The evolving role of multidisciplinary teams in optimizing non-muscle invasive bladder cancer care.

INTRODUCTION: Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) represents a significant portion of bladder cancer cases and imposes a substantial economic burden, stemming from both direct treatment costs and long-term surveillance. As the treatment landscape evolves with advances in immunotherapy and targeted therapies, a multidisciplinary approach to management is increasingly crucial for optimizing patient outcomes and resource utilization. AREAS COVERED: A PubMed search from 2010 to 15 June 2024 was conducted. This review examines the evolving role of multidisciplinary team (MDT) care in NMIBC management. It explores the potential benefits of MDT care, including improved risk stratification and personalized treatment plans, while acknowledging the challenges to implementation and proposing strategies to overcome them. EXPERT OPINION: With a growing understanding of NMIBC and expanding therapeutic options, MDT care is pivotal in navigating patient care and maximizing outcomes. Strategic planning and collaborative efforts will facilitate the broader adoption of MDT care, enhancing the value of NMIBC treatment. MDT care holds promise for personalized, effective, and cost-efficient care for patients with NMIBC in the future.

The Evolution of Nadofaragene Firadenovec: A Review and the Path Forward.

BACKGROUND: The intravesical gene therapy nadofaragene firadenovec (rAd-IFNα/Syn3) was FDA approved in 2022 for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) unresponsive to frontline treatment with BCG, and the first gene therapy developed for bladder cancer. This non-replicating recombinant adenovirus vector delivers a copy of the human interferon alpha-2b gene into urothelial and tumor cells, causing them to express this pleotropic cytokine with potent antitumor effects. OBJECTIVE: To provide a historical overview describing how several decades of preclinical and clinical studies investigating the role of interferon in the treatment of bladder cancer ultimately led to the development of gene therapy with nadofaragene for NMIBC. METHODS: We conducted a review of the literature using PubMed, Google Scholar, and ClinicalTrials.gov to summarize our knowledge of the evolution of interferon-based therapy in NMIBC. RESULTS: The FDA approval of this therapy represents an important landmark in urologic oncology and several decades of research dedicated to the study of interferon's direct and indirect antitumor properties in NMIBC. The data gathered from the phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials continue to provide additional insights into the precise mechanisms underlying both the efficacy of and resistance to nadofaragene. CONCLUSIONS: Nadofaragene leverages the cytotoxic, anti-angiogenic, and immune-modulatory roles of interferon to effectively treat NMIBC that is resistant to BCG. Ongoing studies of resistance mechanisms and prognostic biomarkers have been promising; these will ultimately improve patient selection and allow for the modulation of factors in the tumor or immune microenvironment to further increase therapeutic response.

Patterns of nausea, vomiting, aversions, and cravings during pregnancy on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

The function(s) of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) and its accompanying aversions and cravings remain unresolved. Neither of the two major adaptive hypotheses, "maternal/embryo protection" and "placental growth," have been tested using data from a low-income country. We examined NVP in a cross-sectional study of 427 pregnant women. The prevalence of NVP was comparable to resource-rich contexts: 69.6%, 55.5%, 70.0%, and 64.9% reported NVP, gustatory aversions, olfactory aversions, and cravings, respectively. The prevalence of all phenomena was highest in the first trimester. The timing and characteristics of NVP, aversions, and cravings were most consistent with the protection hypothesis.

Appetite sensations and nausea and vomiting in pregnancy: an overview of the explanations.

We review information about the potential mechanisms underlying nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP), food cravings, and/or aversions in pregnancy. In addition to providing overviews about genetic predispositions and hormonal associations with appetite sensations and NVP, we review two functional explanations: the "maternal and embryo protection" and the "placental growth and development" hypotheses. We conclude with a discussion about the kinds of data that would enable us to better evaluate the relative advantages and disadvantages of NVP across disparate resource and ecological conditions.

Improving Rates of Immediate Postoperative Intravesical Chemotherapy with Gemcitabine for Low-Grade Bladder Cancer: An Implementation Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: We sought to demonstrate how an implementation science framework can be used to increase rates of postoperative intravesical chemotherapy with gemcitabine in patients with low-grade, nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer, thereby improving the quality of cancer care. METHODS: An audit performed at 2 University of Rochester Medical Center hospitals involved in the SWOG S0337 trial identified low usage rates of postoperative intravesical chemotherapy once study accrual closed. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research guided an evaluation of barriers to adoption of this evidence-based practice. Methods employed included an online survey of urologists' perceptions of postoperative gemcitabine, face-to-face interviews with key stakeholders and direct observation of utilization processes. Subsequent implementation strategies were mapped to identified barriers; educational training for urologists and support staff and refining workflow processes were critical aspects of the intervention. Repeat usage audits measured practice change at 1 year. RESULTS: The pre-intervention rate of appropriate use of intravesical gemcitabine was 11% at Strong Memorial Hospital and increased to 78% after 4 months and 88% after 12 months. The pre-intervention rate was 37% at Highland Hospital and increased to 82% after 4 months and 94% after 12 months. Over the period audited, 8 patients received gemcitabine who ultimately had nonlow-grade histology. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation science can be used to improve the impact of evidence-based findings in urological practice. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research has been used extensively in the literature and was adapted for postoperative intravesical chemotherapy with gemcitabine. This approach is feasible, generalizable, and results in durable practice change.

Pulmonary aspergilloma: An evasive disease.

Aspergillomas are often misdiagnosed as tuberculosis (TB) in developing countries where the prevalence of TB is high, hemoptysis is often equated with TB, and most patients are diagnosed clinically. This report describes the case of a patient being treated for smear-negative TB who presented with hemoptysis and was found to have an aspergilloma.

High prevalence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis among patients with rifampicin resistance using GeneXpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis/rifampicin in Ghana.

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: Drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB) represent a major threat to global TB control. In low- and middle-income countries, resource constraints make it difficult to identify and monitor cases of resistance using drug susceptibility testing and culture. Molecular assays such as the GeneXpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis/rifampicin may prove to be a cost-effective solution to this problem in these settings. The objective of this study is to evaluate the use of GeneXpert in the diagnosis of pulmonary TB since it was introduced into two tertiary hospitals in Ghana in 2013. METHODS: A 2-year retrospective audit of clinical cases involving patients who presented with clinically suspected TB or documented TB not improving on standard therapy and had samples sent for GeneXpert testing. RESULTS: GeneXpert identified 169 cases of TB, including 17 cases of rifampicin-resistant TB. Of the seven cases with final culture and drug susceptibility testing results, six demonstrated further drug resistance and five of these were multidrug-resistant TB. CONCLUSION: These findings call for a scale-up of TB control in Ghana and provide evidence that the expansion of GeneXpert may be an optimal means to improve case finding and guide treatment of drug-resistant TB in this setting.