Can Patients with Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer and Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor-3 Alterations Still Be Considered for Neoadjuvant Pembrolizumab? A Comprehensive Assessment from the Updated Results of the PURE-01 Study (European Urology Oncology)

We reported a significant association between fibroblast growth factor receptor-3 (FGFR3) gene expression and pathological complete response to neoadjuvant pembrolizumab. This result was counterbalanced by the lack of significance when using more comprehensive FGFR3 activity signatures or DNA alterations (mutations/fusions). Similar results were obtained with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. FGFR3 alterations should not disqualify patients for inclusion in neoadjuvant immunotherapy or chemoimmunotherapy studies.