[The role of immunotherapy in the modern treatment of urothelial carcinoma].

By the emergence of modern immunotherapies with active agents like PD-1 (nivolumab, pembrolizumab) and PD-L1 immune checkpoint blockers (atezolizumab, avelumab, durvalumab), new therapeutic options have become available for the treatment of patients with locally advanced and metastatic urothelial carcinoma. According to the recent publications, they have been effective in case of progression after platinum therapy, in or after second-line and in firstline therapies for cisplatin ineligible patients, respectively. Patient survival and tumor response data are very promising; in particular stages, they seem to be more effective than the previously administered chemotherapies. Their toxicity profiles also appear to be more favorable. Immunological side effects are rare; their identification and management require preparedness and multidisciplinary thinking. Current and ongoing trials are investigating the combinations of new remedies with other immunotherapeutic agents (e.g., CTLA-4 inhibitor ipilimumab, tremelimumab) or chemotherapies as well as trying to identify biomarkers in order to further increase effectiveness. In our review, we summarize the recently published data about urothelial carcinoma therapy and give a brief overview of the ongoing clinical trials.