Disitamab vedotin with or without PD-1 inhibitors in pretreated patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma: Identifying patients who derive additional benefit from immune combination therapy.

BACKGROUND

The relative clinical value of disitamab vedotin (RC48) monotherapy versus its combination with a programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor remains unclear in previously treated patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (LA/mUC). Identifying patients who truly benefit from immunotherapy intensification is therefore critical to guide personalized treatment and avoid overtreatment.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis to compare the clinical outcomes of RC48 monotherapy versus its combination with a PD-1 inhibitor in pretreated patients with LA/mUC. To address potential confounders, multiple imputation and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) were employed. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS); secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and safety assessment.

RESULTS

The median follow-up for the 195 patients was 10.3 months. No significant difference in OS was observed between combination therapy and monotherapy (median OS, 16.7 vs. 22.0 months; HR 1.09; 95% confidence intervals [95% CI], 0.67-1.78; P = 0.73). PFS, ORR, and DCR did not differ significantly between groups. In exploratory analyses, patients with HER2-positive and PD-L1-negative tumors showed improved outcomes with combination therapy (OS HR 0.28; 95% CI, 0.09-0.86; P = 0.03; PFS HR 0.46; 95% CI, 0.24-0.89; P = 0.02). PFS benefit was also observed in those with nondivergently differentiated histology (HR 0.66; 95% CI, 0.44-0.98; P = 0.04).

CONCLUSION

While RC48 combined with a PD-1 inhibitor did not confer survival advantage in the overall population, patients with HER2-positive and PD-L1-negative tumors, as well as those without divergent histologic differentiation, may derive additional benefit from combination therapy. Safety findings were consistent with prior experience.