[Urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer-data from 17,149 patients from 125 certified centers]. / Harninkontinenz nach radikaler Prostatektomie beim Prostatakarzinom ­ aktuelle Daten von 17.149 Patienten aus 125 zertifizierten Zentren.

BACKGROUND: In addition to erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence is the most common functional limitation after radical prostatectomy (RPE) for prostate cancer (PCa). The German S3 guideline recommends informing patients about possible effects of the therapy options, including incontinence. However, only little data on continence from routine care in German-speaking countries after RPE are currently available, which makes it difficult to inform patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work is to present data on the frequency and severity of urinary incontinence after RPE from routine care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Information from the PCO (Prostate Cancer Outcomes) study is used, which was collected between 2016 and 2022 in 125 German Cancer Society (DKG)-certified prostate cancer centers in 17,149 patients using the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite Short Form (EPIC-26). Changes in the "incontinence" score before (T0) and 12 months after RPE (T1) and the proportion of patients who used pads, stratified by age and risk group, are reported. RESULTS: The average score for urinary incontinence (value range: 0-worst possible to 100-best possible) was 93 points at T0 and 73 points 12 months later. At T0, 97% of the patients did not use a pad, compared to 56% at T1. 43% of the patients who did not use a pad before surgery used at least one pad a day 12 months later, while 13% use two or more. The proportion of patients using pads differs by age and risk classification. CONCLUSION: The results provide a comprehensive insight into functional outcome 12 months after RPE and can be taken into account when informing patients.

Prediction models of incontinence and sexual function one year after radical prostatectomy based on data from 20 164 prostate cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Incontinence and sexual dysfunction are long-lasting side effects after surgical treatment (radical prostatectomy, RP) of prostate cancer (PC). For an informed treatment decision, physicians and patients should discuss expected impairments. Therefore, this paper firstly aims to develop and validate prognostic models that predict incontinence and sexual function of PC patients one year after RP and secondly to provide an online decision making tool. METHODS: Observational cohorts of PC patients treated between July 2016 and March 2021 in Germany were used. Models to predict functional outcomes one year after RP measured by the EPIC-26 questionnaire were developed using lasso regression, 80-20 splitting of the data set and 10-fold cross validation. To assess performance, R2, RMSE, analysis of residuals and calibration-in-the-large were applied. Final models were externally temporally validated. Additionally, percentages of functional impairment (pad use for incontinence and firmness of erection for sexual score) per score decile were calculated to be used together with the prediction models. RESULTS: For model development and internal as well as external validation, samples of 11 355 and 8 809 patients were analysed. Results from the internal validation (incontinence: R2 = 0.12, RMSE = 25.40, sexual function: R2 = 0.23, RMSE = 21.44) were comparable with those of the external validation. Residual analysis and calibration-in-the-large showed good results. The prediction tool is freely accessible: https://nora-tabea.shinyapps.io/EPIC-26-Prediction/. CONCLUSION: The final models showed appropriate predictive properties and can be used together with the calculated risks for specific functional impairments. Main strengths are the large study sample (> 20 000) and the inclusion of an external validation. The models incorporate meaningful and clinically available predictors ensuring an easy implementation. All predictions are displayed together with risks of frequent impairments such as pad use or erectile dysfunction such that the developed online tool provides a detailed and informative overview for clinicians as well as patients.

Oncological Outcomes for Patients Harboring Positive Surgical Margins Following Radical Cystectomy for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: A Retrospective Multicentric Study on Behalf of the YAU Urothelial Group.

Introduction: Adjuvant therapy has no defined role for patients with positive surgical margins (PSMs) following radical cystectomy (RC) for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). The aim of our study was to describe loco-regional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), metastatic-free survival (MFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) and identify predictors of each endpoint in patients with PSMs following RC for MIBC. Methods: A collaborative retrospective cohort study was conducted on 394 patients with PSMs who underwent RC for MIBC between January 2000 and December 2018 at 10 tertiary referral centers. Patients receiving perioperative radiotherapy were excluded from the study. Kaplan−Meier curves were used to estimate patient survival. Cox regression analysis was used to identify predictors of survival. Results: Median age at surgery was 70 years (IQR 62−76) with 129 (33%) and 204 (52%) patients had pT3 and pT4 tumors, respectively. Nodal metastasis (pN+) was identified in 148 (38%). Soft tissue PSMs were found in 283 (72%) patients, urethral PSMs in 65 (16.5%), and ureteral PSMs were found in 73 (18.5%). The median follow-up time was 44 months (95% CI 32−60). Median LRFS, MRFS, RFS, CSS, and OS were 14 (95% CI 11−17), 12 (95% CI 10−16), 10 (95% CI 8−12), 23 (95% CI 18−33), and 16 months (95% CI 12−19), respectively. On multivariable Cox regression analysis, the pT3−4 stage, pN+ stage, and multifocal PSMs were independent predictors of LRFS, MRFS, RFS, and OS. Adjuvant chemotherapy improved all oncological outcomes studied (p < 0.05). The number of lymph nodes removed was independently associated with better LRFS, MRFS, and RFS. Advanced age at diagnosis was independently associated with worse OS. Conclusion: Patients with PSMs following RC have poor outcomes since half of them will recur within a year and will die of their disease. Among all PSMs types, patients with multifocal PSMs harbor the worst prognosis. We observed a benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy, but clinical trials evaluating innovative adjuvant strategies for these patients remain an unmet need.

Selecting the Best Candidates for Cisplatin-based Adjuvant Chemotherapy After Radical Cystectomy Among Patients with pN+ Bladder Cancer.

A trend towards greater benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) in pN+ bladder cancer (BCa) has been observed in multiple randomized controlled trials. However, it is still unclear which patients might benefit the most from this approach. We retrospectively analyzed a multicenter cohort of 1381 patients with pTany pN1-3 cM0 R0 urothelial BCa treated with radical cystectomy (RC) with or without cisplatin-based ACT. The main endpoint was overall survival (OS) after RC. We performed 1:1 propensity score matching to adjust for baseline characteristics and conducted a classification and regression tree (CART) analysis to assess postoperative risk groups and Cox regression analyses to predict OS. Overall, 391 patients (28%) received cisplatin-based ACT. After matching, two cohorts of 281 patients with pN+ BCa were obtained. CART analysis stratified patients into three risk groups: favorable prognosis (≤pT2 and positive lymph node [PLN] count ≤2; odds ratio [OR] 0.43), intermediate prognosis (≥pT3 and PLN count ≤2; OR 0.92), and poor prognosis (pTany and PLN count ≥3; OR 1.36). Only patients with poor prognosis benefitted from ACT in terms of OS (HR 0.51; p < 0.001). We created the first algorithm that stratifies patients with pN+ BCa into prognostic classes and identified patients with pTany BCa with PLN ≥3 as the most suitable candidates for cisplatin-based ACT. PATIENT SUMMARY: We found that overall survival among patients with bladder cancer and evidence of lymph node involvement depends on cancer stage and the number of positive lymph nodes. Patients with more than three nodes affected by metastases seem to experience the greatest overall survival benefit from cisplatin-based chemotherapy after bladder removal. Our study suggests that patients with the highest risk should be prioritized for cisplatin-based chemotherapy after bladder removal.

Current application of the enhanced recovery after surgery protocol for patients undergoing radical cystectomy: lessons learned from European excellence centers.

PURPOSE: There is no consensus on which items of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) should and should not be implemented in radical cystectomy (RC). The aim of this study is to report current practices across European high-volume RC centers involved in ERAS. METHODS: Based on the recommendations of the ERAS society, we developed a survey with 17 questions that were validated by the Young Academic Urologists-urothelial group. The survey was distributed to European expert centers that implement ERAS for RC. Only one answer per-center was allowed to keep a representative overview of the different centers. RESULTS: 70 surgeons fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Of note, 28.6% of surgeons do not work with a referent anesthesiologist and 25% have not yet assessed the implementation of ERAS in their center. Avoiding bowel preparation, thromboprophylaxis, and removal of the nasogastric tube were widely implemented (> 90%application). On the other hand, preoperative carbohydrate loading, opioid-sparing anesthesia, and audits were less likely to be applied. Common barriers to ERAS implementation were difficulty in changing habits (55%), followed by a lack of communication across surgeons and anesthesiologist (33%). Responders found that performing a regular audit (14%), opioid-sparing anesthesia (14%) and early mobilization (13%) were the most difficult items to implement. CONCLUSION: In this survey, we identified the ERAS items most and less commonly applied. Collaboration with anesthesiologists as well as regular audits remain a challenge for ERAS implementation. These results support the need to uniform ERAS for RC patients and develop strategies to help departments implement ERAS.

Restaging transurethral resection in ta high-grade nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer: a systematic review.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The role of a re-transurethral resection (TUR) is clearly demonstrated in T1 high-grade nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. However, its role remains controversial for Ta high-risk tumors and the recent European guidelines stated that the second look procedure could be avoided for these patients despite harboring a high-risk of both disease recurrence and progression. We aimed to evaluate the added benefit on staging, response to bacillus Calmette-Guérin and oncological outcomes of re-TUR in patients with Ta high-grade nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. RECENT FINDINGS: Overall, we identified 15 studies, including 3912 patients from which 743 harbored Ta high-grade disease. Delay between first and second TUR was ranging from 2 to 12 weeks (median 5.6 weeks). The rate of residual disease was 52.8% (range 17-67%). The rate of overall upstaging to T1 and muscle-invasive disease were 10.9 and 4.7%, respectively. Although there was a trend toward improvement of recurrence-free survival outcomes, no definitive conclusions can be drawn due to the retrospective design of the studies included. SUMMARY: Residual tumor is common after initial TUR for Ta high-grade. Re-TUR is useful in reducing the rates of residual disease, may improve staging, response to bacillus Calmette-Guérin and oncological outcomes.

The impact of treatment modality on survival in patients with clinical node-positive bladder cancer: results from a multicenter collaboration.

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of perioperative chemotherapy on survival in cN+ BCa patients and analyze it according to the pN status. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 639 BCa patients with cTanyN1-3M0 BCa treated with radical cystectomy (RC) and bilateral lymph node dissection (LND) with or without perioperative chemotherapy in ten tertiary referral centers from 1990 to 2017. Selected cN+ patients received induction chemotherapy (IC), whereas adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) was delivered to selected pN+ patients. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were used to predict overall mortality (OM) after surgery, adjusting for clinicopathological confounders. Kaplan-Meier analyses assessed OM according to the treatment modality. RESULTS: Overall, 356 (56%) patients were treated with surgery alone, 155 (24%) with IC followed by surgery, and 128 (20%) with ACT following surgery. Over a median follow-up of 25 months, 316 deaths were recorded. At univariable analysis, patients treated with IC and surgery had lower OM both considering cN+ [hazard ratio (HR) 0.65, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.49-0.87, p = 0.004] and cN+pN- patients (HR 0.61, 95% CI 0.37-0.99, p = 0.05) compared to those treated with surgery alone. cN+pN+ patients treated with ACT experienced lower OM compared to those treated with IC or surgery alone at multivariable analysis (HR 0.40, 95% CI 0.22-0.74, p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Patients with cTany cN+ cM0 BCa benefit more in terms of OS when treated with IC followed by RC + LND compared to RC + LND alone, regardless of LNMs at final histopathology examination. More data are needed to assess the role of ACT in the management of cN+ patients.

Adjuvant chemotherapy is ineffective in patients with bladder cancer and variant histology treated with radical cystectomy with curative intent.

OBJECTIVES: Adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) is recommended for non-organ-confined bladder cancer (BCa) after radical cystectomy (RC) and pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND), but there are sparse data regarding its specific efficacy in patients with histological variants. The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of ACT on survival outcomes in patients with variant histology in a large multicenter cohort. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated data of 3963 patients with BCa treated with RC and bilateral PLND with curative intent at several institutions between 1999 and 2018. The histological type was classified into six groups: pure urothelial carcinoma (PUC) or squamous, sarcomatoid, micropapillary, glandular and neuroendocrine differentiation. Multivariable competing risk analysis was applied to assess the role of ACT on recurrence and cancer-specific mortality (CSM) in each histological subtype. RESULTS: Of the 3963 patients included in the study, 23% had variant histology at RC specimen and 723 (18%) patients received ACT. ACT was found to be significantly associated with reduced risk of recurrence (sub-hazard ratio [SHR]: 0.55, confidence interval [CI] 0.42-0.71, p < 0.001) and CSM (SHR: 0.58, CI 0.44-0.78, p < 0.001) in the PUC only, while no histological subtype received a significant benefit on survival outcomes (all p > 0.05) from administration of ACT. The limitation of the study includes the retrospective design, the lack of a central pathology review and the number of ACT cycles. CONCLUSION: In our study, the administration of ACT was associated with improved survival outcomes in PUC only. No histological subtype found a benefit in overall recurrence and CSM from ACT.

Impact of tumor size on the oncological outcome of high-grade nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer - examining the utility of classifying Ta bladder cancer based on size.

PURPOSE: To examine survival rates and to calculate the risk of disease recurrence, progression, overall, and cancer-specific mortality in patients diagnosed with high-risk NMIBC using a multi-institutional dataset to evaluate differences between the guidelines of the European Association of Urology and the guidelines of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) with regard to tumor size in risk stratification. METHODS AND MATERIAL: In total 1,116 individuals diagnosed with high-risk NMIBC between 2001 and 2013 were included in the analysis. Patients were stratified to NCCN guideline recommendations (high-grade T1, high-grade Ta ≤ 3 cm, and high-grade Ta > 3 cm). Recurrence and progression rates were calculated. Kaplan-Meier curves were fitted to examine differences in recurrence-free (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were employed to calculate differences in the RFS, PFS, overall, and cancer-specific survival (CSS). RESULTS: The majority of patients were diagnosed with high-grade T1 disease (N = 576, 51.6%), while 34.2% and 14.2% of patients were diagnosed with high-grade Ta ≤ 3 cm and Ta > 3 cm NMIBC, respectively. The 1- and 5-year RFS (1-year: 80.5% vs. 64.9%; 5-year: 58.6% vs. 48.3%, P = 0.048) and PFS (1-year: 99.1% vs. 98.6%; 5-year: 97.7% vs. 92.4%, P = 0.054) rates were higher in patients with Ta ≤ 3 cm. Patients diagnosed with high-grade Ta > 3 cm experienced unfavorable progression-free, and cancer-specific survival compared to high-grade Ta ≤ 3 cm, respectively (PFS: 2.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-5.56, P = 0.038; CSS: hazard ratios [HR] 2.22, 95% CI 1.02-4.89, P = 0.048). CONCLUSION: Patients diagnosed with high-grade Ta NMIBC ≤3 cm demonstrated a favorable progression-free, and cancer-specific survival compared to patients diagnosed with high-grade Ta > 3 cm and high-grade T1 NMIBC.

Postoperative Chemotherapy Bladder Instillation After Radical Nephroureterectomy: Results of a European Survey from the Young Academic Urologist Urothelial Cancer Group.

BACKGROUND: Level 1 evidence supports the administration of single postoperative intravesical chemotherapy (pIVC) following radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), in order to decrease intravesical recurrence risk. OBJECTIVE: The Young Academic Urologist Urothelial Cancer Group aimed to investigate the use of pIVC in daily practice among European colleagues. DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: An online survey was shared with European Association of Urology Section of Oncological Urology (ESOU) 2017 participants via e-mail. Submissions were accepted from April to June 2017. The topics for 15 questions of this survey included the habit of delivering pIVC, the choice of drug, its dosage, related doubts or concerns, reasons not to perform pIVC, knowledge of the evidence, and surgical preferences for RNU. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Survey software was used for analyses. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the association between surgeons' experience and caseloads with pIVC utilization. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Overall, 127 responses were collected (11.6%). About half of the participants (47%) regularly administered pIVC following RNU. The drug most commonly utilized was mitomycin (85%); 82% adhered to the standard dosage of 40 mg. Different administration protocols were adopted: ≤48 h (39%), 7-10 postoperative days (35%), >10 d (11%), and intraoperatively (10%). The evidence was supported by prospective randomized clinical trials for only 65% of responders. Among interviewees who did not deliver pIVC, the most commonly reported reasons were lack of supporting data (55%), fear of potential side effects (18%), and organizational hurdles (15%). CONCLUSIONS: Our research highlights the limited use of pIVC following RNU for UTUC, raising the question of how the compliance with level 1 evidence in the urological community may be promoted. PATIENT SUMMARY: Level 1 evidence supports the administration of single postoperative intravesical chemotherapy (pIVC) following radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), in order to decrease intravesical recurrence risk. The Young Academic Urologist Urothelial Cancer Group aimed to investigate the use of pIVC in daily practice among European colleagues. Our research highlights the limited use of pIVC (47%) following RNU for UTUC, raising the question of how the compliance with level 1 evidence in the urological community may be promoted.

Urothelial Carcinoma in Bladder Diverticula: A Multicenter Analysis of Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Urothelial carcinoma arising in a bladder diverticulum (UCBD) is uncommon, and data on treatment and outcome are sparse. OBJECTIVE: To analyze clinicopathological characteristics of UCBD and to compare outcome after radical cystectomy (RC) and partial cystectomy (PC). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Data of 115 UCBD patients treated with RC (n=81) or PC (n=34) between 2000 and 2016 were collected from 11 institutional databases and were analyzed retrospectively. Median follow-up was 5.0yr (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.0-6.2). OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Upstaging of tumor stage at diagnostic transurethral resection (TUR) to the RC/PC specimen was investigated. Overall survival (OS) and metastasis-free survival (MFS) after RC and PC were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier estimates, and compared using the log-rank test. Intravesical recurrences after PC were reported. A multivariable Cox proportional-hazard model was used to identify factors associated with OS. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: There were no statistically significant differences in clinicopathological characteristics between RC and PC groups. Fifty-five percent of patients with cTa/is/1 at diagnostic TUR had ≥pT2 tumors at RC/PC. Five-year OS and MFS were, respectively, 62% and 66% for RC and 66% and 55% for PC (p=0.9 and p=0.6). Intravesical tumor recurrence was seen in six of 34 (18%) PC patients. In multivariable analysis, positive surgical margins and extravesical disease (≥pT2) were associated with worse OS, whereas treatment modality was not (RC: reference; PC: hazard ratio 0.94, [95% CI: 0.47-1.90], p=0.9). CONCLUSIONS: Upstaging of UCBD was frequent, indicating an inaccuracy in clinical staging. We found no differences in OS or MFS between PC and RC groups; therefore, PC may represent a feasible surgical alternative to RC in selected UCBD patients. PATIENT SUMMARY: In this report, we looked at the treatment of urothelial carcinoma arising in a bladder diverticulum (UCBD). We found that bladder-sparing treatment by partial cystectomy may be an alternative to radical cystectomy in carefully selected UCBD patients.

Complication rate after cystectomy following pelvic radiotherapy: an international, multicenter, retrospective series of 682 cases.

PURPOSE: Conflicting evidence exists on the complication rates after cystectomy following previous radiation (pRTC) with only a few available series. We aim to assess the complication rate of pRTC for abdominal-pelvic malignancies. METHODS: Patients treated with radical cystectomy following any previous history of RT and with available information on complications for a minimum of 1 year were included. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between the variable parameters and the risk of any complication. RESULTS: 682 patients underwent pRTC after a previous RT (80.5% EBRT) for prostate, bladder (BC), gynecological or other cancers in 49.1%, 27.4%, 9.8% and 12.9%, respectively. Overall, 512 (75.1%) had at least one post-surgical complication, classified as Clavien ≥ 3 in 29.6% and Clavien V in 2.9%. At least one surgical complication occurred in 350 (51.3%), including bowel leakage in 6.2% and ureteric stricture in 9.4%. A medical complication was observed in 359 (52.6%) patients, with UTI/pyelonephritis being the most common (19%), followed by renal failure (12%). The majority of patients (86%) received an incontinent urinary diversion. In multivariable analysis adjusted for age, gender and type of RT, patients treated with RT for bladder cancer had a 1.7 times increased relative risk of experiencing any complication after RC compared to those with RT for prostate cancer (p = 0.023). The type of diversion (continent vs non-continent) did not influence the risk of complications. CONCLUSION: pRTC carries a high rate of major complications that dramatically exceeds the rates reported in RT-naïve RCs.

Differences in trends in the use of robot-assisted and open radical cystectomy and changes over time in peri-operative outcomes among selected centres in North America and Europe: an international multicentre collaboration.

OBJECTIVES: To compare trends in the use of robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) and changes over time in peri-operative outcomes in selected North American and European centres. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective evaluation of 2401 patients treated with open radical cystectomy (ORC) or RARC for bladder cancer at 12 centres in North America and Europe between 2006 and 2018. We used the Kruskal-Wallis and chi-squared test to evaluate differences between continuous and categorical variables. RESULTS: Overall, 49.5% of patients underwent RARC and 51.5% ORC. RARC became the most commonly performed procedure in contemporary patients, with an increase from 29% in 2006-2008 to 54% in 2015-2018 (P < 0.001). In the North American centres the use of RARC was higher than that of ORC from 2006, and remained stable over time, whereas in the European centres its use increased exponentially from 2% to 50%. In both groups patients who underwent RARC had less advanced T stages (P < 0.001), lower American Society of Anesthesiologists scores (P < 0.05), lower blood loss (P = 0.001) and shorter length of hospital stay (P < 0.05). No differences were found in early complications. Early readmission and re-operation rates were worse for patients treated with RARC in the European centres; however, when contemporary patients only were considered, the statistical significance was lost. CONCLUSION: The present study shows that the use of RARC has constantly increased since its introduction, overtaking ORC in the most contemporary series. While RARC was more frequently performed than ORC since its introduction in the North American centres and its use remained substantially stable over time, its use increased exponentially in the European centres. The different trends in use of RARC/ORC and changes over time in peri-operative outcomes between the North American and European centres can be attributed to the earlier introduction and spread of RARC in the former compared with the latter.

Prediction tools in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (BCa) is the second most common genitourinary malignancy, burdened by high rates of recurrence and progression. Urologist are encouraged to stratify patients on the bases of recurrence and progression risks in order to define the best therapeutic approach and follow-up scheme. For these reasons, the aim of the present non-systematic review was to assess the literature on prediction tools in non-muscle invasive BCa. Currently, the most widely used tools remain the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the Club Urologico Espanol de Tratamiento Oncologico (CUETO) risk tables, which are based on clinicopathologic features. Recent external validations, therefore, reported their low accuracy, probably related to the lack of the role of re-transurethral resection (TURBT), early instillations, chemotherapy and complete BCG schedules in the studies included to asses these scores. More recently several immunological, biochemical and genetics biomarkers have been tested by themselves and in combination with clinicopathologic features, and many of them resulted related with risk of recurrence and progression. Future perspectives will presumably include the update of EORTC and CUETO scores with newest guidelines' recommendations and their integration with biomarkers.

Discrepancy Between European Association of Urology Guidelines and Daily Practice in the Management of Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer: Results of a European Survey.

BACKGROUND: The European Association of Urology (EAU) non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) guidelines are meant to help minimise morbidity and improve the care of patients with NMIBC. However, there may be underuse of guideline-recommended care in this potentially curable cohort. OBJECTIVE: To assess European physicians' current practice in the management of NMIBC and evaluate its concordance with the EAU 2013 guidelines. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Initial 45-min telephone interviews were conducted with 20 urologists to develop a 26-item questionnaire for a 30-min online quantitative interview. A total of 498 physicians with predefined experience in treatment of NMIBC patients, from nine European countries, completed the online interviews. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics of absolute numbers and percentages of the use of diagnostic tools, risk group stratification, treatment options chosen, and follow-up regimens were used. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Guidelines are used by ≥87% of physicians, with the EAU guidelines being the most used ones (71-100%). Cystoscopy (60-97%) and ultrasonography (42-95%) are the most used diagnostic techniques. Using EAU risk classification, 40-69% and 88-100% of physicians correctly identify all the prognostic factors for low- and high-risk tumours, respectively. Re-transurethral resection of the bladder tumour (re-TURB) is performed in 25-75% of low-risk and 55-98% of high-risk patients. Between 21% and 88% of patients received a single instillation of chemotherapy within 24h after TURB. Adjuvant intravesical treatment is not given to 6-62%, 2-33%, and 1-20% of the patients with low-, intermediate-, and high-risk NMIBC, respectively. Patients with low-risk NMIBC are likely to be overmonitored and those with high-risk NMIBC undermonitored. Our study is limited by the possible recall bias of the selected physicians. CONCLUSIONS: Although most European physicians claim to apply the EAU guidelines, adherence to them is low in daily practice. PATIENT SUMMARY: Our survey among European physicians investigated discrepancies between guidelines and daily practice in the management of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). We conclude that the use of the recommended diagnostic tools, risk-stratification of NMIBC, and performance of re-TURB have been adopted, but adjuvant intravesical treatment and follow-up are not uniformly applied.

Propensity-score-matched comparison of soft tissue surgical margins status between open and robotic-assisted radical cystectomy.

INTRODUCTION: The use of robotic-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) is becoming more widespread. While its safety is accepted, its oncological efficacy as compared to the current standard, open radical cystectomy (ORC), remains debatable. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The aim of this study is to compare the rates of positive soft tissue surgical margins (STSM), between patients treated with RARC or ORC, using a large contemporaneous collaborative database. We included 2,536 patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder treated at 26 institutions. A propensity-score matching 1:1 was performed with 3 ORC patients matched to 1 RARC patient. The final cohort included 1,614 patients. Uni- and multivariable logistic regression analyses tested the impact of surgical technique on STSM status, before and after propensity-score matching. RESULTS: Overall, 870 (34%) patients underwent RARC and 1,666 (66%) ORC. The overall STSM rate was 11%; 10% in the ORC group and 13% in the RARC group. Within the propensity-score-matched cohort, the positive STSM rate were 14% and 13% in the ORC and RARC group, respectively (P = 0.1). In multivariable analysis, after propensity match RARC approach was not associated with the risk of a positive STSM (P = 0.1). These results were confirmed in the subgroup of patients with pathologic non-organ-confined or organ-confined diseases. CONCLUSIONS: While treatment with RARC is associated with a higher absolute rate of STSM, the difference did not remain after adjustment for the effects of other established prognostic factors. Results from ongoing trials are awaited to assess the validity of these findings.

Influence of Body Mass Index on Clinical Outcome Parameters, Complication Rate and Survival after Radical Cystectomy: Evidence from a Prospective European Multicentre Study.

Background/Aims/Objectives: To evaluate the influence of body mass index (BMI) on complications and oncological outcomes in patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC). METHODS: Clinical and histopathological parameters of patients have been prospectively collected within the "PROspective MulticEnTer RadIcal Cystectomy Series 2011". BMI was categorized as normal weight (<25 kg/m2), overweight (≥25-29.9 kg/m2) and obesity (≥30 kg/m2). The association between BMI and clinical and histopathological endpoints was examined. Ordinal logistic regression models were applied to assess the influence of BMI on complication rate and survival. RESULTS: Data of 671 patients were eligible for final analysis. Of these patients, 26% (n = 175) showed obesity. No significant association of obesity on tumour stage, grade, lymph node metastasis, blood loss, type of urinary diversion and 90-day mortality rate was found. According to the -American Society of Anesthesiologists score, local lymph node (NT) stage and operative case load patients with higher BMI had significantly higher probabilities of severe complications 30 days after RC (p = 0.037). The overall survival rate of obese patients was superior to normal weight patients (p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS: There is no evidence of correlation between obesity and worse oncological outcomes after RC. While obesity should not be a parameter to exclude patients from cystectomy, surgical settings need to be aware of higher short-term complication risks and obese patients should be counselled -accordingly.

Conditional analyses of recurrence and progression in patients with TaG1 non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To determine conditional recurrence-free survival (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS) and improve decision-making toward surveillance protocols and scheduling. Furthermore, evaluating the evolution of predictors for disease recurrence over time, because TaG1 non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer harbors a risk of disease recurrence and progression. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The retrospective multicenter design study includes 1,245 TaG1 bladder cancer patients with median follow-up of 62.7 (interquartile range: 34.3-91.1) months. Conditional RFS and PFS estimates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariable Cox regression model was calculated proportional for the prediction of recurrence and progression (covariables: age, tumor size, multiple tumors, prior recurrence, and immediate postoperative instillation of chemotherapy). RESULTS: After 3 months without event, the conditional RFS and PFS (to ≥pT2) rates for 5 additional years without event were 57.5% and 93.4%, respectively. Given a 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year survival, the conditional RFS rates for 5 additional years without event improved by +9.8 (67.3%), +5.2 (72.5%), +6.5 (79.0%), +2.0 (81.0%), and +1.0% (82.0%), respectively. In contrast, the 5-year conditional PFS rates were more or less stable with 94.3% after 1 year to 94.1% after 5 years. Multivariable analyses showed decreasing impact of risk parameters on RFS estimates over time. Based on these findings, we suggest a risk stratification to individualize follow-up for intermediate risk TaG1. Main limitation was the retrospective design. CONCLUSIONS: Conditional-survival analyses demonstrates that the patient risk profile changes over time. RFS rates rise with increasing survival whereas PFS rates were stable. The impact of prognostic features decreases over time. Our findings can be used for patient counseling and planning of personalized follow-up.