Immunotherapeutic strategies for high-risk bladder cancer.
Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), which is the pathological diagnosis for the majority of bladder cancers, is a solid tumor entity that is responsive to immunotherapy as evidenced by a substantial cure rate documented with the use of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy in selected patients with high-grade superficial disease. The nonspecific immune modulation that occurs as a result of BCG therapy is not well understood; however, the success of BCG therapy provides a basis for the exploration of mechanisms related to immune responses and the development of novel immunotherapeutic agents for the treatment of high-risk disease. In this review, we discuss the complexity of the immune system and therapies that are considered capable of manipulating it to potentially benefit patients with bladder cancer.
Sharma
Padmanee
P
Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and Immunology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA. padsharma@mdanderson.org
Old
Lloyd J
LJ
Allison
James P
JP
D001500:BCG Vaccine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002295:Carcinoma, Transitional Cell / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy*
D001500:BCG Vaccine