Impact of Preoperative Plasma Potassium Levels on Oncological Outcomes, Major Complications, and 30-Day Mortality in Bladder Cancer Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: We examined the impact of preoperative plasma potassium levels (PPLs) on outcomes in patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB), hypothesizing that potassium imbalances might influence outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, 501 UCB patients undergoing RC from 2009 to 2017 at a tertiary center were analyzed. Blood samples collected a week prior to surgery defined normal and abnormal PPL based on institutional standards. We assessed overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), postoperative complications, 30-day mortality, and non-organ confined disease. Kaplan-Meier estimates, Cox proportional hazards, logistic regression, and decision curve analyses (DCA) were employed. RESULTS: 63 (13%) patients had abnormal preoperative PPLs, with 50 (10%) elevated and 13 (2.5%) decreased. In a 59 months median follow-up, 152 (31%) had disease recurrence, 197 (39%) died from any cause, and 119 (24%) from UCB. Multivariable cox regression analyses adjusting for perioperative parameters demonstrated abnormal PPL was associated with worse OS (HR=1.9, P=0.009), CSS (HR=2.8, P<0.001) and RFS (HR=2.1; P=0.007). Elevated preoperative PPLs also demonstrated significant associations with adverse outcomes in OS, CSS, and RFS (all P<0.05). In multivariable logistic regression analyses, abnormal and elevated PPLs were not associated with 30-day mortality, major 30-day postoperative complications, positive nodal disease, pT3/4 stage, and non-organ confined disease (all P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Abnormal and elevated preoperative PPLs correlate with adverse oncologic outcomes in UCB patients treated with RC. Pending external validation, preoperative PPLs might be a cost-effective, easily obtainable supplemental biomarker for enriching accuracy of outcome prediction in this highly variable maladie.

Immunohistochemical Expression of Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) in Urinary Bladder Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the urinary bladder is associated with aggressive behavior and is typically treated with radical cystectomy. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) and its ligand Calcitriol have shown anti-tumor effects in various malignancies but to our knowledge there is no current information on VDR expression in bladder SCC. This study aimed to assess VDR immunostaining patterns in pure bladder SCC and its relation to the available clinicopathological parameters of such tumors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: VDR immunostaining was performed on 35 radical cystectomy specimens from patients with primary pure SCC. Nuclear and cytoplasmic VDR staining was scored separately using the semi-quantitative immunoreactive score. RESULTS: Nuclear and cytoplasmic/membranous VDR expression was present in 35 (100%) and 19 (54.3%) cases, respectively, with a significant negative linear relationship (r=-0.33; p=0.035). Differences in cytoplasmic/membranous VDR expression were found in relation to tumor histology (p=0.018), tumor necrosis (p=0.022), and stage groups (p=0.001). Low cytoplasmic VDR correlated with increased tumor staging (Cc = -0.422), positive lymph node status (Cc = -0.375), and higher stage groups (Cc= -0.438). The median nuclear VDR expression score was significantly higher in advanced stage groups (p= 0.038). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that VDR may be a potential prognostic factor in bladder SCC. Further studies and clinical trials using vitamin D supplements may provide a new therapeutic option for those high-risk patients.

Quality of care perceived by patients during cystoscopy and affecting factors.

It is necessary and important for quality of care to ensure the comfort of patients during the procedure, as well as before and after surgery. According to literature, it is necessary to know what patients experience and how they perceive the care they receive. This study aimed to investigate the quality of care perceived by patients during cystoscopy and the factors affecting it. This descriptive study was conducted in the surgical clinic of a teaching and research hospital, with 105 patients who underwent cystoscopy in 2022. Data collection forms consisting of a Sociodemographic and Disease Characteristics Questionnaire and the Good Perioperative Nursing Care Scale (for Patients) (GPNCS) were used for data collection, with face-to-face interviews on the first day after the procedure. This study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The study included patients with urinary tract stones, transurethral prostatectomy, and transurethral bladder resection. Of the participants, 72.4% were male, and 81.9% were married. The mean age of the patients was 50.09 ± 16.79 years. The mean total score was 143.56 ± 16.62. It was higher in single patients and those who had not previously undergone surgery. It was found that the mean of the environment sub-dimension was the highest at 18.57 ± 2.51 and the mean of the support sub-dimension was the lowest at 16.01 ± 3.44. The results of this study showed that patients undergoing cystoscopy have a good perception of the quality of their peri-operative nursing care.

Robot-assisted radical cystectomy vs open radical cystectomy in patients with bladder cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PURPOSE: Even though there isn't enough clinical evidence to demonstrate that robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) is preferable to open radical cystectomy (ORC), RARC has become a widely used alternative. We performed the present study of RARC vs ORC with a focus on oncologic, pathological, perioperative, and complication-related outcomes and health-related quality of life (QOL). METHODS: We conducted a literature review up to August 2022. The search included PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane controlled trials register databases. We classified the studies according to version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2). The data was assessed by Review Manager 5.4.0. RESULTS: 8 RCTs comparing 1024 patients were analyzed in our study. RARC was related to lower estimated blood loss (weighted mean difference (WMD): -328.2; 95% CI -463.49--192.92; p < 0.00001), lower blood transfusion rates (OR: 0.45; 95% CI 0.32 - 0.65; p < 0.0001) but longer operation time (WMD: 84.21; 95% CI 46.20 -121.72; p < 0.0001). And we found no significant difference in terms of positive surgical margins (P = 0.97), lymph node yield (P = 0.30) and length of stay (P = 0.99). Moreover, no significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of survival outcomes, pathological outcomes, postoperative complication outcomes and health-related QOL. CONCLUSION: Based on the present evidence, we demonstrated that RARC and ORC have similar cancer control results. RARC is related to less blood loss and lower transfusion rate. We found no difference in postoperative complications and health-related QOL between robotic and open approaches. RARC procedures could be used as an alternate treatment for bladder cancer patients. Additional RCTs with long-term follow-up are needed to validate this observation.

Robotic partial cystectomy with excision of mesh after inguinal hernia repair: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Mesh erosion into the bladder after hernioplasty is sparsely reported in literature and may be underestimated in clinical practice. We report a case of a patient who was referred to our department due to recurrent urinary tract infections caused by a bladder stone due to mesh migration after inguinal hernia repair 22 years ago. CASE PRESENTATION: A 67-year-old male patient was referred from the outpatient urologist for transurethral resection of the prostate in September 2021 due to recurrent urinary tract infections caused by benign prostatic enlargement and bladder stone formation. During the operation, parts of the stone were smashed and the prostate was resected. Additionally, a mesh eroding from the bladder roof was detected masqueraded by the stone. A computed tomography scan, which was performed afterwards, revealed a 20 × 25 mm mesh migration into the bladder after inguinal hernia repair on the left with concomitant stone adhesion to the mesh. After revealing patient history, an inguinal hernia repair with mesh implantation was done 22 years ago. A robotic assisted partial cystectomy and mesh excision was performed. The patient recovered well. CONCLUSION: Mesh erosion into the urinary bladder after hernia repair can occur up to two decades after the primary operation. Although it is rarely reported, it can be a possible cause for recurrent urinary tract infections and therefore a mentionable complication after inguinal hernia operation. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic partial cystectomy with complete excision of the mesh is an option for definitive treatment.

A Phase 1/2 Study of Rapamycin and Cisplatin/Gemcitabine for Treatment of Patients With Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by cystectomy is the standard for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), however, NAC confers only a small survival benefit and new strategies are needed to increase its efficacy. Pre-clinical data suggest that in response to DNA damage the tumor microenvironment (TME) adopts a paracrine secretory phenotype dependent on mTOR signaling which may provide an escape mechanism for tumor resistance, thus offering an opportunity to increase NAC effectiveness with mTOR blockade. PATIENTS & METHODS: We conducted a phase I/II clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of gemcitabine-cisplatin-rapamycin combination. Grapefruit juice was administered to enhance rapamycin pharmacokinetics by inhibiting intestinal enzymatic degradation. Phase I was a dose determination/safety study followed by a single arm Phase II study of NAC prior to radical cystectomy evaluating pathologic response with a 26% pCR rate target. RESULTS: In phase I, 6 patients enrolled, and the phase 2 dose of 35 mg rapamycin established. Fifteen patients enrolled in phase II; 13 were evaluable. Rapamycin was tolerated without serious adverse events. At the preplanned analysis, the complete response rate (23%) did not meet the prespecified level for continuing and the study was stopped due to futility. With immunohistochemistry, successful suppression of the mTOR signaling pathway in the tumor was achieved while limited mTOR activity was seen in the TME. CONCLUSION: Adding rapamycin to gemcitabine-cisplatin therapy for patients with MIBC was well tolerated but failed to improve therapeutic efficacy despite evidence of mTOR blockade in tumor cells. Further efforts to understand the role of the tumor microenvironment in chemotherapy resistance is needed.

[Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment of radiation-induced cystitis]. / Oxygénothérapie hyperbare dans le traitement de la cystite radio-induite.

Radiation-induced cystitis (RIHC) is a late complication of pelvic radiation therapy defined by irritative lower urinary tract symptoms with recurrent and sometimes refractory hematuria. Conservative or endoscopic treatments are the first lines, but cystectomy in required in refractory cases. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HOT) has recently emerged in the management charts for recurrent and refractory hematuria. Thanks to its neoangiogenic and stem-cell stimulation properties, HOT achieves a complete resolution of hematuria in almost two third of patients and appears to be a good therapeutic alternative for this fragile population. However, its geographical availability is currently limited in Switzerland and its implementation can sometimes require long hospital stays.

La cystite radio-induite (CR) est une complication tardive de la radiothérapie pelvienne se présentant notamment sous forme de troubles mictionnels irritatifs ou de macrohématurie récidivante. Le traitement est initialement conservateur ou endoscopique mais peut, dans des cas réfractaires, aboutir à une cystectomie à visée hémostatique ou fonctionnelle. L'oxygénothérapie hyperbare (OHB) a récemment fait son apparition dans les diagrammes de prise en charge de la CR réfractaire. Grâce à ses propriétés néoangiogéniques et à la stimulation des cellules souches, elle permet une résolution complète de l'hématurie chez près de deux tiers des patients et semble être une alternative thérapeutique pour cette population fragile. Actuellement, sa disponibilité géographique reste toutefois limitée en Suisse et sa réalisation implique parfois de longues hospitalisations.

A New Technique for Continent Urinary Diversion: Initial Experience and Description of the Technique.

PURPOSE: Orthotopic neobladder is a well-established surgical solution for continent urinary diversion after radical cystectomy. Nevertheless, it still represents a challenging surgery. Some critical issues of orthotopic bladder substitution include relevant complication rates, renal function impairment, urinary incontinence and patient quality of life. We present a new ileal neobladder technique, Vesuvian Orthotopic Neobladder (VON), performed for the first time at our institution in 2020. The main purpose of this new surgical procedure is to simplify and speed up the reservoir reconstruction through a ten standardized technical steps and obtain an appropriate bladder capacity at the same time.   METHODS: Inclusion criteria were muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma or non muscle-invasive high risk bladder cancer patients fit for bladder substitution. The exclusion criteria were locally advanced cancer, presence of hydronephrosis, renal or hepatic impairment. A chest-abdominal CT scan and urinary cytology were performed before the procedure. Patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, as required. Overall, operative time, bladder reconfiguration time, hospitalization time, catheterization time were recorded. All complications associated with the procedure were classified according to the Clavien Dindo score. The bladder volume was evaluated by ultrasound three months after the surgery.   RESULTS: A total of six male patients diagnosed with non-metastatic muscle-invasive or high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy followed by VON reconfiguration were included in the study. Mean age was 62.8 (±4.9) years; all selected patients enjoyed good health conditions (Charlson Comorbidity Index 4-6). One patient presented with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Four patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Mean overall operative time was 273.3 (±18.6) minutes. Average time for neobladder reconstruction was 63.7 (±16.1) minutes. There were no intraoperative complications. A single case of urethral anastomosis leakage occurred and was treated conservatively. Bladder volume on ultrasound evaluation ranged between 250 and 290 ml.  Day time and nocturnal continence were observed in four and three patients, respectively.   CONCLUSION: The new VON technique is a good alternative to traditional orthotopic bladder procedures. VON reconstruction seems to offer the advantage of speeding up the procedure, reducing intestinal compromise with good storage capacity. The ten surgical steps can be considered a good starting point for further improvements in surgical technique. More robust data regarding the number of procedures and the duration of follow-up is required.

Increased One-Year Mortality Among Elderly Patients After Radical Cystectomy for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: A Retrospective, Observational Comparative Study.

Introduction: Muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is a common malignancy amongst elderly. Increasing life expectancy, prevalence of smoking, lifelong exposure to environmental pollutants and immunosenescence contribute to growing number of cases. Traditionally, radical cystectomy (RC) with pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) constituted the mainstay of treatment for MIBC, but despite proven feasibility in elderly population, it has been associated with significant burden of morbidity, mortality, and complications. Study Objective: We aimed to re-evaluate the safety and efficacy of RC amongst the elderly patients with MIBC. Material and Methods: This single-center, retrospective, observational comparative study was conducted among 568 patients who underwent RC due to MIBC between 2003 and 2021. We evaluated the influence of chronological age (<70 vs ≥70 years) on clinical, demographic, and pathological variables related to MIBC and RC. Results: Elderly patients had similar clinical and pathological features of disease compared to their younger counterparts; nonetheless, they more often received simplified urinary diversion, ie ureterostomy (60.25% vs 39.33%, p<0.001) and had no PLND (15.76% vs 8.5%, p=0.01) during RC. Furthermore, more elderly patients were treated for secondary MIBCs and fewer had history of smoking. Severe complication and 90-day mortality rates were comparable between groups; however, the elderly had significantly higher all-cause mortality at one year post RC (46.67% vs 33.25%, p=0.003). On multivariate analysis, one-year mortality risk was independently associated with elderly age (HR=2.119, 95% CI: 1.227-3.660, p=0.007), rural residency (HR=1.760, 95% CI: 1.043-2.968, p=0.034), extravesical extension of tumor (HR=2.109, 95% CI: 1.155-3.850, p=0.015), lymph node metastasis (HR=2.268, 95% CI: 1.290-3.987, p=0.004) and omission of PLND (HR=6.064, 95% CI: 2.926-12.568, p<0.001). Conclusion: Radical cystectomy in elderly patients is associated with significant one-year mortality. Our study emphasizes the unmet need for considerate planning of treatment for MIBC in potentially vulnerable groups of elderly patients. Efforts are needed to reliably identify those unlikely to benefit from surgery and facilitate patient-centered choice of alternative therapies.

Carboplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy versus observation after radical cystectomy in patients with pN1-3 urothelial bladder cancer.

PURPOSE: To test the impact of carboplatin-based ACT on overall survival (OS) in patients with pN1-3 cM0 BCa. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 1057 patients with pTany pN1-3 cM0 urothelial BCa treated with or without carboplatin-based ACT after radical cystectomy and bilateral lymph-node dissection between 2002 and 2018 at 12 European and North-American hospitals. No patient received neoadjuvant chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Only patients with negative surgical margins at surgery were included. A 3:1 propensity score matching (PSM) was performed using logistic regression to adjust for baseline characteristics. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were used to predict the effect of carboplatin-based ACT on OS. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to display OS in the matched cohort. RESULTS: Of the 1057 patients included in the study, 69 (6.5%) received carboplatin-based ACT. After PSM, 244 total patients were identified in two cohorts that did not differ for baseline characteristics. Death was recorded in 114 (46.7%) patients over a median follow-up of 19 months. In the multivariable Cox regression analyses, increasing age at surgery (hazard ratio [HR] 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.06, p < 0.001) and increasing number of positive lymph nodes (HR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01-1.07, p = 0.02) were independent predictors of worse OS. The delivery of carboplatin-based ACT was not predictive of improved OS (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.43-1.04, p = 0.08). The main limitations of this study are its retrospective design and the relatively low number of patients involved. CONCLUSIONS: Carboplatin-based might not improve OS in patients with pN1-3 cM0 BCa. Our results underline the need for alternative therapies for cisplatin-ineligible patients.

Laparoscopic Cystectomy with Totally Intracorporeal Versus Extracorporeal Orthotopic Neobladder for Bladder Cancer: A Single Center Experience.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the perioperative, oncological, and functional results and complications of extracorporeal orthotopic neobladder (EON) and totally intracorporeal orthotopic neobladder (ION) after laparoscopic radical cystectomy (LRC) in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer and high-risk nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer. Methods: From January 2013 to October 2019, 152 patients underwent LRC and U-shape neobladder urinary diversion at a single tertiary referral hospital. We then compared the extracorporeal (n = 62) and intracorporeal (n = 90) orthotopic neobladder after laparoscopic cystectomy groups. Results: Of all patients, 90 with ION and 62 with EON were included in the study. Concerning perioperative outcomes, the ION group had lower estimated blood loss (455.7 versus 371.7 mL, P = .019), a shorter interval to solid food (6.9 versus 8.7 days, P = .006), and a shorter length of hospital stay (14.6 versus 16.0 days, P = .009). No statistically significant differences were identified in overall (P = .649), early (P = .509), and late (P = .367) complications. However, in terms of gastrointestinal complications, the ION group had a lower complication rate than the EON group (11.1% versus 27.4%, P = .018). There were no statistically significant differences in cancer-specific or noncancer-specific mortality. Daytime and nocturnal continence rates for the ION versus EON groups were 86.7% and 87.1% (P = 1) and 70.0% versus 66.1% (P = .614), respectively. Patients who underwent intracorporeal urinary diversion had a higher health-related quality of life within 3 months postoperative than the extracorporeal urinary diversion group. Conclusion: LRC with ION could be an alternative to EON with similar oncological and functional outcomes at tertiary referral centers. ION had advantages of faster bowel recovery, fewer gastrointestinal complications, and higher quality of life within 3 months postoperative. Clinical Trial Registration No. ChiCTR2100042063.

Current management of radiation cystitis after pelvic radiotherapy: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to summarize current literature about radiation cystitis treatments, providing physician of a summary of current management options. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A systematic literature review searching on PubMed (Medline), Scopus, and Web of Science databases was performed in March 2021. PRISMA guidelines were followed. Population consisted of patients with a diagnosis of radiation cystitis after pelvic radiotherapy (P). We focused our attention on different treatments, such as conservative or surgical one (I). Single or multiple arms studies were deemed eligible with no mandatory comparison (C). Main outcomes of interest were symptoms control and adverse events rates (O). EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: The search identified 1194 records. Of all, four studies focused on the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy showing complete response rates ranging from 52% to 87% approximately. Oral administration of cranberry compounds was investigated in one study showing no superiority to placebo. Intravesical instillation of different compounds were investigated in five studies showing the highest complete response rates after alum (60%) and formalin administration (75%). Endoscopic conservative surgical treatments (fibrin glue or vaporization) also showed 75% complete response rates. In patients who did not respond to conservative treatments robotic cystectomy is feasible with overall complication rates of about 59.3% at 90 days. CONCLUSIONS: Radiotherapy induced cystitis is an under-reported condition after pelvic radiotherapy. Several treatments have been proposed, but in up to 10% of cases salvage cystectomy is necessary. A stepwise approach, with progressive treatment aggressiveness is recommended.

Bladder preservation in urothelial carcinoma: current trends and future directions.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To provide a contemporary rationale for bladder preservation as a treatment strategy for muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. Although the standard of care for this important and serious clinical condition has been radical cystectomy augmented with neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy, it is associated with substantial morbidity and quality of life (QoL) implications. This article explores the bladder sparing alternatives to radical cystectomy and urinary diversion to assist Urologists, Medical Oncologists, and Palliative Care providers in their informed decision making with patients. RECENT FINDINGS: Bladder sparing strategies such as partial cystectomy and trimodality therapy offer long-term cancer outcomes comparable to radical cystectomy in carefully selected patients. Moreover, the toxicity profile in patients, having improved over time, is acceptable, including a low risk of salvage cystectomy. SUMMARY: Bladder preservation therapy offers an alternative to radical cystectomy. In some patients, it can be done with curative intent and in others it can assist with symptom palliation. Bladder preservation can maintain QoL and provide similar oncologic outcomes to radical surgery, although randomized controlled trials have not been performed. Understanding patient selection is a critical step in balancing bladder preservation and cancer survival.

OPTIMIZATION OF LOCAL ANESTHESIA OF DENTAL PATIENTS DURING CYSTECTOMIES OF RADICULAR CYSTS THAT HAVE GROWN INTO THE MAXILLARY SINUS OR NASAL CAVITY.

OBJECTIVE: The aim: To provide clinical evaluation of the effectiveness of anesthesia for cystectomy of radicular cysts that have grown into the maxillary si-nus or nasal cavity using different techniques of endonasal block-ade of the nasopalatine nerve. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: Clinical observations were conducted on 52 patients of different age and sex. These patients were diagnosed with large radicular cysts (more than 3.0 cm in diameter) that had grown into the maxillary sinus (33 cases) or into the nasal cavity (19 cases). The surgical excisions of cysts (oroantral cystectomies) were performed un-der local potentiated anesthesia. Patients were divided into two clinical groups, depending on the methods used for endonasal blockade of the nasopalatine nerve: the main and the control group. Patients in the main group underwent endonasal blockade of the nasopalatine nerve at the point of its emergence from the pterygopalatine ganglion. In the control group, the neural blockade was performed at the entry of this nerve into the incisive canal. Pain sensitivity and perception in patients were studied using subjective and objective methods. The data was analyzed by means of the Pearson's chi - square tests. RESULTS: Results: During the enucleation of radicular cysts that grew into the inferior nasal meatus and maxillary sinus in patients of the main group there was no pain observed. There were no manifestations of pain-induced stress neither from the side of autonomic system, nor physical or emotional manifestations of pain, which confirmed the effectiveness of nasopalatine nerve anesthesia. In patients of the control group during similar operation the full effect of local anesthesia was achieved in 56.0% of cases (χ2 - 9,270, р = 0,003). The rest of the patients during cystectomies showed some signs of pain-induced stress from the side of autonomic system or in the form of physical or emotional manifestations. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: Endonasal blockade of the nasopalatine nerve at the point of its emergence from the pterygopalatine ganglion invariably provided a complete analgesia during enucleation of radicular cysts that have grown into the maxillary sinus or nasal cavity. Anesthesia of the nasopalatine nerve at its entry into the incisive canal allows pain-less cystectomy of radicular cysts that have spread to the front of the inferior nasal meatus from the front teeth.

Impact of Preoperative Immunonutrition on Perioperative Outcomes following Cystectomy.

PURPOSE: Radical cystectomy (RC) for the management of muscle-invasive bladder cancer remains a morbid procedure with high rates of perioperative complications. The role of preoperative immunonutritional supplementation (pre-INS) in improving post-RC outcomes is promising and needs further validation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of 204 patients who underwent RC for bladder cancer at a single institution, comparing patients who received oral L-arginine-based pre-INS, and those who did not. Preoperative features, postoperative complications, and readmission data were collected. Outcomes of interest included development of high-grade (Clavien-Dindo III-V) complications, readmission within 30 days, ileus, total parenteral nutrition (TPN) requirement, postoperative infection, and length of stay (LOS). Categorical and continuous outcomes were assessed using Fisher's exact test and Welch T-test, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression (MLoR) analysis was used to identify predictive factors for our outcomes. RESULTS: Patients who received pre-INS had significantly lower odds of requiring postoperative TPN (17.3% vs 35.6%; Fisher p=0.015, OR=0.38) and developing postoperative infection (25% vs 45%; Fisher p=0.003; OR=0.41) but no significant difference in the rates of other outcomes. On MLoR, when adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, Charlson comorbidity index, undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy and operative features, pre-INS was a significant predictor of postoperative infection (Fisher p=0.02; OR=0.35) but not for high-grade complications, readmission, ileus, needing TPN or LOS. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative immunonutrition with an L-arginine-based supplement is associated with significant reduction in postoperative infection, one of the most common complications of RC.

Impact of Perioperative Immunonutrition on Complications in Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy: A Retrospective Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Radical cystectomy (RC) is the gold standard treatment for patients with muscle-invasive or refractory non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. It is estimated that approximately 64% and 13% of RC patients experience any complication and major complications, respectively. Specialized immunonutrition (SIM) aims to reduce the rates of complications after RC. We reported surgical complication rates in RC patients who received (SIM group) versus who did not receive (no-SIM group) perioperative SIM. Moreover, we investigated factors associated with complications after RC. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of 52 patients who underwent RC between April 2016 and December 2017. Overall, 26 (50%) patients received perioperative SIM. We recorded age, gender, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), body mass index (BMI), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) score, unintentional weight loss (UWL), SIM drinks consume, surgical approach, urinary diversion, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), use of total parenteral nutrition (TPN), final pathology, length of stay (LOS), and complications. RESULTS: SIM was associated with higher rates of documented infections (P = .03). Conversely, post-operative ileus was associated with higher rates of overall infections (P = .03). Median LOS was comparable within the 2 groups. Overall, 4 (15.38%) versus 0 (0%) patients in SIM versus no-SIM group were readmitted to hospital (P = .03). Age, CCI, NAC, and TPN were not associated with complication rates. CONCLUSIONS: SIM is not associated with lower rates of post-operative complications in RC candidates. Moreover, higher rates of documented infections were observed in the SIM group. Patients with post-operative ileus experienced more infections. Age, CCI, NAC, and TPN were not predictive of complications.

Salvage cystectomy and ileal conduit urinary diversion as a last-line option for benign diseases-perioperative safety and postoperative health-related quality of life.

AIMS: Radical cystectomy and urinary diversion impact various dimensions of patients' health-related-quality-of-life (HRQOL). Yet, less is known about salvage cystectomy as a last-line option for treatment-refractory benign diseases. Therefore, our aim is to provide HRQOL data from a contemporary cohort of open salvage cystectomies for benign conditions. METHODS: Fifty-four consecutive patients were enrolled in one single tertiary referral center. Analysis was limited to patients undergoing urinary diversion via ileal conduit (IC). Complications were assessed via Clavien-Dindo-scale. HRQOL was measured using the validated European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BLM30 questionnaire. HRQOL QLQ-C30 domains were measured preoperatively and up to 3 years postoperatively. Longitudinal changes were analyzed using Friedman's rank test. Primary endpoint was good general HRQOL based on QLQ-C30 global health status (GHS). Multivariate analysis was performed using logistic regression models with a step-wise backward selection procedure. RESULTS: Longitudinal analysis of HRQOL subdomains revealed significantly improved pain (p = .005) and fatigue (p = .002) scores as well as improved social functioning (p = .038). Furthermore, general HRQOL (GHS scores) improved significantly during the follow-up period (28.0 vs. 50.6 [36 months], p = .045). In multivariate analysis, the indication for salvage cystectomy could not be identified as an independent predictor for good general HRQOL. We observed a total number of 10 (41.7%) high-grade (Clavien ≥III) 90 day-complications. Limitations include limited follow-up rates at respective time-points. CONCLUSION: Salvage cystectomy and IC can be safely performed as a last-line treatment for benign conditions and increases general HRQOL in the long-term follow-up. Thus, it can play a role in a holistic approach for a challenging clinical setting.

Adjuvant and Neoadjuvant Radiation Therapy for Locally Advanced Bladder Cancer.

Local-regional failure for patients with ≥pT3 urothelial carcinoma after radical cystectomy is a significant clinical challenge. Prospective randomised trials have failed to show that chemotherapy reduces the risk of local-regional recurrences. Salvage treatment for local failures is difficult and often unsuccessful. There is promising evidence, particularly from a recent Egyptian National Cancer Institute trial, that radiation therapy plus chemotherapy can significantly reduce local recurrences compared with chemotherapy alone, and that this improvement in local-regional control may translate to meaningful improvements in disease-free and overall survival with acceptable toxicity. In light of the high rates of local failure following cystectomy for locally advanced disease and the progress that has been made in identifying patients at high risk of failure and the patterns of failure in the pelvis, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines were revised to include postoperative radiotherapy as an option to consider for patients with ≥pT3 disease. Here we review the problem of local-regional failure after cystectomy, identify patients who would probably benefit from adjuvant radiotherapy, review the patterns of pelvic failure after cystectomy, discuss technical details of radiation treatment and review the modern literature on this topic. Adjuvant radiotherapy should be considered as a treatment option for patients with locally advanced disease, especially those with positive margins or squamous cell carcinoma.

Combination of biomarkers for neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy before cystectomy in patients with urinary bladder cancer.

Clinical utility of cisplatin based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) prior to radical cystectomy is limited because of lack of tools that can guide for a better patient selection. We aim to explore if a combination of biomarkers is superior to a single marker. Pretreatment tumor specimens and clinical data from two randomized trials including 250 patients with T2-T4 urothelial bladder cancer, were used. The information on the expressions on tumor tissue of four biomarkers; CCTα, emmprin, survivin, and BCL-2, detected by immunohistochemistry in our previous studies, was used. Cox proportional hazard models, including treatment-by-biomarker interaction terms, were used to assess the predictive value of the biomarkers for efficacy of NAC on overall survival. CCTα provided predictive information about the efficacy of NAC (interaction P=0.009). None of the other biomarkers provided statistically significant information additional to CCTα. The adjusted hazard ratio for NAC treated versus no-NAC was 0.42 (95% CI: 0.27-0.64) for patients with negative CCTα expression, when adding information about emmprin it decreased to 0.33 (95% CI: 0.19-0.56) for patients with both negative CCTα and emmprin. This corresponds to a decrease in number needed to treat from 4 to 3 patients. The combination of CCTα with survivin or BCL-2 yielded similar results. In a group of patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer a combination of two biomarkers might improve the possibility to identify patients most likely to benefit from the use of NAC. Further studies designed to have sufficient power to detect an interaction effect are needed.