Bladder Cancer, Loss of Y Chromosome, and New Opportunities for Immunotherapy

The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in patients with bladder cancer (BC) is currently limited. Patients with BC who have experienced loss of the Y chromosome (LOY) often exhibit an aggressive cancer phenotype. In these LOY BC cases, CD8+ T cell exhaustion hampers the development of a robust anti-tumor response. However, there is a subset of patients with LOY BC who may show increased responsiveness to ICIs, suggesting a potential avenue for more effective treatment.