Ces Urol 2022, 26(3):165-173 | DOI: 10.48095/cccu2022019

Current overview of the role of immunotherapy in onco‑urology

Jiřina Bartůňková, Zuzana Střížová, Daniel Smrž

Ústav imunologie 2. lékařské fakulty a Fakultní nemocnice v Motole, Praha

Bartůňková J, Střížová Z, Smrž D. Current overview of the role of immunotherapy in onco-urology. Immunotherapy was shown to be a crucial therapeutic modality in the treatment of cancer. The efficacy of immunotherapy in late stage clinical trials has allowed immunotherapy to become a standard of care for first-line therapy in onco-urology. The major therapeutic impact is currently attributed to the effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). ICIs are monoclonal antibodies that target the inhibitory receptors of T cells, thus allowing a significant potentiation of anti-cancer T cell cytotoxicity. Since the approach is rather non-specific, several adverse events (AEs) were reported. These AEs are mostly of autoimmune nature but can be treated and clinically managed. Despite immunotherapy being largely efficient in certain cancer types, other malignancies, such as prostate cancer, still exhibit only limited treatment responses. For that reason, other immunotherapeutic approaches are currently being investigated in prostate cancer. Furthermore, combinatorial approaches bring a great deal of promise. Currently, the major goal is to understand immunotherapeutic combinations that have the highest potential to effectively treat cancer and have the lowest frequency of AEs. Moreover, the quality of life in patients with late-stage cancer is of highest priority and must be ensured in patients treated with combination of different therapeutic modalities

Keywords: Immunotherapy, checkpoint inhibitors, prostate carcinoma, kidney cancer, urothelial cancer.

Received: March 6, 2022; Accepted: May 16, 2022; Prepublished online: July 11, 2022; Published: September 21, 2022