Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026
Microarray-based Identification of Individual HERV Loci Expression: Application to Biomarker Discovery in Prostate Cancer
Published on: November 2, 2013
Pre-treatment metastatic biopsy: a step towards precision oncology for urothelial cancer
Niklas Klümper1,2, Alexander Cox3, Gottfrid Sjödahl4
1Department of Urology and Pediatric Urology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany. niklas.kluemper@ukbonn.de.
Abstract:
Early metastatic spread and clonal expansion of individual mutations result in a heterogeneous tumour landscape in metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC). Substantial molecular heterogeneity of common drug targets, such as membranous NECTIN4, FGFR3 mutations, PDL1 or immune phenotypes, has been documented between primary and metastatic tumours. However, translational and clinical studies frequently do not account for such heterogeneity and often investigate primary tumour samples that might not be representative in patients with mUC. We propose this as a potential factor for why many biomarkers for mUC have failed to be integrated into clinical practice. Fresh pre-treatment metastatic biopsies enable the capturing of prevailing tumour biology in real time. The characterization of metastatic tumour samples can improve response prediction to immunotherapy, the anti-NECTIN4 antibody-drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin and the FGFR inhibitor erdafitinib. Routine metastatic biopsy can thus improve the precision of identifying driver druggable alterations, thus improving treatment selection for patients with mUC.
Insights
Metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) shows significant molecular differences between primary and metastatic tumors. Analyzing metastatic biopsies improves treatment selection and predicts response to therapies like enfortumab vedotin.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Translational Research
- Cancer Genomics
Background:
- Metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) exhibits significant molecular heterogeneity.
- Primary tumor samples may not accurately represent the metastatic disease landscape.
- This heterogeneity is a potential reason for the failure of many mUC biomarkers in clinical practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the importance of analyzing metastatic biopsies in mUC.
- To emphasize how molecular heterogeneity impacts treatment strategies.
- To advocate for the routine use of metastatic biopsies for precise treatment selection.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing translational and clinical studies on mUC.
- Analysis of molecular characteristics of primary versus metastatic tumors.
- Proposal for utilizing fresh pre-treatment metastatic biopsies.
Main Results:
- Substantial molecular heterogeneity exists for drug targets (NECTIN4, FGFR3, PDL1) and immune phenotypes between primary and metastatic mUC.
- Investigating primary tumors may lead to non-representative findings.
- Characterizing metastatic samples can improve response prediction for immunotherapy, enfortumab vedotin, and erdafitinib.
Conclusions:
- Fresh pre-treatment metastatic biopsies capture real-time tumor biology.
- Routine metastatic biopsy enhances the identification of druggable alterations.
- This approach improves treatment selection and precision for patients with mUC.
More Related Videos
09:28Patient-derived Orthotopic Xenograft Models for Human Urothelial Cell Carcinoma and Colorectal Cancer Tumor Growth and Spontaneous Metastasis
Published on: May 12, 2019
05:49Use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Biopsy Data to Guide Sampling Procedures for Prostate Cancer Biobanking
Published on: October 10, 2019
