The Immunoscore in Localized Urothelial Carcinoma Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: Clinical Significance for Pathologic Responses and Overall Survival.

ABSTRACT

(1) Background-The five-year overall survival (OS) of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and cystectomy is around 50%. There is no validated biomarker to guide the treatment decision. We investigated whether the Immunoscore (IS) could predict the pathologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and survival outcomes. (2) Methods-This retrospective study evaluated the IS in 117 patients treated using neoadjuvant chemotherapy for localized MIBC from six centers (France and Greece). Pre-treatment tumor samples were immunostained for CD3+ and CD8+ T cells and quantified to determine the IS. The results were associated with the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, time to recurrence (TTR), and OS. (3) Results-Low (IS-0), intermediate (IS-1-2), and high (IS-3-4) ISs were observed in 36.5, 43.7, and 19.8% of the cohort, respectively. IS was positively associated with a pathologic complete response (pCR; p-value = 0.0096). A high IS was found in 35.7% of patients with a pCR, whereas it was found in 11.3% of patients without a pCR. A low IS was observed in 48.4% of patients with no pCR and in 21.4% of patients with a pCR. Low-, intermediate-, and high-IS patients had five-year recurrence-free rates of 37.2%, 36.5%, and 72.6%, respectively. In the multivariable analysis, a high IS was associated with a prolonged TTR (high vs. low p = 0.0134) and OS (high vs. low p = 0.011). (4) Conclusions-This study showed the significant prognostic and predictive roles of IS regarding localized MIBC.