Management of the kidney transplant patient with Cancer: Report from a Multidisciplinary Consensus Conference.

INTRODUCTION: Cancer is the second most common cause of mortality and morbidity in Kidney Transplant Recipients (KTRs). Immunosuppression can influence the efficacy of cancer treatment and modification of the immunosuppressive regimen may restore anti-neoplastic immune responses improving oncologic prognosis. However, patients and transplant physicians are usually reluctant to modify immunosuppression, fearing rejection and potential graft loss. Due to the lack of extensive and recognised data supporting how to manage the immunosuppressive therapy in KTRs, in the context of immunotherapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and loco-regional treatments, a Consensus Conference was organised under the auspices of the European Society of Organ Transplantation and the Italian Society of Organ Transplantation. The conference involved a multidisciplinary group of transplant experts in the field across Europe. METHODS: The overall process included a) the formulation of 12 specific questions based on the PICO methodology, b) systematic literature review and summary for experts for each question, c) a two-day conference celebration and the collection of experts' agreements. The conference was articulated in three sessions: "Immunosuppressive therapy and immunotherapy", "Systemic therapy", "Integrated Therapy", while the final experts' agreement was collected with a televoting procedure and defined according to the majority criterion. RESULTS: Twenty-six European experts attended the conference and expressed their vote. A total of 14 statements were finally elaborated and voted. Strong agreement was found for ten statements, moderate agreement for two, moderate disagreement for one and uncertainty for the last one. CONCLUSIONS: The consensus statements provide guidance to transplant physicians caring for kidney transplant recipients with cancer and indicate key aspects that need to be addressed by future clinical research.

The risk of malignancy of atypical urothelial cells of undetermined significance in patients treated with chemohyperthermia or electromotive drug administration.

BACKGROUND: Chemohyperthermia (C-HT) or electromotive drug administration (EMDA) are alternative therapies to radical cystectomy in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer who do not respond to intravesical therapy with bacille Calmette-Guérin. METHODS: The authors investigated a group of 87 patients with a diagnosis of high-grade non-muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma or carcinoma in situ. Of these, 45 patients received EMDA of mitomycin (EMDA/MMC) and 42 patients were treated with C-HT and mitomycin therapy (C-HT/MMC). In accordance with the Paris System for Reporting Urinary Cytology, a cytological diagnosis was made and patients with diagnoses of atypical urothelial cells (AUC), suspicious high-grade urothelial carcinoma (SHGUC), or high-grade urothelial carcinoma also underwent histological bladder biopsies. RESULTS: In accordance with the Paris System for Reporting Urinary Cytology, the AUC cases may have cytological features of SHGUC present on atypical degenerated cells. In analyzing the AUC group without the SHGUC cases diagnosed on the basis of degenerated urothelial cells, the authors found a significant association between the AUC category and a negative histological biopsy. The SHGUC group, including cases with a SHGUC diagnosis rendered on degenerated urothelial cells, was associated with high-grade urothelial carcinoma or carcinoma in situ (P = .0269 for patients treated with EMDA/MMC and P = .0049 for patients treated with C-HT/MMC). CONCLUSIONS: In the urine samples from patients treated with EMDA/MMC or C-HT/MMC, a diagnosis of SHGUC could be made even on degenerated urothelial cells when considering cellular degeneration as a "physiological" consequence of the treatment that involves either normal or neoplastic cells. Cancer Cytopathol 2018;126:200-6. © 2018 American Cancer Society.