Ureteral Involvement Is Associated with Poor Prognosis in Upper Urinary Tract Urothelial Carcinoma Patients Treated by Nephroureterectomy: A Multicenter Database Study.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic significance of tumor location for patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUT-UC) has been disputed. Several papers have reported that ureteral cancer is associated with worse prognosis. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prognostic significance of the presence of ureteral tumors in UUT-UC patients who underwent radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this multicenter retrospective study, 1068 eligible patients (median follow-up: 40 mo [interquartile range: 17-77 mo]) were divided into three groups based on tumor location: renal pelvic, ureteral, and both-regional (having both renal pelvic and ureteral tumors). The ureteral and both-regional groups were subsequently integrated into the ureteral involvement group to evaluate its prognostic impact. INTERVENTION: All patients underwent RNU. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The prognostic impact of tumor location on survival was analyzed. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: The renal pelvic, ureteral, and both-regional groups consisted of 507 (47.5%), 430 (40.3%), and 131 (12.3%) patients, respectively. The ureteral and both-regional groups had a higher rate of lymphovascular invasion and lymph node metastasis compared with the renal pelvic group. The renal pelvic and both-regional tumors presented more frequently with locally advanced stages (pT3/T4) compared with the ureteral tumors. The 5-yr cancer-specific survival (CSS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates of patients in the ureteral (70.5% and 66.7%, respectively) and both-regional groups (64.8% and 57.8%, respectively) were significantly worse than those in the renal pelvic group (81.9% and 78.1%, respectively). In a multivariate analysis, the presence of ureteral involvement was a significant prognostic factor for CSS (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.50; p=0.006) and PFS (HR: 1.35; p=0.023). This study is inherently limited by the biases associated with its retrospective and multicenter design. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of ureteral involvement had a significant impact on the survival of surgically treated UUT-UC patients associated with a poor prognosis. PATIENT SUMMARY: We demonstrated that the ureteral involvement was associated with poor survival compared with patients with renal pelvic tumor only in upper urinary tract urothelial patients treated by nephroureterectomy.

Recovery of renal function after radical nephrectomy and risk factors for postoperative severe renal impairment: A Japanese multicenter longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate longitudinal changes in renal function after radical nephrectomy, and to explore risk factors of postoperative severe renal impairment in a Japanese multicenter cohort. METHODS: The present retrospective study included 701 patients who had no metastasis, end-stage kidney disease or bilateral kidney cancer, who underwent radical nephrectomy and who were followed up for at least 1 year. The longitudinal change in postoperative renal function during a 10-year follow-up period was evaluated according to the presence or absence of potential risk factors including greater age, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. A slope of annual change in estimated glomerular filtration rate was analyzed using a linear mixed model. Associations between the potential risk factors and a >50% estimated glomerular filtration rate decrease were evaluated using a multivariate Cox regression model. RESULTS: Overall, the postoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate recovered over time with a significant positive slope of 0.34 mL/min/1.73 m(2)/year. Renal function did not tend to recover in patients with chronic kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus or cardiovascular disease. The multivariate analysis showed that greater age and diabetes mellitus were independent risk factors for severe renal impairment. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, patients who had deteriorated renal function immediately after radical nephrectomy recovered over time. However, patients with chronic kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease did not tend to recover renal function postoperatively. Greater age and diabetes mellitus were independent risk factors for a >50% decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate.

Risk stratification for bladder recurrence of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma after radical nephroureterectomy.

OBJECTIVES: To identify risk factors and develop a model for predicting recurrence of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) in the bladder in patients without a history of bladder cancer after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 754 patients with UTUC without prior or concurrent bladder cancer or distant metastasis at 13 institutions in Japan. Univariate and multivariate Fine and Gray competing risks proportional hazards models were used to examine the cumulative incidence of bladder recurrence of UTUC. A risk stratification model and a nomogram were constructed. Two prediction models were compared using the concordance index (c-index) focusing on predictive accuracy and decision-curve analysis, which indicate whether a model is appropriate for decision-making and determining subsequent patient prognosis. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence rates of bladder UTUC recurrence at 1 and 5 years were 15 and 29%, respectively; the median time to bladder UTUC recurrence was 10 months. Multivariate analysis showed that papillary tumour architecture, absence of lymphovascular invasion and higher pathological T stage were both predictive factors for bladder cancer recurrence. The predictive accuracy of the risk stratification model and the nomogram for bladder cancer recurrence were not different (c-index: 0.60 and 0.62). According to the decision-curve analysis, the risk stratification was an acceptable model because the net benefit of the risk stratification was equivalent to that of the nomogram. The overall cumulative incidence rates of bladder cancer 5 years after RNU were 10, 26 and 44% in the low-, intermediate- and high-risk groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We identified risk factors and developed a risk stratification model for UTUC recurrence in the bladder after RNU. This model could be used to provide both an individualised strategy to prevent recurrence and a risk-stratified surveillance protocol.

Bimodal pattern of the impact of body mass index on cancer-specific survival of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma patients.

AIM: To clarify how body mass index (BMI) affects the risk of death from upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUTUC) we investigated the impact of BMI on UUTUC using a Japanese multicenter database. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 1995 and December 2010, 1,329 patients with upper urinary tract tumors were treated in 13 institutions in Japan. From this group, a cohort of 1,014 patients treated with radical nephroureterectomy was retrospectively reviewed. BMI was categorized into the following three groups: BMI <22.5, BMI 22.5 to <25 and BMI ≥ 25. The association between each group and cancer-specific survival (CSS) was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regression models. RESULTS: The median BMI was 22.4 kg/m(2) (interquartile range, 20.5-24.8). Out of all patients, 213 (21%) died of UUTUC. Hazard ratios of the BMI ≥ 25 and the BMI <22.5 group were 1.76 and 1.66, respectively. CONCLUSION: Both higher and lower BMI affect the prognosis of UUTUC treated with radical nephroureterectomy.

Equivalent survival and improved preservation of renal function after distal ureterectomy compared with nephroureterectomy in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the distal ureter: a propensity score-matched multicenter study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the oncological and functional outcome of distal ureterectomy compared with nephroureterectomy in the management of distal ureteral urothelial carcinoma. METHODS: Using a database including upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma patients (n = 1329), 282 patients were identified with urothelial carcinoma localized in the distal ureter on clinical evaluation. To adjust for potential baseline differences between groups, 43 patients undergoing distal ureterectomy were matched with 86 patients undergoing nephroureterectomy using propensity scoring. Cox regression models tested the effect of surgery type on recurrence-free survival and cancer-specific survival. Estimated glomerular filtration rate was measured before and after surgery. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 50 months. There were no significant differences in 5-year recurrence-free survival and cancer-specific survival rates between the distal ureterectomy and nephroureterectomy groups (P = 0.22 and P = 0.70, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that surgery type was not associated with recurrence-free survival and cancer-specific survival (P = 0.90 and P = 0.28, respectively). In the subanalysis, recurrence-free survival and cancer-specific survival in the distal ureterectomy group were equivalent to those of the nephroureterectomy group in both pTa-1 and pT2-4 patients. Renal function was better preserved in the distal ureterectomy group than in the nephroureterectomy group (rate of change in estimated glomerular filtration rate 2% vs -20%; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The oncological outcome of distal ureterectomy is comparable with that of nephroureterectomy in distal ureteral urothelial carcinoma patients, and distal ureterectomy provides better preservation of renal function. Distal ureterectomy would be feasible for carefully selected patients with distal ureteral urothelial carcinoma.

Young age as favorable prognostic factor for cancer-specific survival in localized renal cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prognostic effect of age in patients with localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and investigate the incidence of Xp11 translocation RCC in young patients who developed recurrence. METHODS: From 1990 to 2007, 2403 Japanese patients underwent nephrectomy for presumed RCC at 9 institutions. Of those, 1143 patients had localized RCC (Stage pT1-2N0M0). Their clinical data were retrospectively reviewed. In the present study, 131 patients (11%) were considered young (≤45 years at diagnosis). In the young patients with recurrence, the nephrectomy specimens were immunostained with TFE3 to determine the incidence of Xp11 translocation RCC. RESULTS: During the median follow-up of 47 months, 3 cancer deaths (2.2%) occurred among young patients and 51 (5.0%) among older patients. The 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) rate was significantly better for the younger patients than for the older patients (P = .049). Multivariate analysis showed that age was significantly associated with CSS, as were the pathologic T stage, tumor grade, and symptoms at diagnosis. The hazard ratio of young age was 0.31 (95% confidence interval 0.077-0.87). The recurrence-free survival curves revealed no difference between these 2 groups. Of the 74 patients with recurrence, the CSS after recurrence was significantly better in the younger patients than in the older patients (P = .0010). Of the 8 young patients with recurrence, 4 had Xp11 translocation RCC, and 3 survived for >5 years after recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the older patients, the young patients with RCC had similar recurrence-free survival rates but better CSS rates. This might have been because significant numbers of the young patients had Xp11 translocation RCC.

[Experience with implanted venous reservoirs in patients with terminal urological cancers].

The medical records of 8 consecutive patients with terminal urological cancers who were treated with implanted venous reservoirs between October 2001 and July 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. All 8 devices were placed safely in the 8 patients, and fluids and drugs were easily administered via the reservoirs. The devices were utilized for a mean of 40.6 days (range, 18 to 98) until the patients died of the cancer, and there were no complications which required removal of the devices such as catheter or reservoir infections, catheter occlusions and catheter thromboses. Seven patients were discharged or stayed at home on weekends and received home parental nutrition (HPN) through implanted venous reservoirs. Although HPN with the implanted venous reservoir is recently becoming common in digestive surgery or gynecological fields, it still remains uncommon in the urological field. Because this device would be useful and safe for patients with terminal urological cancers, we should consider the use of implanted venous reservoirs for patients who desire terminal home care.

Improved accuracy in predicting the presence of Gleason pattern 4/5 prostate cancer by three-dimensional 26-core systematic biopsy.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether three-dimensional 26-core (3D26) prostate biopsy improves the accuracy in predicting the presence of Gleason pattern 4/5 cancer compared with extended transrectal 12-core (TR12) or transperineal 14-core (TP14) biopsy schemes. METHODS: We studied 143 consecutive men in whom prostate cancer was diagnosed by the 3D26 biopsy and who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) without neoadjuvant treatment. All histologic grading was reevaluated by a single pathologist according to the 2005 International Society of Urological Pathology Consensus Conference on Gleason Grading. Cancer grade was categorized into high grade (Gleason pattern 4/5 cancer present) and non-high grade (absent) in both biopsy and RP specimens. Since TR12 and TP14 biopsy schemes represent subsets of the 3D26 biopsy, we could compare these schemes directly in an identical patient cohort. RESULTS: There was a grade agreement between 3D26 biopsy and RP in 132 (92.3%) cancers. Grade concordance between biopsy and RP was significantly better in 3D26 biopsy than in TR12 (83.5%, p=0.025) biopsy. Risk of underestimation of cancer grade by 3D26 biopsy (26.5%) was significantly lower than that by TP14 (51.4%, p=0.034). Grade concordance between 3D26 biopsy and RP was not according to clinical variables including prostate volume, clinical stage, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and PSA density. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that the 3D26 biopsy can accurately predict the presence of Gleason pattern 4/5 cancer on RP specimens with a high concordance rate of 92.3%, a value significantly higher than that between extended TR12 biopsy and RP specimens.

Successful management of vesicouterine fistula by luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analog.

Vesicouterine fistula is a rare complication of cesarean section. Although surgical repair was mandatory for the management of the fistula previously, a recent review showed high efficacy of hormonal manipulation by the induction of amenorrhea. Herein, we report a new case of vesicouterine fistula secondary to cesarean section successfully treated by luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analog for 6 months. Conservative hormonal treatment for vesicouterine fistula caused by cesarean section should be considered before surgical repair.

[Solitary metastasis to the urinary bladder from renal cell carcinoma: a case report].

A 48-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with a bladder mass which was detected by a general practitioner. Ultrasonography showed a small bladder tumor and right renal mass. Cystoscopy revealed a solitary, non papillary tumor at the right side of the retro-trigone. Computed tomography revealed a large tumor at the right kidney. Transurethral resection of the bladder tumor was performed. The histopathological diagnosis was clear cell carcinoma. There was no other distant metastasis. Sequentially, radical nephrectomy was performed. Histopathologically, the right renal tumor showed clear cell carcinoma. This was considered to be a case of a solitary metastatic bladder tumor from renal cell carcinoma.

[Usefulness of an all-in-one clinical pathway for transurethral resection of prostate].

We evaluated the usefulness of our original all-in-one clinical pathway for transurethral resection of the prostate (TUR-P) on 86 consecutive patients. There were 27 consecutive patients treated before introduction of the clinical pathway (group 1). Twenty-nine consecutive patients were treated just after the introduction of the clinical pathway (group 2) and 30 consecutive patients were treated one year after the introduction of the clinical pathway (group 3). Our pathway includes all items such as vital sign charts and events charts. Although the hospitalization ranged from 5 days to 12 days after introduction of the clinical pathway, the average length of hospital stay was shortened by 2.6 days in group 3. Although the duration of the postoperative indwelling urethral catheter ranged from 2 days to 7 days in the groups 2 and 3, the average duration was approximately 4 days in group 3. Postoperative complications did not differ among the three groups. The medical insurance claims decreased with the introduction of the clinical pathway. Our all-in-one clinical pathway is considered to be a good tool for not only reduction of health care costs but also giving higher quality and better service to patients.

[A case of idiopathic adrenal hemorrhage].

A 67-year-old woman underwent abdominal ultrasonography as part of a general health examination and was incidentally found to have a mass 5 cm in diameter in the left adrenal gland. She had no experience of abdominal trauma. Computerized tomography (CT) revealed a 5.5 x 5.0 cm mass in the left adrenal gland, which was heterogeneously enhanced by the contrast medium. Hormanal data for adrenal function were all within the normal range. For the suspected non-functioning adrenal tumor, the patient underwent adrenalectomy. Histopathological examination demonstrated only hematoma without tumor cells.

Increased expression of sialyl-Lewis A correlates with poor survival in upper urinary tract urothelial cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: We have previously shown that both sialyl-Lewis A (sLe(a)) and sialyl-Lewis X (sLe(x)) antigens are involved in E-selectin-mediated adhesion of some urothelial cancer cells to the endothelium in vitro. The present study was undertaken to determine whether these antigens could serve as prognostic parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We immunohistochemically examined the expression of sLe(a) and sLe(x) in 90 human upper urinary tract urothelial tumours. RESULTS: Fifty-eight (64%) tumours were found to express sLe(a), while sixty-one (68%) expressed sLe(x). The expression between sLe(a) and sLe(x) was correlated positively (p < 0.0001). Neither sLe(a) nor sLe(x) expression was correlated with any other pathological parameter. The cause-specific survival rate was significantly worse in sLe(a)-positive patients than in sLe(a)-negative patients (5-year survival rates 64% and 93%, respectively: p = 0.023), while the survival rates were not statistically different between sLe(x)-positive and sLe(x)-negative patients. By Cox's multivariate analysis, sLe(a) expression as well as lymph node involvement and venous invasion was an independent risk value to predict survival (p < 0.05). In 24 high-risk patients having lymph node metastasis or having both venous invasion and sLe(a) expression, the 5-year survival rate was 29%, while it was 93% in the other 66 patients (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that increased expression of sLe(a) antigen as well as lymph node metastasis and venous invasion may be associated with shorter cause-specific survival in upper urinary tract urothelial cancer. The combination of these factors offers a better prediction of prognosis.

Successful long-term disease-free survival following multimodal treatments in a patient with a repeatedly recurrent refractory adrenal cortical carcinoma.

A 47-year-old male patient underwent surgery for a 10-cm adrenal cortical carcinoma. A large invasive adrenal mass was surgically removed en bloc with the right kidney and the lower lobe of the liver. Two months postoperatively, a 7-cm recurrent mass developed in the right psoas muscle. After a partial response was achieved by irradiation (40 Gy) and high-dose chemotherapy (carboplatin and etoposide) with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, the patient underwent surgery with a wide excision of the psoas muscle. Twelve months after the initial surgery, an 8-cm rib metastasis developed and the patient again underwent surgery after a combination of irradiation (50 Gy) and chemotherapy (cisplatin and etoposide). The patient has been doing well without any evidence of recurrence for 5 years. Refractory or metastatic adrenal cortical carcinomas have been thought to be lethal, therefore, the present case provides support for multimodal treatments of refractory adrenocortical cancers.

TNP-470 combined with nicardipine suppresses in vivo growth of PC-3, a human prostate cancer cell line.

We examined effects of TNP-470 with or without nicardipine on in vivo or in vitro growth of a hormone-independent human prostate carcinoma cell line, PC-3. TNP-470 (30 mg/kg, daily) or nicardipine (25 microg/kg, daily) alone had little effects on in vivo growth of PC-3 cells in nude mice, whereas simultaneous administration of both agents significantly inhibited the growth of the xenografts. In vitro proliferation of PC-3 was not affected by TNP-470 and/or nicardipine. Combination of TNP-470 and nicardipine seems beneficial in the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer.