Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41701175›Full record

Trial reportThe oncologist2026

Toripalimab in patients with previously treated advanced upper tract urothelial carcinoma: a subgroup analysis of the phase II POLARIS-03 trial.

Jinchang Wei, Ruiyun Zhang, Juan Li, Siming Li, Xieqiao Yan, Haige Chen, Hongqian Guo, Bin Hu, Ziling Liu, Jun Guo and 1 more

Abstract readClinical Trial, Phase II
In one paragraph

Trial report in The oncologist, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Jinchang WeiKey Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Genitourinary Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, 100142, China.
Ruiyun ZhangDepartment of Urology, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200120, China.
Juan LiKey Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Genitourinary Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, 100142, China.
Siming LiKey Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Genitourinary Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, 100142, China.
Xieqiao YanKey Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Genitourinary Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, 100142, China.
Haige ChenDepartment of Urology, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200120, China.
Hongqian GuoDepartment of Urology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Bin HuDepartment of Urological Surgery, Cancer Hospital of China Medical University/Liaoning Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shenyang, 110042, China.
Ziling LiuDepartment of Cancer Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China.
Jun GuoKey Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Genitourinary Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, 100142, China.
Xinan ShengKey Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Genitourinary Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, 100142, China.ORCID 0000-0001-9359-0975

Funding

Beijing Natural Science Foundation L244024National Natural Science Foundation of China 82172604National Natural Science Foundation of China 82473199
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundToripalimab, a PD-1 inhibitor, is approved in China as second-line therapy for metastatic urothelial carcinoma. This subgroup analysis evaluated its efficacy and safety in previously treated patients with metastatic upper tract urothelial carcinoma (mUTUC). PATIENTS AND

methodsIn the phase II POLARIS-03 trial, patients with mUTUC received toripalimab (3 mg/kg Q2W) until progression or unacceptable toxicity. Tumor response was assessed by an independent review committee (IRC) per RECIST v1.1. PD-L1 expression and tumor mutational burden (TMB) were assessed by immunohistochemistry and whole-exome sequencing (WES), respectively.

resultsBetween June 2017 and September 2019, 71 patients with mUTUC were enrolled. As of June 16, 2025, median follow-up of 70.5 months, the IRC-assessed objective response rate (ORR) was 26.8% (95% CI, 16.9-38.6), and disease control rate (DCR) was 46.5%. Median duration of response was 45.0 months; median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 1.9 months and 11.2 months, respectively. PD-L1-positive patients showed higher ORR (34.8% vs 20.5%) and longer PFS (2.3 vs 1.8 months; HR = 0.71). Among 63 patients with WES data, TMB-high patients (≥10 muts/Mb; n = 14) had higher ORR (42.9% vs 22.4%) and numerically longer PFS and OS. Frequent mutations included TP53, KMT2D, TERT, CDKN2A/B, and FGFR3. ORR reached 75.0% in SMARCA4-mutated tumors and 50.0% in NECTIN4-amplified cases.

conclusionToripalimab demonstrated promising activity and manageable safety in pretreated mUTUC. High TMB was associated with numerically improved outcomes, suggesting its potential role as an exploratory biomarker for response to PD-1 blockade in this population.

Indexed as

Antibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedCarcinoma, Transitional CellAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedtoripalimabimmunotherapyPD-L1toripalimabtumor mutational burdenupper tract urothelial carcinoma

Identifiers

PMID41701175
PMCPMC13000110

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.