Metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) treated with chemotherapy is associated with poor survival; however, as the field of immuno-oncology continues to evolve, new immunotherapies have recently become available. The current study aimed to assess real-world characteristics, treatment patterns, and overall survival (OS) of patients with mUC treated in the United States (US).
We conducted a retrospective, observational analysis of patients with mUC from the Flatiron Health longitudinal database from 2011 to 2017. Treatment patterns of patients who started systemic first-line therapy (1 L cohort) or second-line therapy following platinum-based first-line therapy (2 L cohort) were described using medication order and administration data. Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to assess OS from the start of first- and second-line therapy in the 1 L and 2 L cohorts, respectively.
A total of 1811 patients qualified for the 1 L cohort (median age [range], 72 [32-84] years); 476 met the criteria for the 2 L cohort (median age [range], 71 [40-84] years). The most common first- and second-line therapies were carboplatin + gemcitabine (n = 562 [34.6%]) and atezolizumab (n = 90 [13.1%]), respectively, in the 1 L cohort. Median OS was 12.7 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 11.8, 13.4) in the 1 L cohort and 8.3 months (95% CI 7.2, 8.9) in the 2 L cohort.
Consistent with clinical trial results, survival was poor in this real-world study in patients with mUC, indicating a continued unmet need. As immunotherapy becomes more commonplace in the treatment of mUC, future studies are needed to understand its real-world impact on survival.
Cancer epidemiology. 2019 Apr 03 [Epub ahead of print]
Jason C Simeone, Beth L Nordstrom, Ketan Patel, Helen Mann, Alyssa B Klein, Laura Horne
Real-World Evidence, Evidera, Waltham, MA, USA. Electronic address: ., Real-World Evidence, Evidera, Waltham, MA, USA. Electronic address: ., Teradata UK Ltd, London, UK. Electronic address: ., Global Medicines Development, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: ., Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, MD, USA. Electronic address: ., Independent Consultant, Fairfield, CT, USA. Electronic address: .