Durvalumab for the management of urothelial carcinoma: a short review on the emerging data and therapeutic potential

Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is the second most frequent urogenital malignancy with high incidence in the United States and Europe. Despite poor prognosis, new treatments have emerged with great efficacy and safety such as immune checkpoint inhibitors. Durvalumab, an anti Programmed Death Ligand 1, has been given breakthrough in UC in 2017 in patients who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy or who have disease progression <12 months after neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment with platinum-containing chemotherapy. Food and Drug Administration approval was given on the results of the Phase I/II study of MEDI 4736. In this article, we will review available data on durvalumab in the treatment of locally advanced and metastatic UC and discuss therapeutic potential.