A retrospective study of prognostic factors and prostate-specific antigen dynamics in Japanese patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer who received combined androgen blockade therapy with bicalutamide.

BACKGROUND: This retrospective observational study explored the therapeutic potential of combined androgen blockade (CAB) with bicalutamide (Bic-CAB) as an initial treatment for metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) in Japan. METHODS: The electronic health records of 159 patients with mHSPC from three Japanese institutions who received initial treatment with Bic-CAB between 2007 and 2017 were analyzed. The time to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression, duration of Bic-CAB treatment, and overall survival (OS), with various definitions for PSA progression, were assessed. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards model was constructed using clinical parameters to predict time to the end of Bic-CAB treatment and OS. RESULTS: The median observation period was 46.4 months, and the median age of patients at diagnosis was 71 years. A total of 46.5% patients experienced PSA progression with a median survival duration of 29 months (according to Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Working Group 3 criteria), and 49.1% patients achieved a PSA nadir < 0.2 ng/mL in a median time of 4.7 months. When stratified by PSA nadir and PSA change, patients at low risk for disease progression with a small PSA change due to low initial PSA had a 5-year OS of 100% and a 10-year OS of 75%. The OS during the observation period was 72.9 months. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the potential effect of Bic-CAB in patients with mHSPC who were at low risk for disease progression. Initial treatment with Bic-CAB and adjusting treatment early based on PSA dynamics may be a reasonable treatment plan for these patients.

Long-term outcomes of the first prospective study of active surveillance for prostate cancer in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Active surveillance for prostate cancer was initiated in the early 2000s. We assessed the long-term outcomes of active surveillance in Japan. METHODS: This multicenter prospective observational cohort study enrolled men aged 50-80 years with stage cT1cN0M0 prostate cancer in 2002 and 2003. The eligibility criteria included serum prostate-specific antigen level ≤ 20 ng/mL, ≤ 2 positive cores per 6-12 biopsy samples, Gleason score ≤ 6, and cancer involvement < 50% in the positive core. Patients were encouraged to undergo active surveillance. Prostate-specific antigen levels were measured bimonthly for 6 months and every 3 months thereafter. Triggers for recommending treatment were prostate-specific antigen doubling time of < 2 years and pathological progression on repeat biopsy. RESULTS: Among 134 patients, 118 underwent active surveillance. The median age, prostate-specific antigen level at diagnosis, and maximum cancer occupancy were 70 years, 6.5 ng/mL, and 11.2%, respectively. Ninety-one patients had only one positive cancer core. The median observation period was 10.7 years. At 1 year, 65.7% underwent a repeat biopsy, and 37% of patients experienced pathological progression. The active surveillance continuation rates at 5, 10, and 15 years were 28%, 9%, and 4%, respectively. One prostate cancer-related death occurred in a patient who refused treatment despite pathological progression at the one-year repeat biopsy. CONCLUSION: Active surveillance according to this study protocol was associated with conversion to the next treatment without delay, when indicated, despite the selection criteria and follow-up protocols being less rigorous than those recommended in current international guidelines.

Annual record on the number of general urological surgeries registered in the National Clinical Database system between April 2018 and December 2021 in Japan.

BACKGROUND: The Japanese National Clinical Database (NCD) is a large-scale, nationwide, web-based data entry system that covers the majority of surgical cases performed in Japan. An NCD specializing in urological surgery was launched based on the NCD system in 2018. METHODS: All urological surgeries performed at more than 1000 institutions were registered from 2018. We herein report the number of surgeries conducted as stipulated in the "Certified Urology Surgeon Training Curriculum" between April 2018 and December 2021. RESULTS: A total of 1 377 677 cases were registered from 1185 facilities nationwide under the initiative of the Japanese Urological Association. We examined the number of procedures performed every year for each of the 10 categories. CONCLUSIONS: The NCD system sustainably provides important information relating to the preoperative status, operational outcome, and best practice for urological surgery in Japan.

Clinicopathological characteristics of adrenocortical carcinoma in the Kyushu-Okinawa area of Japan.

OBJECTIVE: Adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare condition, with limited comprehensive reports from Japan. This study aimed to review Japan's data on adrenocortical carcinoma by assessing information from 46 patients-with adrenocortical carcinoma across 10 Japanese university hospitals. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective multi-institutional analysis of the clinical characteristics of adrenocortical carcinoma in Japan. We evaluated data from 46 patients across 10 university hospitals over 10 years and analyzed the relationship between clinicopathological characteristics and overall survival. RESULTS: Five- and 10-year overall survival rates were 59% and 53%, respectively. Overall survival was significantly different among the tumor-node-metastasis system for adrenocortical carcinoma of the American Joint Committee on Cancer/International Union Against Cancer, with the worst prognosis in stage IV (p = 0.0044). In our cohort, neither the Weiss score nor the Ki-67 proliferation index correlated with overall survival. Adjuvant treatment did not yield improved overall survival, whereas resection of the primary tumor in stage IV disease was significantly associated with improved overall survival (p = 0.0262). Out of the cases evaluated for plasma hormones, plasma cortisol, aldosterone, testosterone, and DHEA-S levels were measured at 23%, 42%, 29%, and 62%, respectively, demonstrating higher levels than the upper normal limits. CONCLUSION: Patients with stage IV adrenocortical carcinoma had a poor prognosis; however, resection of the primary tumor in stage IV disease was associated with prolonged survival. The results of this study are expected to contribute to future treatment of adrenocortical carcinoma in Japan.

GnRH antagonist monotherapy versus a GnRH agonist plus bicalutamide for advanced hormone-sensitive prostate cancer; KYUCOG-1401.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness and safety of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist monotherapy to combined androgen blockade (CAB) with a GnRH agonist and bicalutamide in patients with advanced hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (HSPC). METHODS: The study was conducted as KYUCOG-1401 trial (UMIN000014243) and enrolled 200 patients who were randomly assigned to either group A (GnRH antagonist monotherapy followed by the addition of bicalutamide) or group B (CAB by a GnRH agonist and bicalutamide). The primary endpoint was PSA progression-free survival. The secondary endpoints were the time to CAB treatment failure, radiographic progression-free survival, overall survival, changes in serum parameters, including PSA, hormones, and bone and lipid metabolic markers, and adverse events. RESULTS: PSA progression-free survival was significantly longer in group B (hazard ratio [HR], 95% confidence interval [CI]; 1.40, 1.01-1.95, p = 0.041). The time to CAB treatment failure was slightly longer in group A (HR, 95% CI; 0.80, 0.59-1.08, p = 0.146). No significant differences were observed in radiographic progression-free survival or overall survival. The percentage of patients with serum testosterone that did not reach the castration level was higher at 60 weeks (p = 0.046) in group A. No significant differences were noted in the serum levels of bone metabolic or lipid markers between the two groups. An injection site reaction was more frequent in group A. CONCLUSIONS: The present results support the potential of CAB using a GnRH agonist and bicalutamide as a more effective treatment for advanced HSPC than GnRH antagonist monotherapy.

Genetic variations predicting progression with docetaxel and novel androgen-receptor pathway inhibitors.

Genetic variations represented by single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) could be helpful for choosing an effective treatment for patients with prostate cancer. This study investigated the prognostic and predictive values of SNPs associated with the prognoses of pharmacotherapy for prostate cancer through their pharmacological mechanisms. Patients treated with docetaxel or androgen receptor pathway inhibitors (ARPIs), such as abiraterone and enzalutamide, for castration-resistant prostate cancer were included. The SNPs of interest were genotyped for target regions. The prognostic and predictive values of the SNPs for time to progression (TTP) were examined using the Cox hazard proportional model and interaction test, respectively. Rs1045642 in ABCB1, rs1047303 in HSD3B1, rs1856888 in HSD3B1, rs523349 in SRD5A2, and rs34550074 in SLCO2A1 were differentially associated with TTP between docetaxel chemotherapy and ARPI treatment. In addition to rs4775936 in CYP19A1, rs1128503 in ABCB1 and rs1077858 in SLCO2B1 might be differentially associated with TTP between abiraterone and enzalutamide treatments. Genetic predictive models using these SNPs showed a differential prognosis for treatments. This study identified SNPs that could predict progression as well as genetic models that could predict progression when patients were treated with docetaxel versus ARPI and abiraterone versus enzalutamide. The use of genetic predictive models is expected to be beneficial in selecting the appropriate treatment for the individual patient.

Real-world treatment outcomes of patients with penile cancer in the Kyushu-Okinawa area of Japan in the pre-guideline era.

OBJECTIVES: To understand the real-world outcomes for patients with penile cancer in the Kyushu-Okinawa area before the introduction of practice guidelines in Japan. METHODS: We retrospectively collected medical information on patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma and penile intraepithelial neoplasia at 12 university hospitals and their affiliated hospitals in the Kyushu-Okinawa area from January 2009 to December 2020. Patients with unknown clinical stage were excluded. Patient background characteristics and survival, as well as pretreatment factors involved in survival, were investigated. RESULTS: A total of 196 patients were included. Patients with clinical stage 0, I, IIA, IIB, IIIA, IIIB and IV comprised 9.7, 26.0, 22.4, 2.6, 10.7, 14.3 and 14.3%, respectively. The median follow-up was 26 months, and the mean 5-year overall survival and cancer-specific survival rates were 74.3 and 79.8%, respectively. On univariate analysis, tumor diameter ≥ 30 mm, penile shaft tumor, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≥ 1, cT ≥ 3, cN ≥ 2 and cM1 were associated with significantly poorer cancer-specific survival. On multivariate analysis, pretreatment factors of cN ≥ 2 (hazard ratio, 32.5; 95% confidence interval, 5.08-208; P = 0.0002), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≥ 1 (4.42; 1.79-10.9; P = 0.0012) and cT ≥ 3 (3.34; 1.11-10.1; P = 0.0319) were identified as independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed basic data for future penile cancer treatment and research, including survival rates according to clinical stages, and identified cN ≥ 2, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≥ 1 and cT ≥ 3 at initial diagnosis as independent prognostic factors. Evidence for penile cancer in Japan is particularly scarce, and future large-scale prospective studies are warranted.

The efficacy of sequential therapy with docetaxel and cabazitaxel for castration-resistant prostate cancer: A retrospective multi-institutional study in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the efficacy of docetaxel (DOC) and cabazitaxel (CBZ) and examined the factors associated with the prognosis of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) receiving DOC-CBZ sequential treatment in Japanese real-world data. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated data for 146 patients who received DOC followed by CBZ. The correlations of prostate specific antigen (PSA) decrease rate and time to progression between DOC and CBZ treatment were examined. Combined progression-free survival (PFS) of DOC-CBZ and overall survival (OS) from the initiation of DOC and the diagnosis of CRPC were evaluated and compared between patients with high and low PSA levels at the start of DOC and CBZ treatment. RESULTS: No correlations of PSA decrease rate and time to progression were observed between DOC and CBZ. The patients for whom DOC was started in higher PSA levels had significantly shorter combined PFS (p = 0.003) and OS from the initiation of DOC (p = 0.002). In patients who started DOC at high PSA levels, those who switched to CBZ at low PSA levels had longer OS than those who switched at high PSA levels (p = 0.048). The OS from CRPC of patients who started DOC at low PSA levels was significantly longer than those that started at high PSA levels (p = 0.030). CONCLUSIONS: For patients for whom DOC was not effective, sequential CBZ might have change to be effective. The PSA levels at the start of DOC and CBZ might be a potential prognostic biomarker.

Ureter position and risk of ureteral injury during lateral lumbar interbody fusion.

BACKGROUND: Ureteral injury during lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) is uncommon. However, it is a serious complication that may require additional surgery should it occur. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether there was any change in the position of the left ureter between preoperative biphasic contrast-enhanced CT scanned in the supine position and intraoperative scanning in the right lateral decubitus position after stent placement, to assess the risk of ureteral injury in the actual surgical position. METHODS: The position of the left ureter scanned with the O-arm navigation system with the patient in the right lateral decubitus position and its position on preoperative biphasic contrast-enhanced CT images scanned with the patient in the supine position were investigated comparing their positions at the L2/3, L3/4, and L4/5 levels. RESULTS: The ureter was located along the interbody cage insertion trajectory in 25 of 44 disc levels (56.8%) in the supine position, but in only 4 (9.5%) in the lateral decubitus position. The proportion of patients in whom the left ureter was located lateral to the vertebral body (along the LLIF cage insertion trajectory) at each level was 80% in the supine position and 15.4% in the lateral decubitus position at the L2/3 level, 53.3% in the supine position and 6.7% in the lateral decubitus position at the L3/4 level, and 33.3% in the supine position and 6.7% in the lateral decubitus position at the L4/5 level. CONCLUSION: The proportion of patients in whom the left ureter was located on the lateral surface of the vertebral body when the patient was in the actual surgical position (lateral decubitus position) was 15.4% at the L2/3 level, 6.7% at the L3/4 level, and 6.7% at the L4/5 level, suggesting that caution is required during LLIF surgery.

Prognostic significance of pathogenic variants in BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM and PALB2 genes in men undergoing hormonal therapy for advanced prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic significance of germline variants in homologous recombination repair genes in advanced prostate cancer (PCa), especially with regard to hormonal therapy, remains controversial. METHODS: Germline DNA from 549 Japanese men with metastatic and/or castration-resistant PCa was sequenced for 27 cancer-predisposing genes. The associations between pathogenic variants and clinical outcomes were examined. Further, for comparison, DNA from prostate biopsy tissue samples from 80 independent patients with metastatic PCa were analysed. RESULTS: Forty-four (8%) patients carried germline pathogenic variants in one of the analysed genes. BRCA2 was most frequently altered (n = 19), followed by HOXB13 (n = 9), PALB2 (n = 5) and ATM (n = 5). Further, the BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2 and ATM variants showed significant association with a short time to castration resistance and overall survival (hazard ratio = 1.99 and 2.36; 95% CI, 1.15-3.44 and 1.23-4.51, respectively), independent of other clinical variables. Based on log-rank tests, the time to castration resistance was also significantly short in patients with BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2 or ATM somatic mutations and TP53 mutations. CONCLUSIONS: Germline variants in BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2 or ATM are independent prognostic factors of the short duration of response to hormonal therapy in advanced PCa.

Narrative review of local prostate and metastasis-directed radiotherapy in the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer.

The role of local treatment in patients with de novo metastatic prostate cancer is controversial. In population-based retrospective studies, metastatic prostate cancer patients who received local treatment with prostate radiotherapy showed a better prognosis than those who did not. In addition, several prospective randomized studies demonstrated that prostate radiotherapy achieves a survival benefit for patients with oligo-metastasis. Moreover, the efficacy of metastasis-directed radiotherapy was evaluated, revealing a potential benefit for patients with oligo-metastasis. Importantly, these radiotherapies may reduce the occurrence of symptomatic local events. In this review, the rationale, efficacy and future perspectives for local prostate and metastasis-directed radiotherapy in the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer were described and summarized.

Enzalutamide in patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after combined androgen blockade for recurrence following radical treatment in Japan (Japanese research for patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer-enzalutamide: JCASTRE-zero)-a prospective single-arm interventional study.

BACKGROUND: The effect of enzalutamide in patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after combined androgen blockade, which represents a patient profile similar to real-world clinical practice in Japan, remains unknown. Therefore, we investigate the efficacy and safety of enzalutamide after combined androgen blockade for recurrence following radical treatment in Japanese patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. METHODS: We analyzed 66 patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after combined androgen blockade for recurrence following radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy who were prospectively enrolled from October 2015 to March 2018. They received enzalutamide 160 mg orally once daily until the protocol treatment discontinuation criteria were met. The primary endpoint was prostate-specific antigen-progression-free survival, defined as the time from enrollment to prostate-specific antigen-based progression or death from any cause. The secondary endpoints included overall survival, progression-free survival, metastasis-free survival, time to prostate-specific antigen progression, prostate-specific antigen response rate, chemotherapy-free survival, and safety assessment. RESULTS: The median observation period was 27.3 months. The median prostate-specific antigen-progression-free survival was 35.0 months (95% confidence interval, 17.5 to not reached). The median overall survival, median progression-free survival, median metastasis-free survival, and chemotherapy-free survival were not reached, with the corresponding 2-year rates being 91.6%, 67.1%, 72.4%, and 85.8%, respectively. The 50% prostate-specific antigen response rate was 88.9%, with the median time being 2.8 months. In total, 42.2% of the patients experienced adverse events, with malaise being the most common. CONCLUSIONS: Enzalutamide effectively manages non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after combined androgen blockade for recurrence following radical treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION:  UMIN000018964, CRB6180007.

Treatment strategies and outcomes in a long-term registry study of patients with high-risk metastatic hormone-naïve prostate cancer in Japan: An interim analysis of the J-ROCK study.

OBJECTIVE: The prognosis of high-risk metastatic hormone-naïve prostate cancer is poor, and real-world evidence of therapeutic options and sequences is lacking. The J-ROCK study aimed to evaluate the outcomes in a real-world setting in Japan. METHODS: Patients with high-risk metastatic hormone-naïve prostate cancer diagnosed after May 2019 were eligible. Based on their treatment within 3 months after diagnosis, patients were allocated to either cohort 1 (androgen deprivation therapy alone or combined androgen blockade with bicalutamide) or cohort 2 (androgen deprivation therapy with abiraterone acetate+prednisolone, docetaxel, enzalutamide, or apalutamide). RESULTS: In this first interim analysis (cut-off January 2021), 410 patients were enrolled, including 163 patients in cohort 1 and 247 in cohort 2. The median follow-up period was 7.6 (range 0.1-20.5) months. A higher proportion of patients in cohort 2 (42.5%) achieved nadir prostate-specific antigen levels ≤0.2 ng/ml within a year, compared with cohort 1 (22.1%). Prostate-specific antigen-progression-free survival was also more favorable in cohort 2 (adjusted hazard ratio 0.629 [95% confidence interval 0.345-1.147]). CONCLUSIONS: The higher proportion of cohort 2 suggest a paradigm shift has occurred in the real-world treatment of high-risk metastatic hormone-naïve prostate cancer in Japan. Some factors including prostate-specific antigen may affect treatment selection but need further observation. Most patients in cohort 2 received abiraterone acetate+prednisolone. The proportion of patients in cohort 1 receiving combined androgen blockade was lower than previously reported in Japan. This analysis suggest that more intensive therapy tends to prolong prostate-specific antigen-progression-free survival in patients with high-risk metastatic hormone-naïve prostate cancer.

Cancer-specific and net overall survival in older patients with de novo metastatic prostate cancer initially treated with androgen deprivation therapy.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess survival outcomes in older patients with de novo metastatic prostate cancer who initially received androgen deprivation therapy. METHODS: The retrospective multicenter study included 2784 men with metastatic prostate cancer who were treated with androgen deprivation therapy between 2008 and 2017. Patients were classified into <75, 75-79, and ≥80 age groups. Propensity score matching was conducted to assess the cancer-specific survival of the groups. The 5-year net overall survival of each group was derived to evaluate relative survival compared with the general population using the Pohar-Perme estimator and the 2019 Japan Life Table. RESULTS: During the follow-up (median, 34 months), 1014 patients died, of which 807 died from metastatic prostate cancer progression. Compared with the <75 group, the cancer-specific survival of the 75-79 group was similar (hazard ratio 1.07; 95% confidence interval 0.84-1.37; P = 0.580), whereas that of the ≥80 group was significantly worse (hazard ratio 1.41; 95% confidence interval 1.10-1.80; P = 0.006). The 5-year net overall survival of the <75, 75-79, and ≥80 age groups were 0.678, 0761, and 0.718, respectively. The 5-year net overall survival of patients aged ≥80 years with low- and high-volume disease were 0.893 and 0.586, respectively, which was comparable with those in patients aged <75 years (0.872 and 0.586, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Older metastatic prostate cancer patients aged ≥80 years had poorer cancer-specific survival compared with younger patients. Conversely, 5-year net overall survival in older patients aged ≥80 years was comparable with that in younger patients aged <75 years.

Efficacy of combined androgen blockade therapy in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer stratified by tumor burden.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of combined androgen blockade with a first-generation anti-androgen on the prognoses of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer patients stratified by tumor burden. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the cases of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer patients who were treated with androgen deprivation therapy in 2008-2017 at 30 institutions in Japan. To compare the overall survival and progression-free survival rates of the patients treated with castration monotherapy and combined androgen blockade, we carried out a Cox proportional hazards regression analysis using both inverse probability of treatment weighting and instrumental variables methods. High-burden disease was defined as the presence of four or more bone metastases and/or visceral metastasis. RESULTS: Of 2048 patients, 702 (34.3%) and 1346 (65.7%) patients were classified as the low- and high-burden groups, respectively. In each group, >80% of the patients were treated with combined androgen blockade. Although there was no significant between-group difference in the overall survival according to the androgen deprivation therapy method, in the high-burden group the progression-free survival of the combined androgen blockade-treated patients was significantly better than that of patients treated with castration monotherapy: inverse probability of treatment weighting method, hazard ratio 0.49, 95% confidence interval 0.34-0.71; instrumental variables method, hazard ratio 0.80, 95% confidence interval 0.60-0.98. CONCLUSION: In the high-burden group, combined androgen blockade with a first-generation anti-androgen resulted in superior progression-free survival compared with castration monotherapy. For well-selected metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer patients, the use of combined androgen blockade might still have some suitable scenarios.

Novel metastatic burden-stratified risk model in de novo metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.

The metastatic burden is a critical factor for decision-making in the treatment of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (HSPC). This study aimed to develop and validate a novel risk model for survival in patients with de novo low- and high-burden metastatic HSPC. The retrospective observational study included men with de novo metastatic prostate cancer who were treated with primary androgen-deprivation therapy at 30 institutions across Japan between 2008 and 2017. We created a risk model for overall survival (OS) in the discovery cohort (n = 1449) stratified by the metastatic burden (low vs high) and validated its predictive ability in a separate cohort (n = 951). Based on multivariate analyses, lower hemoglobin levels, higher Gleason grades, and higher clinical T-stage were associated with poor OS in low-burden disease. Meanwhile, lower hemoglobin levels, higher Gleason grade group, liver metastasis, and higher extent of disease scores in bone were associated with poor OS in patients with high-burden disease. In the discovery and validation cohorts, the risk model using the aforementioned parameters exhibited excellent discriminatory ability for progression-free survival and OS. The predictive ability of this risk model was superior to that of previous risk models. Our novel metastatic burden-stratified risk model exhibited excellent predictive ability for OS, and it is expected to have several clinical uses, such as precise prognostic estimation.

Differential prognostic factors in low- and high-burden de novo metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer patients.

Metastatic burden is a critical factor for therapy decision-making in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. The present study aimed to identify prognostic factors in men with high- or low-metastatic burden treated with primary androgen-deprivation therapy. The study included 2450 men with de novo metastatic prostate cancer who were treated with primary androgen-deprivation therapy at 30 institutions across Japan between 2008 and 2017. We investigated the prognostic value of various clinicopathological parameters for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients stratified by low- or high-metastatic burden. Among the 2450 men, 841 (34.3%) and 1609 (65.7%) were classified as having low- and high-metastatic burden, respectively. Median PFS of the low- and high-burden groups were 44.5 and 16.1 months, respectively, and the median OS was 103.2 and 62.7 months, respectively. Percentage of biopsy-positive core, biopsy Gleason grade group, T-stage, and N-stage were identified to be differentially prognostic. M1a was associated with worse PFS than was M1b in the low-burden group, whereas lung metastasis was associated with better PFS and OS than was M1b in the high-burden group. Differential prognostic factors were identified for patients with low- and high-burden metastatic prostate cancer. These results may assist in decision-making to select the optimal therapeutic strategies for patients with different metastatic burdens.

Prostate-specific antigen density during dutasteride treatment for 1 year predicts the presence of prostate cancer in benign prostatic hyperplasia after the first negative biopsy (PREDICT study).

OBJECTIVES: To prospectively evaluate the detection rate of prostate cancer, and to identify the risk factors of prostate cancer detection after a 1-year administration of dutasteride and first negative prostate biopsy. METHODS: Patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia who presented high prostate-specific antigen levels after the first negative prostate biopsy were administered 0.5 mg dutasteride daily for 1 year. They underwent a repeat prostate biopsy after 1 year. The primary end-point was the detection rate of prostate cancer. The secondary end-point was the ability of prostate-specific antigen kinetics to predict prostate cancer detection. Prostate-specific antigen was measured before the initial prostate biopsy and at 6, 9 and 12 months after starting dutasteride. Patients were classified into a prostate cancer and a non-prostate cancer group. RESULTS: Prostate cancer was detected in 15 of 149 participants (10.1%). The total prostate-specific antigen change between the prostate cancer and non-prostate cancer group at 1 year was significantly different (P = 0.002). Although prostate-specific antigen levels at baseline did not significantly differ between study groups (P = 0.102), prostate-specific antigen levels at 6, 9 and 12 months were significantly different (P = 0.002, P = 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). The mean reduction rate of prostate-specific antigen density between the prostate cancer and non-prostate cancer group at 1 year was significantly different (-4.25 ± 76.5% vs -38.0 ± 28.7%, P = 0.001). Using a multivariate analysis, a >10% increase of prostate-specific antigen density at 1 year post-dutasteride treatment was the only predictive risk factor for prostate cancer after the first negative prostate biopsy (odds ratio 11.238, 95% confidence interval 3.112-40.577, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In the present study cohort, >10% increase in prostate-specific antigen density represented the only significant predictive risk factor for prostate cancer diagnosis in patients with elevated prostate-specific antigen after the first negative prostate biopsy.

Surveillance of urachal abscess in the Kyushu-Okinawa area of Japan.

OBJECTIVE: To report a multicenter experience with the management of urachal abscess treatment in Japan. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 263 cases of urachal abscess managed at 12 university hospitals in the Kyushu-Okinawa region over a 10-year period. Age, sex, abscess size, clinical symptoms, type of urachal remnants, and treatment were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: The average age was 29.8 ± 18.1 years, with males accounting for approximately two-thirds of the study population. The average abscess size was 1.7 cm (range 0-11 cm). The most common presenting symptom was umbilical secretion (66%), followed by abdominal pain (46%). A total of 127 patients (48.3%) were treated with antibiotics alone, whereas 136 patients (51.7%) received surgical treatment. The surgical approach was laparotomy in 75 patients (61.0%) and laparoscopic surgery in 48 patients (39.0%). Regarding the type of urachal remnant, the urachus sinus (180 patients) accounted for 68.4% of the total. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this study represents the first report on urachal abscess treatment in Japan. Our data show that the clinical symptoms might vary depending on the type of urachus remnant. It should be noted that gross hematuria, a characteristic symptom of urachal cancer, is rare in patients with urachal abscess.

[A Case of Stauffer Syndrome-Like Findings Associated with Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer Improved by Molecular Targeted Therapy].

We report a case of Stauffer syndrome-like findings in a patient with metastatic renal carcinoma treated by surgery and molecular targeted therapy. The patient was a 58-year-old woman diagnosed with renal carcinoma with multiple metastases. She had hepatosplenomegaly and hepatic dysfunction with elevated serum liver enzyme and IL-6 levels. Treatment with temsirolimus and axitinib reduced the size of the local and metastatic tumors and simultaneously improved the hepatosplenomegaly. The local tumor was excised by laparoscopic nephrectomy, treated with axitinib and then with nivolumab. With the reduction in the metastatic tumor size, serum liver enzyme and IL-6 levels decreased. It was suggested that molecular targeted therapy is an effective treatment when the findings of metastatic renal cell carcinoma, are similar to those of Stauffer syndrome.