First-line immune checkpoint inhibitor use in cisplatin-eligible patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma: a secular trend analysis

Aim: Standard first-line treatment of advanced urothelial cell carcinoma involves cisplatin-based chemotherapy, with carboplatin or immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (ICI) reserved for cisplatin-ineligible individuals. Methods: Using a large de-identified electronic health record-derived database of patients with advanced urothelial cell carcinoma in the USA, we examined trends in utilization of first-line systemic therapies in cisplatin-eligible patients from 1 January 2015 to 31 March 2018. Results: Among 1181 cisplatin-eligible patients, the quarterly proportion who received first-line ICI increased from 1 to 42% (ptrend <0.001), while the proportion who received cisplatin-based chemotherapy decreased from 53 to 33% (ptrend = 0.018). Patients receiving ICI were older than those receiving cisplatin (median age: 75 vs 68). Conclusion: Our analysis suggests rising off-label ICI use in cisplatin-eligible individuals, potentially because of ICI’s favorable toxicity profile.