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Response to Immunotherapy: Application of Molecular Pathology to Predict Successful Response

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Precision Molecular Pathology of Bladder Cancer

Part of the book series: Molecular Pathology Library ((MPLB))

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Abstract

Urothelial carcinoma is an immunoresponsive tumor, as evidenced by successful treatment of a subset of patients with Bacillus Calmette Guérin and, more recently, PD-1/PD-L1 targeted immunotherapy. The speed with which PD-1/PD-L1 targeted immunotherapy has now become a standard therapy option for advanced urothelial carcinoma patients is remarkable. For the first time, clinicians are faced with the enviable challenge of having to decide between multiple treatment options with widely differing mechanisms of action. The need for high quality, high throughput pathology techniques and assays to accurately predict which patients will benefit most from immunotherapy approaches is paramount. Multiple novel platforms to assess and monitor the mediators of successful immunotherapy anti-tumor responses are emerging and offer promise. This chapter will focus on a review of PD-1/PD-L1 studies in urothelial carcinoma, emphasizing molecular alterations that may influence response to therapy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncology and Urology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Noah M. Hahn

  2. Department of Pathology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Donna E. Hansel

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  1. Noah M. Hahn
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  2. Donna E. Hansel
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Correspondence to Donna E. Hansel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA

    Donna E. Hansel

  2. Scott Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA

    Seth P. Lerner

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Hahn, N.M., Hansel, D.E. (2018). Response to Immunotherapy: Application of Molecular Pathology to Predict Successful Response. In: Hansel, D., Lerner, S. (eds) Precision Molecular Pathology of Bladder Cancer. Molecular Pathology Library. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64769-2_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64769-2_10

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-64769-2

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