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Role of immunotherapy in bladder cancer: past, present and future

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Abstract

As research focus in oncology has recently shifted from oral targeted therapy to immunomodulation, the era of successful drug development in bladder cancer has just begun. This has led to unprecedented approval of five immunotherapeutic agents by regulatory agencies for metastatic bladder cancer within a span of 12 months. With an initial triumph of anti-programmed cell death-1 (anti-PD-1) and anti-programmed cell death ligand-1 (anti-PDL-1) drugs, ongoing efforts are aimed at identification and validation of new druggable immune targets to consolidate the initial gains. In this paper, we review the role of immunotherapy in the treatment of bladder cancer as well as the various emerging immunotherapeutic agents and their possible use in bladder cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, The Canberra Hospital, Garran, ACT, 2605, Australia

    Sabeeh-ur-Rehman Butt & Laeeq Malik

  2. ANU Medical School, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia

    Laeeq Malik

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  1. Sabeeh-ur-Rehman Butt
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  2. Laeeq Malik
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Correspondence to Sabeeh-ur-Rehman Butt.

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Butt, SuR., Malik, L. Role of immunotherapy in bladder cancer: past, present and future. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 81, 629–645 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-018-3518-7

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