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Abstract
Background: Urothelial carcinoma with histologic subtypes represent an aggressive and understudied population frequently excluded from prospective clinical trials. Evidence guiding optimal first-line systemic therapy in de novo metastatic disease with histologic subtypes remains limited.
Method: Patients with de novo stage IV urothelial carcinoma with histologic subtypes diagnosed between 2016 and 2021 were identified from the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Eligible patients received first-line chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or concurrent chemoimmunotherapy (both modalities initiated within 30 days). Overall survival (OS) was compared across groups using Kaplan–Meier methods and compared using log-rank tests and multivariable Cox regression. Result: Among 800 patients, 596 (74.5%) received chemotherapy, 106 (13%) received immunotherapy, and 98 (12%) received concurrent chemoimmunotherapy. Survival differed significantly across treatment groups (log-rank p = 0.005). Concurrent chemoimmunotherapy was associated with longer OS compared with chemotherapy alone (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.55–0.93) and immunotherapy monotherapy. Immunotherapy alone was associated with inferior survival compared with chemotherapy.
Conclusions: In de novo metastatic urothelial carcinoma with histologic subtypes, concurrent chemoimmunotherapy and chemotherapy were associated with superior survival compared with immunotherapy monotherapy. These findings support the consideration of early combination-based strategies and highlight the need for prospective studies dedicated to this high-risk population.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18060950
Funding Information
This study received no external funding.
Repository Citation
Myint, Zin W.; Lei, Feitong; and Huang, Bin, "Survival Outcomes of First-Line Therapy in De Novo Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma with Histologic Subtypes: A National Cancer Database Analysis" (2026). Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications. 494.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/markey_facpub/494
Notes/Citation Information
© 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.