title: The immune infiltrate in prostate, bladder and testicular tumors: An old friend for new challenges.
abstract: In genito-urinary tumors immunotherapy has been administered for a long time: Calmette-Guèrin Bacillus as adjuvant treatment in high risk patients with non muscle invasive urothelial bladder cancer and interleukin-2 and interferon-α in metastatic kidney cancer. The vaccine Sipuleucel-T has been approved by United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of castration resistant prostate cancer patients with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic disease, given the 22% reduction of mortality risk in this group. Recently immunotherapeutic agents targeting inhibitory immune checkpoint molecules lead to improved outcomes and lasting anti-tumor effects in a variety of hematological and solid malignancies, including urogenital tumors. The benefit from these treatments has been observed only in a proportion of subjects, raising a need in optimizing patients' selection for immune checkpoint blockade. The composition and activity of a pre-existing immune infiltrate may aid in identifying ideal candidates to immunotherapy, with possible implications for the clinical management of neoplastic diseases from earlier to later stages.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Immunology Unit, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: czsolinas@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Solinas
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium; Medical Oncology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Erasme Hospital, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: nieves.martinez-chanza@bordet.be.
authors.forename: Nieves Martinez
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Chanzá
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: ahmad.awada@bordet.be.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Awada
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy. Electronic address: marioscartozzi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scartozzi
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods; D016246:Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating; D008297:Male; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D064129:Prostatic Neoplasms, Castration-Resistant / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Bladder cancer; Immune checkpoint molecules; Immunotherapy; Prostate cancer; TIL; Testicular tumors