Genitourinary tumors consist of a large variety of malignancies located in the urinary and the reproductive systems, mainly including prostate cancer, bladder cancer, and renal tumors. Apart from surgeries, various systemic treatments have been used for the whole-course management of genitourinary tumors, including radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy. However, the characteristics of progression, metastasis, and drug resistance deriving from tumors require and breed novel treatments. Furthermore, exploring biomarkers of genitourinary tumors at the early stage is also beneficial to strengthen the management of patients with tumors. Additionally, the diagnostic and prognostic value of the potential biomarkers for immunotherapy and combined therapy of genitourinary tumors are underexplored. On the basis of precision treatments, the advent of immune-based therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs, antibodies targeting PD-L1 /PD-1 and CTLA-4 pathways), tumor vaccines, and other therapies, has extended the scope of treatment modalities. FDA has until now approved the clinical application of immune checkpoint inhibitors in a wide range of diseases including some types of genitourinary tumors, whereas not all patients with genitourinary tumors are suitable for immune-based therapies, therefore, the understanding of its underlying mechanism is key to develop effective treatments based on current ICI-based immunotherapy.

This book aims to provide readers with a current overview of enrolling trials with immune-checkpoint inhibitors in the preoperative setting of localized bladder cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and prostate cancer. The advent of immunotherapy has revolutionized treatments of genitourinary malignancy and evolved strategies for multidisciplinary management. This book explains neoadjuvant checkpoint inhibitors in localized genitourinary cancers, providing insights into the mechanisms of response and development of resistance of cancer cells to immunotherapy. It debates optimal trial design of preoperative checkpoint inhibitors in GU tumors, including optimal endpoints and the role of pathologic response as a surrogate endpoint of survival. It also illuminates clinical management of patients with organ-confined GU tumors, such as side effect management and perioperative safety, before providing an overview of biomarker use for patient selection across the early-stage GU malignancies. Lastly, the book provides the reader with the most up-to-date data emerging from clinical trials involving immunotherapy in early-stage GU malignancies. Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy Treatment of Localized Genitourinary Cancers: Multidisciplinary Management provides a comprehensive review of the field, serving as a valuable resource for urologists, medical oncologists, pathologists, fellows in urologic oncology, upper-level residents training in urology and medical oncology, as well as pharmacists interested in RCC clinicians.

Immunological Implications and Molecular Diagnostics of Genitourinary Cancer updates on recent accomplishments, unifying concepts, and future challenges in the study of tumor-associated immune cells, emphasizing genitourinary cancers. The presence of inflammatory immune cells in human tumors raise a fundamental question: How do cancer cells avoid destruction by immune attack? In principle, tumor development can be controlled by cytotoxic innate and adaptive immune cells, however, as tumors develop from neoplastic tissue to clinically detectable tumors, cancer cells evolve different mechanisms. This book covers research on the immunological implications of genitourinary cancer with a comprehensive view, especially surrounding diagnosis and cellular mechanisms. - Discusses the impact of the immune system on the initiation, progression and treatment of cancer - Provides insights on the important role of the suppressor genes and oncogenes in genitourinary cancers - Shows the advantages of combining clinical issues of urologic cancers with immunological techniques, like immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence - Demonstrates the implications genitourinary cancer has on the human innate immune system

Hepatic-biliary-pancreatic cancers, mainly including hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, gallbladder cancer, are highly aggressive malignancies with few treatment options and poor prognoses. Effects of the traditional systemic treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, are quite limited to hepatic-biliary-pancreatic cancers. For the patients who suffer from hepatic-biliary-pancreatic cancer and lose the opportunity of radical surgery, few targeted drugs are available. Even for the drugs in clinical trial, potential drug targets and prognostic biomarkers for hepatic-biliary-pancreatic cancer are less studied compared to other common cancers such as lung cancer. Prognostic biomarker study is the initiation to explore new drug targets and revelation of the underlying mechanisms of tumor progression. Immunotherapy, especially PD1 or PD-L1 antagonists, has exhibited potent treatment effects on cancers. To date, many PD1 drugs are available for cancer treatment, and more than one hundred PD1 drugs are in clinical trial. However, how to screen out the sensitive patients and predict the efficacy of immunotherapy are still unsolved problems. Moreover, the predictive biomarkers and treatment guidelines of immunotherapy for hepatobiliary tumors are barely investigated.

The identification of effective biomarkers has becoming a major focus in cancer research, mainly due to the necessity of selecting potentially responsive patients in order to improve their outcomes, as well as to reduce the toxicity and costs related to ineffective treatments. In genitourinary tumors, the lack of biomarkers does not allow for the development of personalized strategies for a single patient, thus representing a major goal in this field. This eBook includes the description of these emerging techniques and identify the most promising biomarkers in genitourinary tumors.

This book presents the clinical scope of cancer immunotherapeutic agents for solid tumors and Hematologic malignancies, elaborates on the scientific details of their modes of action, and presents the impact of these agents on oncology, patients and the broader healthcare system. At present, cancer immunotherapies fall broadly into three categories: immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), adoptive T cell therapies, and cancer vaccines which have distinct mechanisms of action. Immune checkpoint inhibitors rely upon disrupting tumor antigen recognition as self by the immune system through inhibition of checkpoint molecules. Adoptive T cell therapies involve the engineering of T cells ex vivo to target and destroy tumor cells. The first part of this book will provide an overview of the discovery and mechanistic details of the technology. The second part will be devoted to elaborating on the clinical outcomes, successes and limitations for specific tumor subtypes, which includes both solid tumors and hematologic malignances for both pediatric and adult populations. As such, the book offers a valuable resource for oncologists, hematologists, and all those seeking an up-to-date overview of cancer immunotherapies.