Health Related Quality of Life of Patients with Bladder Cancer in the RAZOR Trial: A Multi-Institutional Randomized Trial Comparing Robot versus Open Radical Cystectomy.

PURPOSE: We evaluated health related quality of life following robotic and open radical cystectomy as a treatment for bladder cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the Randomized Open versus Robotic Cystectomy (RAZOR) trial population we assessed health related quality of life by using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT)-Vanderbilt Cystectomy Index and the Short Form 8 Health Survey (SF-8) at baseline, 3 and 6 months postoperatively. The primary objective was to assess the impact of surgical approach on health related quality of life. As an exploratory analysis we assessed the impact of urinary diversion type on health related quality of life. RESULTS: Analyses were performed in subsets of the per-protocol population of 302 patients. There was no statistically significant difference between the mean scores by surgical approach at any time point for any FACT-Vanderbilt Cystectomy Index subscale or composite score (p >0.05). The emotional well-being score increased over time in both surgical arms. Patients in the open arm showed significantly better SF-8 sores in the physical and mental summary scores at 6 months compared to baseline (p <0.05). Continent diversion (versus noncontinent) was associated with worse FACT-bladder-cystectomy score at 3 (p <0.01) but not at 6 months, and the SF-8 physical component was better in continent-diversion patients at 6 months (p=0.019). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggests lack of significant differences in the health related quality of life in robotic and open cystectomies. As robotic procedures become more widespread it is important to discuss this finding during counseling.

Predictors of Recurrence, and Progression-Free and Overall Survival following Open versus Robotic Radical Cystectomy: Analysis from the RAZOR Trial with a 3-Year Followup.

PURPOSE: The RAZOR (Randomized Open versus Robotic Cystectomy) trial revealed noninferior 2-year progression-free survival for robotic radical cystectomy. This update was performed with extended followup for 3 years to determine potential differences between the approaches. We also report 3-year overall survival and sought to identify factors predicting recurrence, and progression-free and overall survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the per protocol population of 302 patients from the RAZOR study. Cumulative recurrence was estimated using nonbladder cancer death as the competing risk event and the Gray test was applied to assess significance in differences. Progression-free survival and overall survival were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the log rank test. Predictors of outcomes were determined by Cox proportional hazard analysis. RESULTS: Estimated progression-free survival at 36 months was 68.4% (95% CI 60.1-75.3) and 65.4% (95% CI 56.8-72.7) in the robotic and open groups, respectively (p=0.600). At 36 months overall survival was 73.9% (95% CI 65.5-80.5) and 68.5% (95% CI 59.8-75.7) in the robotic and open groups, respectively (p=0.334). There was no significant difference in the cumulative incidence rates of recurrence (p=0.802). Patient age greater than 70 years, poor performance status and major complications were significant predictors of 36-month progression-free survival. Stage and positive margins were significant predictors of recurrence, and progression-free and overall survival. Surgical approach was not a significant predictor of any outcome. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis showed no difference in recurrence, 3-year progression-free survival or 3-year overall survival for robotic vs open radical cystectomy. It provides important prospective data on the oncologic efficacy of robotic radical cystectomy and high level data for patient counseling.

Clinicopathological characterisation of renal cell carcinoma in young adults: a contemporary update and review of literature.

AIMS: Renal cell carcinomas are relatively rare in children and young adults. While well characterised in adults, the morphological and molecular characterisation of these tumours in young patients is relatively lacking. The objective of this study was to explore the spectrum of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) subtypes in children and young adults and to determine their clinico-pathological, immunohistochemical and molecular characteristics by evaluating a large retrospective cohort of renal cell carcinoma patients age 30 years or younger. METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixty-eight cases with confirmed diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma at age 30 years or younger were identified at our institution. Clear cell carcinoma accounted for the most common subtype seen in this age group. Translocation renal cell carcinoma and rare familial syndrome subtypes such as succinate dehydrogenase deficient renal cell carcinoma and tuberous sclerosis complex-associated renal cell carcinoma were found relatively more frequently in this cohort. Despite applying the 2016 WHO classification criteria, a high proportion of the tumours in our series remained unclassified. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that renal cell carcinoma in children and young adults is a relatively rare disease that shares many histological similarities to renal cell carcinoma occurring in adults and yet demonstrate some unique clinical-pathological differences. Microphthalmia-associated transcription (MiT) family translocation RCC and rare familial syndrome subtypes are relatively more frequent in the paediatric and adolescent age groups than in adults. Clear cell RCC still accounted for the most common subtype seen in this age group. MiT family translocation RCC patients presented with advanced stage disease and had poor clinical outcomes. The large and heterogeneous subgroup of unclassified renal cell carcinoma contains phenotypically distinct tumours with further potential for future subcategories in the renal cell carcinoma classification.

Robot-assisted radical cystectomy versus open radical cystectomy in patients with bladder cancer (RAZOR): an open-label, randomised, phase 3, non-inferiority trial.

BACKGROUND: Radical cystectomy is the surgical standard for invasive bladder cancer. Robot-assisted cystectomy has been proposed to provide similar oncological outcomes with lower morbidity. We aimed to compare progression-free survival in patients with bladder cancer treated with open cystectomy and robot-assisted cystectomy. METHODS: The RAZOR study is a randomised, open-label, non-inferiority, phase 3 trial done in 15 medical centres in the USA. Eligible participants (aged ≥18 years) had biopsy-proven clinical stage T1-T4, N0-N1, M0 bladder cancer or refractory carcinoma in situ. Individuals who had previously had open abdominal or pelvic surgery, or who had any pre-existing health conditions that would preclude safe initiation or maintenance of pneumoperitoneum were excluded. Patients were centrally assigned (1:1) via a web-based system, with block randomisation by institution, stratified by type of urinary diversion, clinical T stage, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, to receive robot-assisted radical cystectomy or open radical cystectomy with extracorporeal urinary diversion. Treatment allocation was only masked from pathologists. The primary endpoint was 2-year progression-free survival, with non-inferiority established if the lower bound of the one-sided 97·5% CI for the treatment difference (robotic cystectomy minus open cystectomy) was greater than -15 percentage points. The primary analysis was done in the per-protocol population. Safety was assessed in the same population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01157676. FINDINGS: Between July 1, 2011, and Nov 18, 2014, 350 participants were randomly assigned to treatment. The intended treatment was robotic cystectomy in 176 patients and open cystectomy in 174 patients. 17 (10%) of 176 patients in the robotic cystectomy group did not have surgery and nine (5%) patients had a different surgery to that they were assigned. 21 (12%) of 174 patients in the open cystectomy group did not have surgery and one (1%) patient had robotic cystectomy instead of open cystectomy. Thus, 302 patients (150 in the robotic cystectomy group and 152 in the open cystectomy group) were included in the per-protocol analysis set. 2-year progression-free survival was 72·3% (95% CI 64·3 to 78·8) in the robotic cystectomy group and 71·6% (95% CI 63·6 to 78·2) in the open cystectomy group (difference 0·7%, 95% CI -9·6% to 10·9%; pnon-inferiority=0·001), indicating non-inferiority of robotic cystectomy. Adverse events occurred in 101 (67%) of 150 patients in the robotic cystectomy group and 105 (69%) of 152 patients in the open cystectomy group. The most common adverse events were urinary tract infection (53 [35%] in the robotic cystectomy group vs 39 [26%] in the open cystectomy group) and postoperative ileus (33 [22%] in the robotic cystectomy group vs 31 [20%] in the open cystectomy group). INTERPRETATION: In patients with bladder cancer, robotic cystectomy was non-inferior to open cystectomy for 2-year progression-free survival. Increased adoption of robotic surgery in clinical practice should lead to future randomised trials to assess the true value of this surgical approach in patients with other cancer types. FUNDING: National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute.

Prognostic significance of BAP1 expression in high-grade upper tract urothelial carcinoma: a multi-institutional study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the prognostic value of BRCA1-associated protein-1 (BAP1) expression in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), as BAP1 mutations have been associated with prognostic implications in urologic and non-urologic malignancies. METHODS: We reviewed a multi-institutional cohort of patients who underwent radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for high-grade UTUC from 1990-2008. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for BAP1 was performed on tissue microarrays. Staining intensity was graded from 0-3, with BAP1 loss defined as an average intensity of < 1. Clinicopathologic characteristics and oncologic outcomes [recurrencefree (RFS), cancer-specific (CSS), and overall survival (OS)] were stratified by BAP1 status. The prognostic role of BAP1 was assessed using Kaplan-Meier (KM) and Cox regression analysis. Significance was defined as p < 0.05. RESULTS: 348 patients were included for analysis and 173 (49.7%) showed BAP1 loss. Median follow-up was 36.0 months. BAP1 loss was associated with papillary architecture and absence of tumor necrosis or CIS. On univariable analysis, BAP1 loss was associated with improved RFS (HR 0.60, p = 0.013) and CSS (HR 0.55, p = 0.007), although significance was lost on multivariable analysis (HR 0.71, p = 0.115 and HR 0.65, p = 0.071; respectively) after adjusting for other significant parameters. BAP1 expression was not significantly associated with OS. CONCLUSIONS: BAP1 loss was associated with favorable pathologic features and better oncologic outcomes in univariate but not multivariate analysis in patients with high-grade UTUC. In contrast to renal cell carcinoma, loss of BAP1 expression appears to confer a better prognosis in high-grade UTUC. The role of the BAP1 pathway in UTUC pathogenesis remains to be further elucidated.

Development of a 90-Minute Integrated Noninvasive Urinary Assay for Bladder Cancer Detection.

PURPOSE: Despite suboptimal sensitivity urine cytology is often performed as an adjunct to cystoscopy for bladder cancer diagnosis. We aimed to develop a noninvasive, fast molecular diagnostic test for bladder cancer detection with better sensitivity than urine cytology while maintaining adequate specificity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Urine specimens were collected at 18 multinational sites from subjects prior to cystoscopy or tumor resection, and from healthy and other control subjects without evidence of bladder cancer. The levels of 10 urinary mRNAs were measured in a training cohort of 483 subjects and regression analysis was used to identify a 5-mRNA model to predict cancer status. The performance of the GeneXpert® Bladder Cancer Assay, an assay labeled for investigational use only to detect the 5 mRNAs ABL1, CRH, IGF2, ANXA10 and UPK1B, was evaluated in an independent test cohort of 450 participants. RESULTS: In the independent test cohort the assay ROC curve AUC was 0.87 (95% CI 0.81-0.92). At an example cutoff point of 0.4 overall sensitivity was 73% while specificity was 90% and 77% in the hematuria and surveillance patient populations, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a 90-minute, urine based test that is simple to perform for the detection of bladder cancer. The test can help guide physician decision making in the management of bladder cancer. Additional evaluation in a prospective study is needed to establish the clinical usefulness of this assay.

Retroperitoneal versus transperitoneal robotic-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy: a matched-pair, bicenter analysis with cost comparison using time-driven activity-based costing.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To perform a bicenter, retrospective study of perioperative outcomes of retroperitoneal versus transperitoneal robotic-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (RALPN) and assess costs using time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC). We identified 355 consecutive patients who underwent RALPN at University of California Los Angeles and the University of Michigan during 2009-2016. We matched according to RENAL nephrometry score, date, and institution for 78 retroperitoneal versus 78 transperitoneal RALPN. Unadjusted analyses were performed using McNemar's Chi-squared or paired t test, and adjusted analyses were performed using multivariable repeated measures regression analysis. From multivariable models, predicted probabilities were derived according to approach. Cost analysis was performed using TDABC. RECENT FINDINGS: Patients treated with retroperitoneal versus transperitoneal RALPN were similar in age (P = 0.490), sex (P = 0.715), BMI (P = 0.273), and comorbidity (P = 0.393). Most tumors were posterior or lateral in both the retroperitoneal (92.3%) and transperitoneal (85.9%) groups. Retroperitoneal RALPN was associated with shorter operative times (167.0 versus 191.1 min, P = 0.001) and length of stay (LOS) (1.8 versus 2.7 days, P < 0.001). There were no differences in renal function preservation or cancer control. In adjusted analyses, retroperitoneal RALPN was 17.6-min shorter (P < 0.001) and had a 76% lower probability of LOS at least 2 days (P < 0.001). Utilizing TDABC, transperitoneal RALPN added $2337 in cost when factoring in disposable equipment, operative time, LOS, and personnel. SUMMARY: In two high-volume, tertiary centers, retroperitoneal RALPN is associated with reduced operative times and shortened LOS in posterior and lateral tumors, whereas sharing similar clinicopathologic outcomes, which may translate into lower healthcare costs. Further investigation into anterior tumors is needed.

Functional Outcomes Following Nerve Sparing Prostatectomy Augmented with Seminal Vesicle Sparing Compared to Standard Nerve Sparing Prostatectomy: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial.

PURPOSE: Seminal vesicle sparing may reduce the risk of neurovascular bundle injury and improve functional outcomes after prostatectomy. While several observational studies have shown better functional outcomes following seminal vesicle sparing approaches, evidence from randomized trials is lacking. We performed a randomized controlled trial comparing functional and cancer control outcomes between nerve sparing prostatectomy augmented with seminal vesicle sparing and standard nerve sparing prostatectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 140 men with early stage prostate cancer were enrolled in a randomized phase II trial comparing nerve sparing prostatectomy augmented with seminal vesicle sparing to standard nerve sparing prostatectomy. Patient reported sexual and urinary functional scores were assessed prior to surgery, and 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Surgical margin status and prostate specific antigen recurrence were evaluated as secondary outcomes. RESULTS: There were no differences in sexual or urinary function scores after surgery between the study groups. The median urinary incontinence domain score was 92 in the nerve sparing group and 87.5 in the nerve plus seminal vesicle sparing group at 12 months (p = 0.77). Median sexual function domain scores were 73.7 in the nerve sparing group and 77.1 in the nerve sparing plus seminal vesicle sparing group at 12 months (p = 0.29). Margin status and 12-month biochemical recurrence were similar in the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Recovery of continence and sexual function was similar between the groups in this randomized controlled trial. Seminal vesicle sparing did not negatively affect margin status or 12-month biochemical (prostate specific antigen) recurrence. These results suggest limited usefulness of seminal vesicle sparing prostatectomy.

Frequency and Prognostic Value of PTEN Loss in Patients with Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma Treated with Radical Nephroureterectomy.

PURPOSE: To our knowledge the frequency and prognostic significance of PTEN protein expression in upper tract urothelial carcinoma have not yet been investigated in large studies. We analyzed PTEN protein status and its association with disease recurrence and survival outcomes in a large, multi-institutional upper tract urothelial carcinoma cohort. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the records of 611 patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma treated with radical nephroureterectomy between 1991 and 2008 at a total of 7 institutions. Median followup was 23 months. Tissue microarrays and immunohistochemical PTEN staining (monoclonal antibody) were performed. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression models were created to address the association of PTEN protein expression with disease recurrence, and cancer specific and overall mortality. RESULTS: PTEN staining was absent in 45 cases (7.4%). Patients with PTEN loss had significantly advanced pathological tumor stage and grade (p <0.001), and higher rates of lymph node metastasis (p <0.01) and lymphovascular invasion (p <0.001) compared to patients with PTEN expression. PTEN loss was associated with disease recurrence, and cancer specific and overall mortality on univariable Cox regression analyses. However, on multivariable Cox regression analyses adjusted for the effect of standard clinicopathological features PTEN loss was only associated with overall mortality (HR 1.69, 95% CI 1.09-2.61, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: In patients undergoing radical nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma loss of PTEN protein expression is rare but associated with features of biologically aggressive disease such as higher grade and stage as well as lymph node metastasis. Loss of PTEN expression was associated with overall mortality. PTEN loss seemed to promote worse outcomes in this relatively small group of patients.

Postoperative Nomogram for Relapse-Free Survival in Patients with High Grade Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma.

PURPOSE: We developed a prognostic nomogram for patients with high grade urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract after extirpative surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical data were available for 2,926 patients diagnosed with high grade urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract who underwent extirpative surgery. Cox proportional hazard regression models identified independent prognosticators of relapse in the development cohort (838). A backward step-down selection process was applied to achieve the most informative nomogram with the least number of variables. The L2-regularized logistic regression was applied to generate the novel nomogram. Harrell's concordance indices were calculated to estimate the discriminative accuracy of the model. Internal validation processes were performed using bootstrapping, random sampling, tenfold cross-validation, LOOCV, Brier score, information score and F1 score. External validation was performed on an external cohort (2,088). Decision tree analysis was used to develop a risk classification model. Kaplan-Meier curves were applied to estimate the relapse rate for each category. RESULTS: Overall 35.3% and 30.7% of patients experienced relapse in the development and external validation cohort. The final nomogram included age, pT stage, pN stage and architecture. It achieved a discriminative accuracy of 0.71 and 0.76, and the AUC was 0.78 and 0.77 in the development and external validation cohort, respectively. Rigorous testing showed constant results. The 5-year relapse-free survival rates were 88.6%, 68.1%, 40.2% and 12.5% for the patients with low risk, intermediate risk, high risk and very high risk disease, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The current nomogram, consisting of only 4 variables, shows high prognostic accuracy and risk stratification for patients with high grade urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract following extirpative surgery, thereby adding meaningful information for clinical decision making.

Prognostic Value of PD-1 and PD-L1 Expression in Patients with High Grade Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma.

PURPOSE: We investigated the prognostic value of PD-1 and PD-L1 expression in patients with high grade upper tract urothelial carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tissue microarrays of 423 patients treated with extirpative surgery for high grade upper tract urothelial carcinoma from the International Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma collaboration were stained for PD-1 and PD-L1 using antibodies, including Cell Marque™ NAT105 diluted 1:250 and prediluted E1L3N® via immunohistochemistry. A 1% or greater staining rate of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (PD-1) and tumor cells (PD-L1) was considered positive. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess independent prognosticators of survival outcomes. RESULTS: Median patient age was 70.0 years and median followup was 37.0 months. PD-1 and PD-L1 were positive in 37.2% and 26.2% of patients, respectively. PD-1 positivity was significantly associated with adverse pathological characteristics while PD-L1 positivity was associated with favorable pT stage. On univariate analysis PD-1 expression was associated with worse recurrence-free, cancer specific and overall survival. On multivariate analysis PD-1 expression was an independent prognosticator of cancer specific survival (HR 1.7, 95% CI 1.03-2.66, p = 0.039) and overall survival (HR 1.5, 95% CI 1.05-2.24, p = 0.029) but not recurrence-free survival (HR 1.4, 95% CI 0.9-2.16, p = 0.139). On univariate analysis PD-L1 expression was not significantly associated with survival outcomes. However, on multivariate analysis in patients with organ confined disease (pT2 or less, pN0/x and cM0), PD-L1 positivity was an independent prognosticator of recurrence-free survival (HR 0.2, 95% CI 0.06-0.98, p = 0.046) and overall survival (HR 0.3, 95% CI 0.11-0.63, p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: PD-1 positivity of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes was associated with adverse pathological criteria and independent prognostication of worse survival outcomes. PD-L1 positivity of tumor cells was an independent prognosticator of favorable survival outcomes in cases of organ confined disease.

Promising role of preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients treated with radical nephroureterectomy.

OBJECTIVE: Several retrospective studies with small cohorts reported neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a prognostic marker in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) following radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). We aimed at validating the predictive and prognostic role of NLR in a large multi-institutional cohort. METHODS: Preoperative NLR was assessed in a multi-institutional cohort of 2477 patients with UTUC treated with RNU. Altered NLR was defined by a ratio >2.7. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between NLR and lymph node metastasis, muscle-invasive and non-organ-confined disease. The association of altered NLR with recurrence-free survival (RFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. RESULTS: Altered NLR was observed in 1428 (62.8 %) patients and associated with more advanced pathological tumor stage, lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular invasion, tumor necrosis and sessile tumor architecture. In a preoperative model that included age, gender, tumor location and architecture, NLR was an independent predictive factor for the presence of lymph node metastasis, muscle-invasive and non-organ-confined disease (p < 0.001). Within a median follow-up of 40 months (IQR 20-76 months), 548 (24.1 %) patients experienced disease recurrence and 453 patients (19.9 %) died from their cancer. Compared to patients with normal NLR, those with altered NLR had worse RFS (0.003) and CSS (p = 0.002). In multivariable analyses that adjusted for the effects of standard clinicopathologic features, altered NLR did not retain an independent value. In the subgroup of patients treated with lymphadenectomy in addition to RNU, NLR was independently associated with CSS (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: In UTUC, preoperative NLR is associated with adverse clinicopathologic features and independently predicts features of biologically and clinically aggressive UTUC such as lymph node metastasis, muscle-invasive or non-organ-confined status. NLR may help better risk stratify patients with regard to lymphadenectomy and conservative therapy.

Prognostic role of decreased E-cadherin expression in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma: a multi-institutional study.

PURPOSE: To assess the role of E-cadherin as prognostic biomarker in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) in a large multi-institutional cohort of patients. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry technique was used to evaluate E-cadherin expression in 678 patients with unilateral, sporadic UTUC treated with RNU. E-cadherin expression was considered decreased if 10 % or more cells had decreased expression (<90 %). RESULTS: Decreased E-cadherin expression was observed in 353 patients (52.1 %) and was associated with advanced pathological stage (P < 0.001), higher grade (P < 0.001), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.006), lymphovascular invasion (P < 0.001), concomitant carcinoma in situ (P < 0.001), multifocality (P = 0.004), tumor necrosis (P = 0.020) and sessile architecture (P < 0.001). Within a median follow-up of 30 months (interquartile range 15-57), 171 patients (25.4 %) experienced disease recurrence and 150 (21.9 %) died from UTUC. In univariable analyses, decreased E-cadherin expression was significantly associated with worse recurrence-free survival (P < 0.001) and cancer-specific survival CSS (P = 0.006); however, in multivariable analyses, it was not (P = 0.74 and 0.84, respectively). The lack of independent prognostic value of E-cadherin remained true in all subgroup analyses. CONCLUSION: In UTUC patients treated with RNU, decreased E-cadherin expression is associated with features of biologically and clinically aggressive disease and worse outcome in univariable, but not multivariable, analyses. If E-cadherin's association with factors of advanced disease is confirmed on UTUC biopsy specimens, it could be used to help in the clinical decision-making regarding kidney-sparing approaches and/or neo-adjuvant chemotherapy.

Age, Gender and R.E.N.A.L. Nephrometry Score do not Improve the Accuracy of a Risk Stratification Algorithm Based on Biopsy and Mass Size for Assigning Surveillance versus Treatment of Renal Tumors.

PURPOSE: A previously published risk stratification algorithm based on renal mass biopsy and radiographic mass size was useful to designate surveillance vs the need for immediate treatment of small renal masses. Nonetheless, there were some incorrect assignments, most notably when renal mass biopsy indicated low risk malignancy but final pathology revealed high risk malignancy. We studied other factors that might improve the accuracy of this algorithm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For 202 clinically localized small renal masses in a total of 200 patients with available R.E.N.A.L. (radius, exophytic/endophytic, nearness of tumor to collecting system or sinus, anterior/posterior, hilar tumor touching main renal artery or vein and location relative to polar lines) nephrometry score, preoperative renal mass biopsy and final pathology we assessed the accuracy of management assignment (surveillance vs treatment) based on the previously published risk stratification algorithm as confirmed by final pathology. Logistic regression was used to determine whether other factors (age, gender, R.E.N.A.L. score, R.E.N.A.L. score components and nomograms based on R.E.N.A.L. score) could improve assignment. RESULTS: Of the 202 small renal masses 53 (26%) were assigned to surveillance and 149 (74%) were assigned to treatment by the risk stratification algorithm. Of the 53 lesions assigned to surveillance 25 (47%) had benign/favorable renal mass biopsy histology while in 28 (53%) intermediate renal mass biopsy histology showed a mass size less than 2 cm. Nine of these 53 masses (17%) were incorrectly assigned to surveillance in that final pathology indicated the need for treatment (ie intermediate histology and a mass greater than 2 cm or unfavorable histology). Final pathology confirmed a correct assignment in all 149 masses assigned to treatment. None of the additional parameters assessed improved assignment with statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Age, gender, R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score, R.E.N.A.L. score components and nomograms or combinations of these factors do not improve the predictive performance of a small renal mass management risk stratification algorithm based on renal mass biopsy and radiographic mass size.

Prognostic Value of Percent Gleason Grade 4 at Prostate Biopsy in Predicting Prostatectomy Pathology and Recurrence.

PURPOSE: The importance of primary Gleason grade among men with Gleason score 7 disease has been well-defined. However, this dichotomization may oversimplify the continuous spectrum of absolute percent Gleason grade 4 disease (G4%). In this study we report the prognostic value of G4% in cancer related outcomes of men undergoing radical prostatectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent radical prostatectomy for clinically localized Gleason 6-8 prostate cancer from 2005 to 2013 were included in the study. G4% was determined as biopsy tumor length containing Gleason pattern 4/total tumor length, which performed better than alternative quantifications of pattern 4 involvement. G4% was correlated with time to biochemical recurrence and presence of adverse radical prostatectomy pathology, defined as primary Gleason 4 or pT3 or greater, by multivariable Cox and logistic regressions. RESULTS: Of 1,691 patients 517 (30.6%) had adverse pathological features and 86 (5.6%) experienced biochemical recurrence. On multivariable analyses G4% was a significant predictor of adverse pathology (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03-1.05) and time to biochemical recurrence (HR 1.02, CI 1.01-1.03). G4% was also a significant independent predictor of adverse pathology in subsets of patients with Gleason score 7 (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.06), 3+4 (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.04-1.08) and 4+3 cancer (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.06). We found a significantly increased risk of adverse pathology at potentially meaningful G4% thresholds (1% to 10% vs 20% to 30%). CONCLUSIONS: The incremental percentage of Gleason grade 4 disease in biopsy specimens is an important predictor of adverse pathology and biochemical recurrence across the entire range of G4% disease. Accounting for G4% can improve risk assessment even among those patients with Gleason 3+4 or 4+3 cancer and may help inform patient counseling.

A 10-Item Checklist Improves Reporting of Critical Procedural Elements during Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumor.

PURPOSE: Previous studies have demonstrated significant variation in recurrence rates after transurethral resection of bladder tumor, likely due to differences in surgical quality. We sought to create a framework to define, measure and improve the quality of transurethral resection of bladder tumor using a surgical checklist. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We formed a multi-institutional group of urologists with expertise with bladder cancer and identified 10 critical items that should be performed during every high quality transurethral bladder tumor resection. We prospectively implemented a 10-item checklist into practice and reviewed the operative reports of such resections performed before and after implementation. Results at all institutions were combined in a meta-analysis to estimate the overall change in the mean number of items documented. RESULTS: The operative notes for 325 transurethral bladder tumor resections during checklist use were compared to those for 428 performed before checklist implementation. Checklist use increased the mean number of items reported from 4.8 to 8.0 per resection, resulting in a mean increase of 3.3 items (95% CI 1.9-4.7) on meta-analysis. With the checklist the percentage of reports that included all 10 items increased from 0.5% to 27% (p <0.0001). Surgeons who reported more checklist items tended to have a slightly higher proportion of biopsies containing muscle, although not at conventional significance (p = 0.062). CONCLUSIONS: The use of a 10-item checklist during transurethral resection of bladder tumor improved the reporting of critical procedural elements. Although there was no clear impact on the inclusion of muscle in the specimen, checklist use may enhance surgeon attention to important aspects of the procedure and be a lever for quality improvement.

Independent surgical validation of the new prostate cancer grade-grouping system.

OBJECTIVE: To report the independent prognostic impact of the new prostate cancer grade-grouping system in a large external validation cohort of patients treated with radical prostatectomy (RP). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 1994 and 2013, 3 694 consecutive men were treated with RP at a single institution. To investigate the performance of and validate the grade-grouping system, biochemical recurrence-free survival (bRFS) rates were assessed using Kaplan-Meier tests, Cox-regression modelling, and discriminatory comparison analyses. Separate analyses were performed based on biopsy and RP grade. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 52.7 months. The 5-year actuarial bRFS for biopsy grade groups 1-5 were 94.2%, 89.2%, 73.1%, 63.1%, and 54.7%, respectively (P < 0.001). Similarly, the 5-year actuarial bRFS based on RP grade groups was 96.1%, 93.0%, 74.0%, 64.4%, and 49.9% for grade groups 1-5, respectively (P < 0.001). The adjusted hazard ratios for bRFS relative to biopsy grade group 1 were 1.98, 4.20, 5.57, and 9.32 for groups 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively (P < 0.001), and for RP grade groups were 2.09, 5.27, 5.86, and 10.42 (P < 0.001). The five-grade-group system had a higher prognostic discrimination compared with the commonly used three-tier system (Gleason score 6 vs 7 vs 8-10). CONCLUSIONS: In an independent surgical cohort, we have validated the prognostic benefit of the new prostate cancer grade-grouping system for bRFS, and shown that the benefit is maintained after adjusting for important clinicopathological variables. The greater predictive accuracy of the new system will improve risk stratification in the clinical setting and aid in patient counselling.

Prognostic role of ERCC1 protein expression in upper tract urothelial carcinoma following radical nephroureterectomy with curative intent.

BACKGROUND: Excision repair cross-complementing 1 (ERCC1) has been associated with outcomes of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, but was not yet studied in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic role of ERCC1 expression in a large international cohort of UTUC patients. METHODS: Immunohistochemical ERCC1 expression was evaluated in 716 UTUC patients who underwent radical nephroureterectomy with curative intent. ERCC1 was considered positive when the H-score was >1.0. Associations with overall survival and cancer-specific survival were assessed using univariable and multivariable Cox models. RESULTS: ERCC1 was expressed in 303 tumors (42.3 %) and linked with the presence of tumor necrosis (16.2 vs. 10.4 %, p = 0.023), but not with any other clinical or pathological variable. ERCC1 status did not predict cancer-specific survival and overall survival on both univariable (p = 0.70 and 0.32, respectively) and multivariable analyses (p = 0.48 and 0.33, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: ERCC1 is expressed in a significant proportion of UTUC and is linked with tumor necrosis, but its expression appears not to be associated with prognosis following radical nephroureterectomy.

Patient-Reported Convalescence and Quality of Life Recovery: A Comparison of Open and Robotic-Assisted Radical Cystectomy.

Background Robotic-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) is gaining traction as a surgical approach, but there are limited data on patient-reported outcomes for this technique compared to open radical cystectomy (ORC). Objective To compare health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and short-term convalescence among bladder cancer patients who underwent ORC and RARC. Methods Review of a single-institution bladder cancer database was conducted. Baseline and postoperative HRQoL was evaluated using the Bladder Cancer Index (BCI) for 324 patients who had ORC (n = 267) or RARC (n = 57) between 2008 and 2012. The BCI assesses function and bother in urinary, bowel, and sexual domains. Among 87 distinct patients (ORC n = 67, RARC n = 20), we also evaluated short-term postoperative convalescence using the Convalescence and Recovery Evaluation (CARE) questionnaire. Our primary outcomes were HRQoL within 12 months and short-term convalescence within 6 weeks following cystectomy. We fit generalized estimating equation regression models to estimate longitudinal changes in BCI scores within domains, and CARE domain score differences were tested with Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Results Clinical characteristics and baseline BCI/CARE scores were similar between the 2 groups (all P > .05). Within 1 year after surgery, recovery of HRQoL across all BCI domains was comparable, with scores nearly returning to baseline at 1 year for all patients. CARE scores at 4 weeks revealed that patients treated with ORC had better pain (29.1 vs 20.0, P = .02) domain scores compared to RARC. These differences abated by week 6. Conclusions HRQoL recovery and short-term convalescence were similar in this cohort following ORC and RARC.

Prostate capsule sparing versus nerve sparing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer: results of a randomized, controlled trial.

PURPOSE: Prostate capsule sparing and nerve sparing cystectomies are alternative procedures for bladder cancer that may decrease morbidity while achieving cancer control. However, to our knowledge the comparative effectiveness of these approaches has not been established. We evaluated functional and oncologic outcomes in patients undergoing these procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a single institution trial in patients with bladder cancer in whom transurethral prostatic urethral biopsy and transrectal prostate biopsy were negative. Men were randomized to prostate capsule sparing or nerve sparing cystectomy with neobladder creation and stratified by Sexual Health Inventory for Men score (greater than 21 vs 21 or less). Our primary end point was 12-month overall urinary function as measured by Bladder Cancer Index. Secondary end points included sexual function, cancer control and complications. RESULTS: A total of 40 patients were enrolled in the study with 20 patients in each arm. Urinary function at 12 months decreased by 13 and 28 points in the prostate capsule and nerve sparing groups, respectively (p = 0.10). Sexual function followed a similar pattern (p = 0.06). There was no difference in recurrence-free, metastasis-free or overall survival (each p >0.05). The rate of incidentally detected prostate cancer was similar (p = 0.15). CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides a randomized comparison of prostate capsule sparing and nerve sparing cystectomy techniques. We found no difference in functional or oncologic outcomes between the 2 approaches, although our study was underpowered due to a lack of patient accrual.