Introduction: There are substantial unmet needs with regards to adjuvant therapy for muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the bladder, including patients with persistent disease histologically following neoadjuvant platinum-based therapy and radical resection, as well as patients who are not eligible for or refuse cytotoxic chemotherapy. As such, increased interest has been developed in advancing the use of systemic immunotherapy in the postoperative setting.
Areas covered: We begin by examining current uses of systemic immunotherapy in the treatment of advanced UC. We also review emerging neoadjuvant data and describe current adjuvant approaches. We then report and analyze data on adjuvant immunotherapy, including the recent randomized trials on adjuvant nivolumab and atezolizumab, and conclude with a discussion on the available evidence and likely directions of the field.
Expert opinion: Systemic immunotherapy can serve to enhance postoperative therapies for muscle-invasive bladder UC, as exemplified by the recent approval of nivolumab. Further research will serve to define optimal immunotherapy timing and combinations with other systemic therapies, as well as identify predictive biomarkers to allow effective tailoring of therapy for each patient.
Keywords: Adjuvant; bladder; carcinoma; immunotherapy; muscle-invasive; review; urothelial.