Levels of tumour PD-L1 expression in UC correlate with disease severity and outcomes.5
Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy has been associated with antitumour activity in bladder cancer
Blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy has been associated with antitumour activity and clinical benefit in patients with UC.5–11
Higher ORRs have been observed in patients with tumours characterised by high PD-L1 expression compared with tumours characterised by low PD-L1 expression.6–8,10,11
PD-L1 testing can inform treatment decisions
Determining tumour PD-L1 expression status in UC tumours can help inform physicians and patients about the likelihood of response to immunotherapy with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 agents.5
