Primary Results of Patients with Genitourinary Malignancies Presented at a Molecular Tumor Board

Jakob Michaelis; Ruth Himmelsbach; Patrick Metzger; Silke Lassmann; Melanie Börries; Martin Werner; Cornelius Miething; Rouven Höfflin; Anna L Illert; Justus Duyster; Heiko Becker; August Sigle; Christian Gratzke; Markus Grabbert

doi:10.1159/000538908

Primary Results of Patients with Genitourinary Malignancies Presented at a Molecular Tumor Board

Urol Int. 2024;108(5):383-391. doi: 10.1159/000538908. Epub 2024 Apr 16.

Authors

Jakob Michaelis^{1

2}, Ruth Himmelsbach^{1

2}, Patrick Metzger^{2

3

4}, Silke Lassmann^{2

4

5}, Melanie Börries^{2

3

4}, Martin Werner^{2

4

5}, Cornelius Miething^{2

4

6}, Rouven Höfflin^{2

4

6}, Anna L Illert^{2

4

6}, Justus Duyster^{2

4

6}, Heiko Becker^{2

4

6}, August Sigle^{1

2

4}, Christian Gratzke^{1

2}, Markus Grabbert^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Urology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
² Comprehensive Cancer Center Freiburg, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
³ Institute of Medical Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
⁴ Molecular Tumorboard Network (MTB) Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany AND German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Freiburg of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
⁵ Institute for Surgical Pathology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
⁶ Department of Medicine I, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.

PMID: 38626735
DOI: 10.1159/000538908

Abstract

Introduction: Personalized medicine poses great opportunities and challenges. While the therapeutic landscape markedly expands, descriptions about status, clinical implementation and real-world benefits of precision oncology and molecular tumor boards (MTB) remain sparse, particularly in the field of genitourinary (GU) cancer. Hence, this study characterized urological MTB cases to better understand the potential role of MTB in uro-oncology.

Methods: We analyzed patients with complete data sets being reviewed at an MTB from January 2019 to October 2022, focusing on results of molecular analysis and treatment recommendations.

Results: We evaluated 102 patients with GU cancer with a mean patient age of 61.7 years. Prostate cancer (PCa) was the most frequent entity with 52.9% (54/102), followed by bladder cancer (18.6%, 19/102) and renal cell carcinoma (14.7%, 15/102). On average, case presentation at MTB took place 54.9 months after initial diagnosis and after 2.7 previous lines of therapy. During the study period, 49.0% (50/102) of patients deceased. Additional MTB-based treatment recommendations were achieved in a majority of 68.6% (70/102) of patients, with a recommendation for targeted therapy in 64.3% (45/70) of these patients. Only 6.7% (3/45) of patients - due to different reasons - received the recommended MTB-based therapy though, with 33% (1/3) of patients reaching disease control. Throughout the MTB study period, GU cancer case presentations and treatment recommendations increased, while the time interval between initial presentation and final therapy recommendation were decreasing over time.

Conclusion: Presentation of uro-oncological patients at the MTB is a highly valuable measure for clinical decision-making. Prospectively, earlier presentation of patients at the MTB and changing legislative issues regarding comprehensive molecular testing and targeted treatment approval might further improve patients' benefits from comprehensive molecular diagnostics.

Keywords: Molecular tumor board; Personalized medicine; Precision oncology; Targeted therapy; Urological oncology.

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Precision Medicine
Retrospective Studies
Urogenital Neoplasms* / diagnosis
Urogenital Neoplasms* / therapy