The investigators are planning a prospective evaluation of the potential association between DDR alterations and outcomes in a phase 2 study of atezolizumab with or without bevacizumab(Avastin) in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma.
“Additional investigation is warranted to evaluate the mechanisms that link DDR alterations beyond MMR [DNA mismatch repair], [mutational] and neoantigen load, and immunotherapy response. If validated in other studies, DDR alterations may represent a useful predictive biomarker of response to anti–PD-1/PD-L1 in urothelial carcinoma,” they concluded.
The study was funded by Roche, Genentech, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and a National Cancer Institute Cancer Center support grant. Dr. Rosenberg disclosed stock or other ownership with Merck and Illumina, and consulting/advisory roles and travel support from Roche, Genentech, Bayer, and others. Multiple coauthors reported similar relationships.
SOURCE: Rosenberg JE et al. J Clin Oncol. 2018 Feb 28. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2017.75.7740.