Trastuzumab therapy in metastatic bladder carcinoma: The proof of concept

Abstract

About 10% of metastatic urothelial carcinoma overexpress oncogenic HER2/neu receptor. Recent preliminary data suggest that patients with this particular molecular subset could benefit from trastuzumab therapy, which specifically targets the receptor and thus inhibits downstream activation pathway. Here we report a case illustrating this clinical benefit, with complete response reported as third line therapy in a heavily pretreated patient with diffuse metastatic urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. It also highlights the usefulness of 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (18-FDG PET) as a biomarker for response to trastuzumab.