Emerging strategy for the treatment of urothelial carcinoma: Advances in antibody-drug conjugates combination therapy

Abstract

Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is a prevalent malignant tumor involving the urinary system. Although there are various treatment modalities, including surgery, chemotherapy, and immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy, some patients experience disease recurrence and metastasis with poor prognosis and dismal long-term survival. Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), which combine the targeting ability of antibody drugs with the cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs, have recently emerged as a prominent research focus in the development of individualized precision cancer therapy. Although ADCs have improved the overall response rate in patients with UC, their effectiveness remains limited. Currently, ADC-based combination therapies, particularly ADC combined with ICIs, have demonstrated promising efficacy. This combination approach has advanced the treatment of UC, exhibiting the potential to become the standard first-line therapy for advanced UC in the future. This article reviewed clinical trials involving ADC-based combination therapy for UC and discussed the possible challenges and future perspectives to provide guidance for the clinical treatment of UC.

Keywords

• Antibody–drug conjugates
• Chemotherapy
• Combination therapy
• Immune checkpoint inhibitors
• Urothelial carcinoma