Qualitative Analysis of Patient Experiences Reaching Urethroplasty for Recurrent Urethral Stricture Disease.

PURPOSE: Despite the inferior outcomes, urethral stricture patients often undergo multiple endoscopic procedures prior to undergoing definitive urethroplasty. We sought to qualitatively evaluate the patient experience of obtaining urethroplasty to better understand the impact of this experience on quality of life. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients treated with urethroplasty between September 2019 and July 2021 were identified and invited to participate in our study if they had undergone ≥ 2 endoscopic procedures prior to urethroplasty. Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted, coded, and analyzed using an iterative inductive-deductive approach. RESULTS: Of the 105 urethroplasty patients during the study period, 50 (47.6%) had undergone ≥ 2 endoscopic procedures prior (IQR 3-5), of whom 20 participated in the study. Qualitative themes related to repeat endoscopic procedures included unmet treatment expectations, dissatisfaction with catheterization and repeat procedures, and negative impacts of recurrent stricture symptoms and treatments on quality of life. External factors associated with a delay to urethroplasty included financial constraints, surgeon access, and time off work. CONCLUSIONS: A trajectory of declining quality of life and unmet treatment expectations are the primary factors driving the decision to proceed with urethroplasty. However, external factors such as recovery costs and access to specialists play important roles in delaying surgery. These findings illustrate the need for improved community provider education and patient counseling to better inform expectations of both patients and providers with various treatment outcomes. Furthermore, these data highlight the need to improve access to specialized care for urethral stricture patients.

Racial Disparities in Diagnosis and Management of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Review.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We sought to perform a contemporary literature review highlighting the racial disparities which exists in the evaluation and management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). RECENT FINDINGS: Current literature suggests that racial disparities exist in the diagnosis of BPH and treatment lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). This is seen in the presentation and diagnosis of the disease as well as a difference in preventative care with discordant incidences of medical and surgical management among racial groups. The racial disparities that exist in the diagnosis and management of BPH and LUTS require further investigation to better identify the underlying causes. This will ultimately allow for continued improvement in care delivery and a more personalized approach in patient management.

Urinary pH and the risk of recurrence in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

INTRODUCTION: To evaluate the effect of urine pH on tumor recurrence rates in patients undergoing surveillance after initial diagnosis of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients diagnosed with NMIBC at a tertiary referral center from January 2004 to March 2015 were reviewed. Our primary outcome was time to first recurrence after transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT). Patients were analyzed according to the average urine pH of all urinalysis data over the surveillance period from TURBT to first recurrence. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to determine differences in median time to recurrence. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to assess independent predictors of cancer recurrence. RESULTS: A total of 252 patients were included, of which 155 patients had average pH ≤ 6 (median pH 5.5) and 97 patients had average pH > 6 (median pH 6.8), p < 0.001. There was no significant difference in median time to recurrence between low/acidic pH (≤ 6) and high/basic pH (> 6) groups (28 months versus 17 months, respectively, p = 0.3444). Similarly, urine pH did not affect the risk of recurrence in a subgroup analysis stratified by smoking status. On multivariable Cox regression analysis, there was no association between average pH and recurrence among high grade tumors (HR = 1.33, 95% CI = 0.76 to 2.34, p = 0.3186), or low grade tumors (HR = 1.013, 95% CI = 1.01 to 1.58, p = 0.96). CONCLUSIONS: There was no association between urine pH and risk of tumor recurrence, regardless of smoking status. These findings suggest that modification of urine pH is unlikely to decrease the frequency of tumor recurrence in patients with NMIBC.

Expectant Management of Blunt Grade III Renal Injuries: Early Discharge Outcomes From a Level I Trauma Center.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether patients with American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) grade III blunt renal injuries discharged within 48 hours of admission have increased rates of readmission for renal-related complications compared to patients observed for over 48 hours. METHODS: Renal trauma patients from 2005 through 2020 were identified from our institutional trauma registry. Patients with AAST III blunt renal injuries who survived beyond 48 hours of admission were included. Univariable analysis was used to identify variables associated with discharge within 48 hours. Reasons for readmission were compared between patients discharged before and after 48 hours of admission. RESULTS: Of the 1751 renal trauma patients, 377 (21.5%) met inclusion criteria. Sixty-five of 377 (17.2%) AAST III injuries were discharged within 48 hours of admission. Forty (10.6%) patients required readmission, 3 in the early discharge group and 37 in the standard discharge group. No patient required readmission for renal-related complications. CONCLUSION: Patients with AAST grade III blunt renal injuries are not at increased risk for early renal-related complications if discharged within 48 hours of admission and should be considered for early discharge. The very low rate of renal-related complications for AAST III blunt renal injuries supports their categorization as "low-grade" renal trauma.

Surgical Approach Does Not Impact Margin Status After Partial Nephrectomy for Large Renal Masses.

PURPOSE: While surgical approach has recently been associated with positive surgical margin (PSM) after partial nephrectomy (PN) for small (<4 cm) renal masses, its impact on margin status for large (>4 cm) masses is unclear. We sought to evaluate the relationship between margin and surgical approach in patients undergoing PN for large renal masses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the National Cancer Database (NCDB), we identified patients undergoing PN for pathological T1b and T2a renal-cell carcinoma diagnosed from 2010 to 2013. Conversions to open surgery were also included in our analysis. The primary outcome was surgical margin status. Multivariable regression modeling was performed to identify factors associated with PSM. A propensity score matching analysis was then performed to evaluate the impact of margin status on overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Of the 7495 patients undergoing PN for pT1b and pT2a renal masses over the study period, 504 (6.7%) had PSM. On multivariable analysis, surgical approach (laparoscopic or robot assisted vs open) was not significantly associated with surgical margin (p = 0.12 and p = 0.44, respectively). Tumor stage (T2a vs T1b) also showed no significant association (p = 0.18). A subsequent multivariable analysis using clinical staging showed that surgical approach (p = 0.28 and p = 0.54, respectively), tumor stage (p = 0.78), and conversion-to-open surgery (p = 0.98) had no significant association with PSM. Propensity score matched analysis showed that PSM was not significantly associated with OS (hazard ratio 0.95 [95% confidence interval 0.47-1.92] p = 0.88). CONCLUSION: In a contemporary nation-wide cohort, surgical approach was not associated with an increased risk of PSM for large, noninvasive renal masses. Furthermore, increased size from T1b to T2a was not associated with an increased risk of PSM. These data suggest that surgical approach should be selected by surgeon comfort level with an individual tumor, rather than the size of the tumor itself.

Gynecologic Organ Involvement During Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer: Is It Time to Routinely Spare the Ovaries?

PURPOSE: To determine a subset of women who could undergo ovary-sparing radical cystectomy (OSRC) for bladder cancer without compromising oncologic safety. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of 164 consecutive women who underwent cystectomy at a single tertiary-care center from 1997 to 2018. Clinicopathologic and preoperative radiographic data were reviewed. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models adjusting for pathologic stage, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and carcinomain-situ were performed to evaluate the risk of ovarian and reproductive organ (RO) involvement. RESULTS: A total of 123 women with a median age of 71 years underwent radical cystectomy (RC) with removal of ROs for primary bladder cancer. Nineteen women (15%) had RO involvement by bladder cancer, and 5 of them (4%) were specifically found to have ovarian involvement. Patients with ovarian involvement of bladder cancer had more locally advanced disease (P = .01), LVI (P = .003) and positive margins (P = .003). On multivariable logistic regression, ≥ pT3 (odds ratio = 10.2; 95% confidence interval, 2.0-51.6; P = .005) and LVI (odds ratio = 3.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-14.2; P = .037) were associated with increased risk of RO involvement. Among 15 patients excluded for having a nonbladder primary malignancy, a third had RO involvement, and 2 (13%) had ovarian metastases. No women in our cohort had a primary ovarian malignancy detected at the time of RC. CONCLUSION: Women with ovarian involvement by malignancy at the time of RC either had locally advanced disease with LVI or a non-bladder primary malignancy. The risk of incompletely resecting the primary malignancy would be rare if OSRC was performed on women with organ-confined (≤T2) urothelial carcinoma.

The Role of Gut Microbiome in the Pathogenesis of Prostate Cancer: A Prospective, Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate potential biomarkers or mechanistic principles involved with the gut microbiota and its impact on prostate cancer pathogenesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a prospective case-control pilot study evaluating the gut microbiome of 20 men with either benign prostatic conditions (n = 8) or intermediate or high risk clinically localized prostate cancer (Gleason ≥4 + 3 cN0M0) (n = 12) undergoing care at tertiary referral center from September 1, 2015 to March 1, 2016. Key exclusion criteria included recent antibiotic use, significant gastrointestinal disorders, hormonal or systemic therapy for prostate cancer. Computational genomics analysis was performed on collected stool samples using MetaPhlAn2 and HUMAnN2 platforms. Linear discriminant analysis effect size method was used to support high-dimensional class comparisons to find biologically relevant features. Kruskal-Wallis sum-rank test was used to detect features with significant differential abundance with respect to class, with biological consistency investigated using a set of pairwise tests among subclasses using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, both to an α ≤0.05. RESULTS: Higher relative abundance of Bacteriodes massiliensis was seen in prostate cancer cases compared to controls. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Eubacterium rectalie had higher relative abundance among controls. Biologically significant differences were also found in relative gene, pathway, and enzyme abundance. CONCLUSION: Biologically significant differences exist in the gut microbial composition of men with prostate cancer compared to benign controls. These differences may play a role in the pathobiology of prostate cancer, and warrant further exploration.

Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer in Patients With and Without a History of Pelvic Irradiation: Survival Outcomes and Diversion-related Complications.

OBJECTIVE: To compare survival outcomes and diversion-related complications of patients with and without a history of pelvic irradiation who underwent radical cystectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three hundred sixty-four patients underwent radical cystectomy for bladder cancer (BCa) from July 2001 to September 2013. Thirty-seven patients (10%) had a history of pelvic irradiation, and 327 (90%) did not. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression models were applied to evaluate survival outcomes. Diversion-related complications were tabulated. RESULTS: The proportion of non-organ-confined disease was numerically higher in irradiated than in nonirradiated patients (18 of 37 [49%] vs 117 of 327 [36%] patients, P = .1). The difference in the proportion of T4 disease between the 2 groups was statistically significant (13 of 37 [35%] irradiated vs 37 of 327 [11%] nonirradiated patients, P = .005). Pelvic lymph node dissection could not be performed in 7 of 37 irradiated patients. A nonurothelial carcinoma histology was more frequent in irradiated than in nonirradiated patients (5 of 37 [14%] vs 19 of 327 [6%], P = .003). At 3 years, BCa recurrence-free survival estimates were 70 ± 9% and 77 ± 3% (log-rank P = .5), and BCa-specific survival estimates were 64 ± 9% and 69 ± 3% (log-rank P = .4), for irradiated and nonirradiated patients, respectively. In multivariate analysis, a history of pelvic irradiation was not predictive of BCa recurrence or BCa-specific death. Rates of diversion-related complications did not differ between the 2 groups. CONCLUSION: BCa patients with a history of pelvic irradiation present with more advanced disease. Surgery remains difficult in this group of patients as pelvic lymph node dissection is omitted in approximately 1 of 5 patients. Within limitations, prior pelvic irradiation is not predictive of survival outcomes.

Recurrence patterns after open and robot-assisted radical cystectomy for bladder cancer.

BACKGROUND: Concerns remain whether robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) compromises survival because of inadequate oncologic resection or alteration of recurrence patterns. OBJECTIVE: To describe recurrence patterns following open radical cystectomy (ORC) and RARC. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective review of 383 consecutive patients who underwent ORC (n=120) or RARC (n=263) at an academic institution from July 2001 to February 2014. INTERVENTION: ORC and RARC. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Recurrence-free survival estimates were illustrated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Recurrence patterns (local vs distant and anatomic locations) within 2 yr of surgery were tabulated. Cox regression models were built to evaluate the effect of surgical technique on the risk of recurrence. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: The median follow-up time for patients without recurrence was 30 mo (interquartile range [IQR] 5-72) for ORC and 23 mo (IQR 9-48) for RARC (p=0.6). Within 2 yr of surgery, there was no large difference in the number of local recurrences between ORC and RARC patients (15/65 [23%] vs 24/136 [18%]), and the distribution of local recurrences was similar between the two groups. Similarly, the number of distant recurrences did not differ between the groups (26/73 [36%] vs 43/147 [29%]). However, there were distinct patterns of distant recurrence. Extrapelvic lymph node locations were more frequent for RARC than ORC (10/43 [23%] vs 4/26 [15%]). Furthermore, peritoneal carcinomatosis was found in 9/43 (21%) RARC patients compared to 2/26 (8%) ORC patients. In multivariable analyses, RARC was not a predictor of recurrence. Limitations of the study include selection bias and a limited sample size. CONCLUSIONS: Within limitations, we found that RARC is not an independent predictor of recurrence after surgery. Interestingly, extrapelvic lymph node locations and peritoneal carcinomatosis were more frequent in RARC than in ORC patients. Further validation is warranted to better understand the oncologic implications of RARC. PATIENT SUMMARY: In this study, the locations of bladder cancer recurrences following conventional and robotic techniques for removal of the bladder are described. Although the numbers are small, the results show that the distribution of distant recurrences differs between the two techniques.