Advanced bladder cancer patients show very variable responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and effective strategies to predict response are still lacking. Here we integrate mutation and gene expression data from 707 advanced bladder cancer patients treated with anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 to build highly accurate predictive models. We find that, in addition to tumor mutational burden (TMB), enrichment in the APOBEC mutational signature, and the abundance of pro-inflammatory macrophages, are major factors associated with the response. Paradoxically, patients with high immune infiltration do not show an overall better response. We show that this can be explained by the activation of immune suppressive mechanisms in a large portion of these patients. In the case of non-immune-infiltrated cancer subtypes, we uncover specific variables likely to be involved in the response. Our findings provide information for advancing precision medicine in patients with advanced bladder cancer treated with immunotherapy.
Nature communications. 2025 Feb 20*** epublish ***
Lilian Marie Boll, Sergio Vázquez Montes de Oca, Marta E Camarena, Robert Castelo, Joaquim Bellmunt, Júlia Perera-Bel, M Mar Albà
Hospital del Mar Research Institute (HMRIB), Barcelona, Spain., Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain., Hospital del Mar Research Institute (HMRIB), Barcelona, Spain. ., Hospital del Mar Research Institute (HMRIB), Barcelona, Spain. ., Hospital del Mar Research Institute (HMRIB), Barcelona, Spain. .