Utility and safety of robot-assisted radical cystectomy in older patients with bladder cancer.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) in older patients with bladder cancer (BCa).Material and methods: We reviewed the clinical and pathological records of 110 patients with BCa who underwent RARC at Gifu University Hospital between February 2019 and January 2023. Older patients were defined as those with BCa aged ≥ 75 years. The enrolled patients were divided into two groups: those aged < 75 years (Group I) and those aged ≥ 75 years (Group II). Oncological outcomes, including overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS), were the primary endpoints of the study; the secondary endpoints were the surgical and pathological outcomes.Results: A shorter console time, less blood loss, and reduced time to postoperative fluid and food intake in Group II may be attributed to the fact that more patients opted for ureterocutaneostomy in Group II than in Group I. In all patients, the three-year OS and RFS rates were 84.7% and 88.5%, respectively. There were no significant differences in OS or RFS between the two groups. (p = .403, p = .963, respectively).Conclusions: RARC appears to be a safe and useful treatment option for older patients with BCa.

[A Case of Refractory Lymphatic Leakage after Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy].

A 78-year-old male visited the referring hospital because of asymptomatic gross hematuria. The patient was diagnosed with bladder cancer, clinical stage T3aN2M0, after multiple tumors were found in the bladder by cystoscopy and bilateral obturator lymph node metastases were found by contrast-enhanced thoracoabdominal-pelvic computed tomography. After neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the patient underwent robot-assisted radical cystectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection, followed by bilateral ureterocutaneostomy for urinary diversion. Postoperatively, the drainage volume from the pelvic drain ranged from 1,000 to 3,000 ml/day. We suspected lymphatic leakage based on the results of biochemical tests of the drainage fluid. Lymphangiography was conducted to confirm the diagnosis of lymphatic leakage, and lymphatic embolization was performed simultaneously. The patient underwent lymphangiography four times, but the lymphatic leakage persisted. Surgical treatment was considered, and lymphangioscintigraphy was conducted to search for areas of lymphatic leakage that could not be delineated by lymphangiography. Ascites decreased significantly after lymphangioscintigraphy.

Validation of standardized training system for robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: comparison of perioperative and surgical outcomes between experienced surgeons and novice surgeons at a low-volume institute in Japan.

INTRODUCTION: Although robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) has become a standard treatment modality in patients with prostate cancer (PCa), RARP is a complicated and difficult surgical procedure due to the risk of serious surgery-related complications. This study aimed to evaluate the validation of a standardized training system for RARP in patients with PCa at a single institute. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and pathological records of 155 patients with PCa who underwent RARP at Gifu University between August 2018 and April 2021. We developed an institutional program for new surgeons based on the separation of the RARP procedure into six checkpoints. The primary endpoints were surgical outcomes and perioperative complications among three groups (expert, trainer, and novice surgeon groups). RESULTS: The console time was significantly longer in the novice surgeon group than in the other groups. Regarding bladder neck dissection, ligation of lateral pedicles, and vesicourethral anastomosis, the operative time was significantly shorter in the expert group than in the other groups. Surgery-related complications occurred in 15 patients (9.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Our training system for RARP might help reduce the influence of the learning curve on surgical outcomes and ensure that the surgeries performed at low-volume institutions are safe and effective.

[A Case Report of a Patient with Metastatic Adrenocortical Carcinoma who Received the Combination Etoposide, Doxorubicin, Cisplatin, and Mitotane Therapy and Achieved Remission].

A 40-year-old Japanese female was referred to our institution with a high serum lactate dehydrogenase level. Computed tomography (CT) showed a large right adrenal tumor, 14 cm in size without distant metastases. The patient was clinically diagnosed with T2N0M0 adrenocortical carcinoma and underwent right adrenalectomy. The pathological diagnosis was adrenocortical carcinoma with negative surgical margin. The patient was administered mitotane for 2 years as adjuvant therapy. Subsequently, CT revealed asynchronous multiple metastases, including liver, lung, left kidney, and right acetabulum. The patient received 15 courses of EDP (a combination of etoposide, doxorubicin, and cisplatin) plus mitotane therapy, and had stable disease without new lesions.

Temporary Tumor Shrinkage Following Enfortumab Vedotin Therapy for Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma After Radical Cystectomy With Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: A Case Report.

A 39-year-old Japanese male patient presented with a chief complaint of gross hematuria persistent for two months. However, no relevant findings in the patient's medical and family history were observed. He was diagnosed with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, clinical stage T2bN0M0. After four courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with gemcitabine and cisplatin, the tumor size reduced by approximately 30%. The patient underwent robot-assisted radical cystectomy with standard lymph node dissection followed by intracorporeal ileal conduit reconstruction. Histologically, the tumor was diagnosed as a high-grade urothelial carcinoma invading the fatty tissue surrounding the bladder and metastasizing to the lymph nodes, with a pathological stage of ypT3aypN2M0. Four months after surgery, multiple metastases were detected, and treatment with pembrolizumab was initiated immediately. However, the patient did not respond to pembrolizumab. Therefore, a third-line treatment with enfortumab vedotin (EV) was initiated. Thereafter, the metastatic lesion shrank quickly, and the metastatic lesions almost disappeared after two courses of EV administration. Although new metastases were observed at other sites, there has been no regrowth to date. EV-related adverse events were not observed during follow-up. Eighteen months after the surgery, the patient remains alive with multiple metastases. Therefore, the sequence of treatment should be considered to maximize the therapeutic effect of EV, and, consequently, administering EV as early as possible may be important.

Biochemical recurrence after chemohormonal therapy followed by robot-assisted radical prostatectomy in very-high-risk prostate cancer patients.

Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) has become one of the standard radical treatments for prostate cancer (PCa). A retrospective single-center cohort study was conducted on patients with PCa who underwent RARP at Gifu University Hospital between September 2017 and September 2022. In this study, patients were classified into three groups based on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk classification: low/intermediate-risk, high-risk, and very-high-risk groups. Patients with high- and very-high-risk PCa who were registered in the study received neoadjuvant chemohormonal therapy prior to RARP. Biochemical recurrence-free survival (BRFS) after RARP in patients with PCa was the primary endpoint of this study. The secondary endpoint was the relationship between biochemical recurrence (BCR) and clinical covariates. We enrolled 230 patients with PCa in our study, with a median follow-up of 17.0 months. When the time of follow-up was over, 19 patients (8.3%) had BCR, and the 2 years BRFS rate for the enrolled patients was 90.9%. Although there was no significant difference in BRFS between the low- and intermediate-risk group and the high/very-high-risk group, the 2 years BRFS rate was 100% in the high-risk group and 68.3% in the very-high-risk group (P = 0.0029). Multivariate analysis showed that positive surgical margins were a significant predictor of BCR in patients with PCa treated with RARP. Multimodal therapies may be necessary to improve the BCR in patients with very-high-risk PCa.

Efficacy and Safety of Neoadjuvant Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone Antagonist and Tegafur-Uracil Chemohormonal Therapy for High-Risk Prostate Cancer.

BACKGROUND: This retrospective single-center cohort study evaluated the efficacy and safety of a combination of neoadjuvant luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) antagonist and tegafur-uracil (UFT) therapy (NCHT) and investigated the medical records of patients with high-risk PCa who underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). The therapy was followed by RARP for high-risk PCa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The enrolled patients were divided into two groups: low-intermediate-risk PCa patients who underwent RARP without neoadjuvant therapy (non-high-risk) and those who underwent NCHT followed by RARP (high-risk group). This study enrolled 227 patients (126: non-high-risk and 101: high-risk group). Patients in the high-risk-group had high-grade cancer compared to those in the non-high-risk-group. RESULTS: At the median follow-up period of 12.0 months, there were no PCa deaths; two patients (0.9%) died of other causes. Twenty patients developed biochemical recurrence (BCR); the median time until BCR was 9.9 months after surgery. The 2-year biochemical recurrence-free survival rates were 94.2% and 91.1% in the non-high-risk and high-risk-group, respectively (p = 0.465). Grade ≥3 NCHT-related adverse events developed in nine patients (8.9%). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that combining neoadjuvant LHRH antagonists and UFT followed by RARP may improve oncological outcomes in patients with high-risk PCa.

Pelvic Lymphadenectomy May Not Improve Biochemical Recurrence-Free Survival in Patients with Prostate Cancer Treated with Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy in Japan (The MSUG94 Group).

In this multicenter retrospective cohort study, we aimed to evaluate whether pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) improved biochemical recurrence (BCR) in patients with prostate cancer (PCa) who underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) in Japan. A multicenter retrospective cohort study of 3195 PCa patients undergoing RARP at nine institutions in Japan was conducted. Enrolled patients were divided into two groups: those who underwent RARP without PLND (non-PLND group) and those who underwent PLND (PLND group). The primary endpoint was biochemical recurrence-free survival (BRFS) in PCa patients who underwent PLND. We developed a propensity score analysis to reduce the effects of selection bias and potential confounding factors. Propensity score matching resulted in 1210 patients being enrolled in the study. The 2-year BRFS rate was 95.0% for all patients, 95.8% for the non-PLND group, and 94.3% for the PLND group (p = 0.855). For the all-risk group according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk stratification, there were no significant differences between patients who did and did not undergo PLND. Based on the results of the log-rank study, PLND may be unnecessary for patients with PCa undergoing RARP.

A Case of Localized Prostate Cancer Associated with Polymyalgia Rheumatica with Marked Symptomatic Improvement after Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy.

A 73-year-old man visited our hospital with chief complaints of fever of unknown origin and bilateral shoulder and hip joint pain. He was initially diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). Although the patient was treated with prednisolone 15 mg/day, his PMR-related symptoms did not improve. Further examination was performed as the patient was suspected of having paraneoplastic syndrome. Assessment results showed prostate cancer without metastases. After undergoing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, the patient's PMR-related symptoms dramatically improved. Hence, the prednisolone dose was decreased to 4 mg/day. PCa may have triggered the development of PMR through the activation of immune-mediated systemic inflammatory responses.