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Updated: May 29, 2025
A Bioluminescent and Fluorescent Orthotopic Syngeneic Murine Model of Androgen-dependent and Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer
Published on: March 6, 2018
Biomarkers in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer for efficiency of immune checkpoint inhibitors
Zixi Wu1,2, Junbiao Zhang1,2, Le Li1,2
1Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital Affiliated Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan, China.
Abstract:
Almost all patients with prostate cancer progress to metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) despite initial responses. In cases where traditional first-line treatments prove ineffective, the potential of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy emerges as a promising approach for managing mCRPC. However, while immune checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy or combination therapy targeting cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and/or programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) axis has been regarded as the standard therapy in many solid tumours, mCRPC as 'cold' tumours are considered to be relatively resistant to ICB treatment. Encouragingly, recent evidence suggests that ICB therapy may be particularly beneficial in specific subgroups of patients with high PD-L1 tumour expression, high tumour mutational burden or high tumour microsatellite instability/mismatch repair deficiency. Better understanding of these predictive biomarkers could screen which patients are most likely to benefit. This review article examines biomarkers for screening patients potentially effective in immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.
Insights
Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) shows promise for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). This review explores biomarkers like PD-L1 expression and microsatellite instability to identify mCRPC patients who will best respond to ICB therapy.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunotherapy
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) often progresses despite initial treatments.
- Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) is a potential therapy for mCRPC, but these tumors are often 'cold' and resistant.
- Identifying patient subgroups likely to benefit from ICB is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and examine biomarkers for screening patients with mCRPC who may benefit from ICB therapy.
- To highlight the role of predictive biomarkers in optimizing ICB treatment selection for mCRPC.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies investigating ICB in mCRPC.
- Analysis of predictive biomarkers associated with ICB response in prostate cancer.
- Examination of tumor characteristics such as PD-L1 expression, tumor mutational burden, and microsatellite instability/mismatch repair deficiency.
Main Results:
- Certain subgroups of mCRPC patients show potential benefit from ICB.
- High PD-L1 tumor expression, high tumor mutational burden, and high microsatellite instability/mismatch repair deficiency are associated with improved ICB response.
- These biomarkers can help screen patients likely to respond to ICB therapy.
Conclusions:
- Understanding predictive biomarkers is key to successful ICB therapy in mCRPC.
- Biomarker-driven patient selection can enhance the efficacy of ICB for prostate cancer.
- Further research into these biomarkers will refine treatment strategies for mCRPC.
