title: Immunotherapy advances in uro-genital malignancies.
abstract: Immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer has made significant progresses over the last 20 years. Multiple efforts have been attempted to restore immune-mediated tumor elimination, leading to the development of several targeted immunotherapies. Data from recent clinical trials suggest that these agents might improve the prognosis of patients with advanced genito-urinary (GU) malignancies. Nivolumab has been the first immune checkpoint-inhibitor approved for pre-treated patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Pembrolizumab and atezolizumab have shown promising results in both phase I and II trials in urothelial carcinoma. Brentuximab vedotin has demonstrated early signals of clinical activity and immunomodulatory effects in highly pre-treated patients with testicular germ cell tumors. In this review, we have summarized the major clinical achievements of immunotherapy in GU cancers, focusing on immune checkpoint blockade as well as the new immunomodulatory monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) under clinical evaluation for these malignancies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Fondazione IRCSS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ratta
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Collaborative and Swim Across America Laboratory, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zappasodi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Fondazione IRCSS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raggi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Fondazione IRCSS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grassi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Fondazione IRCSS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Verzoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Fondazione IRCSS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Necchi
authors.affiliation: Unit of Immunotherapy and Anticancer Innovative Therapeutics, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Nicola
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Urology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salvioni
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Fondazione IRCSS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Braud
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Fondazione IRCSS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: giuseppe.procopio@istitutotumori.mi.it.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Procopio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D014565:Urogenital Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D019496:Cancer Vaccines
keywords: CTLA-4; Cancer immunotherapy; Immune checkpoint inhibitors; Monoclonal antibodies; PD-1; Prostate cancer; Renal cell carcinoma; Urothelial cancer