Impact of molecular androgen and estrogen response scores on outcomes following neoadjuvant pembrolizumab in muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Abstract

PURPOSE Androgen and estrogen influence bladder cancer pathogenesis, but their role in modulating treatment response, especially immunotherapy, remains unclear. This post-hoc analysis of the PURE-01 trial evaluated the impact of androgen and estrogen signatures on outcomes in muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma patients treated with neoadjuvant pembrolizumab followed by radical cystectomy (RC). PATIENTS AND METHODS Pre-treatment transurethral resection of bladder tumor samples from 102 PURE-01 patients were analyzed using the Decipher Bladder whole-transcriptome assay to classify genomic subtypes. Hallmark androgen response (ARS), early estrogen response (ERS-early), and late estrogen response (ERS-late) scores were derived and visualized with boxplots. Subgroup differences were assessed using Mann-Whitney U, chi-squared, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Event-free survival (EFS) was the primary endpoint, while pathological response was the secondary endpoint. Cox proportional hazard models and Kaplan-Meier analyses evaluated the association of molecular scores with outcomes. Immune 190 and FGFR3 signatures were also analyzed to explore their interactions with ARS and ERS. RESULTS Luminal subtypes had the highest ARS and ERS scores across molecular classifications. Negative correlations were observed between immune190 scores and ERS and ARS scores. ERS-late scores were highest in non-responders and significantly associated with worse EFS. Conversely, ARS was not significantly linked to EFS. FGFR3 signature positively correlated with ARS and ERS, and negatively with immune190 scores. CONCLUSIONS The strong association of ERS-late scores with both pathological response and EFS suggests this signature could guide patient stratification and treatment selection. These findings support future trials combining immunotherapy with anti-estrogens, in both neoadjuvant and advanced urothelial carcinoma settings.