Treatment Patterns for Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma Across Eight Mexican Centers: The ALEBRIJE Study.

Purpose: Metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) poses a challenge to health care systems, given its treatment complexity and mortality. We aimed to describe the characteristics, treatment patterns, and survival outcomes of Mexican patients with mUC.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted across eight centers for adults with mUC from January /2001 to December 2021. We recorded medical history, eligibility for first-line platinum therapy, treatment lines received, and access to novel drugs. Descriptive statistics were used and survival analysis, including Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards model, was performed.

Results: We identified 379 patients with mUC; 37 were excluded, and 76% was male, with a median age of 67 years. The median follow-up was 8.4 months. Among those who received a first-line treatment (65%), cisplatin-based chemotherapy (45%) was the most common followed by carboplatin (39%). Causes of cisplatin ineligibility were Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group ≥2 (41%) and glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min (33%). The overall response rate to up-front platinum therapy was 33%, with a median progression-free survival of 6.1 months (95% CI, 4.9 to 6.9). Second-, third-, and fourth-line treatment was given to 24.6%, 8.8%, and 3.5%, respectively. Chemotherapy was the most common regimen prescribed. Access to novel drugs was limited, 14 patients received avelumab, and 25% received immunotherapy as second-line treatment. The median overall survival was 11.8 months (95% CI, 10.2 to 15.2). Multivariate analysis showed that first-line treatment was independently associated with better survival, whereas poor performance status and visceral disease were associated with worse survival.

Conclusion: To our knowledge, these data represent the first effort to delineate treatment trends of mUC in Mexico. First-line treatment prescription and rates of progression to platinum therapy were higher than those described worldwide. Factors affecting survival included performance status, first-line treatment, and visceral disease. Our study highlights unequal access to novel treatments, underscoring the need for equitable care.