[Bladder Cancer Detected Incidentally by Cystoscopy before Radical Prostatectomy].

Radical prostatectomy is the treatment of choice for localized prostate cancer. In our institution, preoperative cystoscopy is performed routinely to clarify the prostate anatomy, including the median lobe and position of ureteral orifices. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 721 patients, from January 2008 to December 2022, our aim being to assess the clinical course of bladder cancer discovered incidentally through cystoscopy prior to radical prostatectomy. We found that bladder cancer was detected in eight of these patients (1.1%), seven of whom had low-grade, non-invasive, papillary urothelial carcinomas ; the remaining patient had a high-grade lesion. Notably, the pathological stage was Ta in all cases. The median duration of follow-up of patients with bladder cancer was initially set at 21 months (12-24 months). During the follow-up period, bladder cancer recurrence was identified in three patients. Patients who remained recurrence-free beyond the follow-up period underwent radical therapy. Importantly, no evidence of prostate cancer progression was detected throughout the follow-up period. Thus, incidental bladder cancer detected prior to radical prostatectomy is predominantly non-invasive, ensuring safe treatment of both the bladder and prostate cancers. Our findings suggest that cystoscopy could be omitted.

[A Case of m0CRPC after Hormone Therapy for Pelvic Lymph Node Metastasis in which Salvage RARP was Effective].

The patient was a 63-year-old man with biopsy Gleason score of 4＋5 prostate cancer with an initial prostate specific antigen level of (PSA) 51.2ng/ml. On imaging examination, extracapsular invasion, rectal invasion, and pararectal lymph node metastasis were found (cT4N1M0). After 4 years of androgen deprivation therapy, PSA decreased to 0.631ng/ml, and then increased gradually to1.2ng/ml. Computed tomographic scan showed that the primary tumor had shrunk and lymph node metastasis had disappeared; so salvage robot-assisted resection of the prostate (RARP) was performed for non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (m0CRPC). Since PSA decreased to an undetactable level, hormone therapy was terminated at 1 year. The patient remained recurrence-free for 3 years after surgery. RARP may be effective for m0CRPC, enabling discontinuation of androgen deprivation therapy.

[A Case of Multiple Penile Schwannoma].

A 48-year-old man presented with a painless nodule on the right ventral aspect of the penile shaft root. The patient visited the hospital and complained that the mass was growing. On physical examinations, a 5 cm mass without tenderness was palpated. An isoechoic mass about 4 cm in size was observed on ultrasonography. Inhomogeneous high signal intensity was observed on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. A needle biopsy revealed schwannoma. During surgery for excision of the tumor, another small tumor was detected both tumors were resected. Both tumors were diagnosed as schwannoma by pathological examination. Out of 40 cases of penile schwannoma reported, eight were of multiple tumors. In our case, it was difficult to detect the other small tumor by preoperative diagnosis. Therefore, we recommend careful observation during surgery.

[A Case of Bladder Plasmacytoma Diagnosed during Treatment of Multiple Myeloma].

A 78-year-old man was treated with Bortezomib, Lenalidomide, and Dexamethasone, for multiple myeloma. Two years after the start of treatment, the patient came to our department with a complaint of gross hematuria. Cystoscopy revealed a tumor on the left wall of the bladder. Urine cytology was negative. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lower abdomen showed a slightly high signal on the T2-weighted image, indicating an intravesical mass lesion invading outside the bladder. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) also showed an intravesical mass and enlarged left external iliac lymph node swelling. Transurethral resection of bladder tumor was performed. The resection specimen showed tumor cells. The pathological examination revealed CD138 (+) and light-chain restriction. The patient was diagnosed with plasmacytoma. The patient was treated with radiation therapy for plasmacytoma of the bladder and surrounding lymph nodes, and then with daratumumab and dexamethasone for multiple myeloma for one year; however, the patient died because of worsening of multiple myeloma.

Tolerability and treatment outcome of pembrolizumab in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma and severe renal dysfunction.

OBJECTIVES: Pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, revolutionized the treatment of advanced urothelial carcinoma. However, the tolerability and outcomes of pembrolizumab in patients with severe renal dysfunction [creatinine clearance (CrCl) <30 ml/min] are unclear because no clinical trials included such patients. We analyzed the safety profile and outcomes of these patients in the real world. METHODS: We extracted data for 739 pembrolizumab-treated patients from a Japanese nationwide cohort of platinum-refractory metastatic urothelial carcinoma. Using propensity score matching, the overall survival (OS) and adverse events (AEs) of patients with CrCl <30 and ≥30 were compared. RESULTS: Ninety-two patients (12.4%) had CrCl <30 ml/min. The median number of doses was similar between the CrCl ≥ 30 and CrCl <30 groups (5 and 4, respectively), and there was no difference in the frequency of grade ≥2 treatment-related AEs between the groups (35.5% vs. 35.7%). The overall response rate was similar between the groups (27.2% vs. 29.7%, P = 0.184). Using propensity score matching, the median OS times in the CrCl ≥30 and CrCl <30 groups were 10.3 (95% confidence interval [CI] = CI 7.3-13.0) and 8.1 months (95% CI = 5.4-14.6, P = 0.626), respectively. The 1-year OS rates in these groups were 41.5% and 38.2%, respectively, and the 2-year OS rates were 21.3% and 20.2%, respectively. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, performance status ≥2 (hazard ratio [HR] = 5.56, 95% CI = 2.64-11.71, P < 0.0001) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio ≥3 (HR = 2.20, 95% CI =1.15-4.19, P = 0.013) were independently associated with patient prognosis in the CrCl <30 group. CONCLUSIONS: This report illustrated that pembrolizumab can be safely administered to patients with severe renal dysfunction, who had similar outcomes as patients without severe renal dysfunction.

[A Case of Primary Renal Angiosarcoma with a Rapidly Worsening Course].

A 69-year-old man presented with left flank pain and underwent a computed tomographic scan, which revealed a large left renal mass of 16×9×5 cm. A left nephrectomy was performed. Pathological analysis revealed that the tumor was consistent with angiosarcoma of the left kidney with a negative surgical margin. He received combination therapy with radiation therapy and four courses of chemotherapy with doxorubicin and ifosfamide. However, he died 10 months after surgery because of pleural dissemination and peritoneal dissemination. Primary renal angiosarcoma is an extremely rare and highly aggressive tumor with a dismal survival rate, and a satisfactory surgical margin is necessary for its successful treatment. If primary renal angiosarcoma is suspected, biopsy may be considered before surgery. Primary renal angiosarcoma treatment with combination therapy of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy by a specialist multidisciplinary team with experience and expertise in sarcoma is preferable. Development of therapy for angiosarcoma is awaited.

Robot-assisted partial nephrectomy via retroperitoneal approach in a patient with horseshoe kidney.

INTRODUCTION: Horseshoe kidney is a renal fusion anomaly often associated with ectopia, malformation, and vascular changes. Robot-assisted partial nephrectomy is selected for patients with T1a renal cell carcinoma; however, there are few reports of renal cell carcinoma in horseshoe kidney. We present a case of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy via a retroperitoneal approach in a patient with horseshoe kidney with a brief literature review. CASE PRESENTATION: An 84-year-old woman presented with a 2-cm mass in horseshoe kidney. She underwent robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy via a retroperitoneal approach. CONCLUSION: The use of robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy in patients with horseshoe kidney is very rare, and only four cases have been reported. Because of the unique anatomical structure, surgeons need to consider surgical strategy more carefully, considering tumor location, vascular anatomy, and past history of abdominal surgery.

[Risk Factors for Recurrence in Patients with Pathological Lymph Node-Positive Prostate Cancer after Extended Lymph Node Dissection in Laparoscopic and Robotic-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy].

From April 2007 to April 2018, we performed lymph node dissection in 305 cases of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and 202 cases of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy at our hospital, and there were 68 cases with positive lymph node metastasis (pN1). Of these 68 cases, we examined retrospectively 62 cases in which extended lymph node dissection (ELND) was performed. The median number of removed lymph nodes was 25 (interquartile range [IQR] ; 18-34) and the median number of metastatic lymph nodes was 1 (IQR ; 1-3). Postoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence was observed in 40 of the 62 patients. The median time to PSA recurrence was 24 months. After univariate analysis, PSA at initial diagnosis (iPSA) of 10 ng/ml or more, pathological Gleason score (pGS) of 8 or more, total number of lymph node metastases of 2 or more, and positive surgical margin (RM＋) were found to be riskfactors of PSA recurrence. In multivariate analysis, iPSA of 10 ng/ml or more, pGS of 8 or more and RM＋ were independent riskfactors of PSA recurrence (p＜0.05). In the cases without riskfactors such as iPSA≥10, pGS≥8, and RM＋, immediate postoperative adjuvant therapy may be avoided even with pN1.

Atypical oncologic failure after laparoscopic and robot-assisted radical cystectomy at a single institution.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of atypical oncologic failure in patients with bladder cancer, including peritoneal carcinomatosis, and recurrences at the port site and soft tissue after laparoscopic and robot-assisted radical cystectomy are not well characterized. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 52, 51, and 12 patients who underwent open, laparoscopic, and robot-assisted radical cystectomy, respectively, for bladder cancer from 2007 to 2018 at our institution. We identified techniques associated with atypical oncologic failure. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 29 months. Among the 115 patients, 29 (25%) experienced oncological recurrences, and 7 (6%), 12 (10%), and 23 (20%) had atypical, local, and distant recurrences, respectively. The laparoscopic and robot-assisted radical cystectomy groups had significantly higher incidences of total atypical oncologic failure than the open radical cystectomy group (p = 0.013), including six, one, and two patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis, port site carcinomatosis, and soft tissue involvement, respectively. All 7 patients with atypical oncologic failure died of cancer; the median time from surgery to death was 9.3 months. All these patients were cT â‰§ 3 and had grade 3 disease. In three patients (43%), the pathological tissue contained variants other than urothelial carcinoma. Five (71%) were among the initial twenty patients. Four patients (57%) had histories of intraoperative urine spillage or bladder perforation during transurethral resection. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with cT â‰§ 3 stage, with pathological variants other than urothelial carcinoma, and those undergoing procedures that lead to extravesical dissemination should avoid laparoscopic radical cystectomy when the procedures are first introduced.

Surgical outcomes and learning curve of totally intracorporeal ileal conduit urinary diversion following laparoscopic radical cystectomy at a single institution.

INTRODUCTION: Constant evaluation of the outcomes of laparoscopic intracorporeal urinary diversion is not yet established. This study aimed to describe surgical outcomes and learning curve of intracorporeal ileal conduit (ICIC) following laparoscopic radical cystectomy (LRC) at a single institution. METHODS: From June 2012 to February 2018, 38 patients with bladder cancer underwent LRC with ileal conduit at our institution. Surgical outcomes were compared between ICIC (n = 30) and extracorporeal ileal conduit (ECIC) (n = 8). The learning curve during ICIC with regard to the operative time and complication rate was compared. RESULTS: No significant differences in patient characteristics between the ICIC and ECIC groups were found. Comparison of outcomes between the ICIC and ECIC groups were as follows: median total operative time, 688 vs 713 minutes; urinary diversion time, 213 vs 192 minutes; and estimated blood loss, 450 vs 420 mL, respectively. The median time to walking and oral intake were similar in both groups. Rates of high-grade complications associated with urinary diversion (Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ III) were 3% in ICIC and 25% in ECIC. Although 25% of ECIC patients developed wound dehiscence (Clavien-Dindo grade IIIb), no patient in the ICIC group had postoperative wound infection. For the learning curve of ICIC (n = 30), urinary diversion time decreased significantly (27 minutes decrease per 10 cases, P = .02). Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ II complication did not occur after 20 cases. CONCLUSIONS: LRC with ICIC could be performed safely with low incidence of severe wound infection compared with ECIC. The incidence and severity of complications also decreased with time.

[Radical Nephroureterectomy in Octogenarians].

We compared the perioperative and oncological outcomes of radical nephroureterectomy for renal pelvic and ureteral cancer between octogenarians and younger patients. We examined 146 patients attending our hospital from January 2012 to December 2019. The octogenarian group included 48 patients and the control group (younger patients) 98 patients. The median body mass index (BMI) (21.2 vs 23.4 kg/m^2, p<0.001), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score (p=0.044), preoperative albumin concentration (p=0.04) and operation time (287 vs 314 min, p=0.029) differed significantly between the two groups. However, there were no significant differences in perioperative complications between the two groups. According to multivariable analysis of overall survival, pT3 or higher pathology was a significant indicator of poor prognosis in all patients. In the octogenarian group alone, perioperative transfusion was the only other factor significantly associated with prognosis, whereas anti-CD55 monoclonal antibody (RM1) was a significant factor in the control group. There were significant differences between the octogenarian and control groups with respect to overall survival in those with pT2 or below stage disease (60.2% vs 87.5%, p=0.049), but not to cancer-specific survival (≤pT2 : 73.5% vs 94.2%, p=0.202 ≥pT3 : 72.2% vs 63.8%, p=0. 87). Our findings indicate that nephroureterectomy is a safe and efficient procedure for selected octogenarian patients.