Investigating the clinical reasoning abilities of large language model GPT-4: an analysis of postoperative complications from renal surgeries.

PURPOSE: Large language models, a subset of artificial intelligence, have immense potential to support human tasks. The role of these models in science and medicine is unclear, requiring strong critical thinking and analysis skills. The objective of our study was to evaluate GPT-4's abilities to assess postoperative complications after renal surgeries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Discharge summaries were compiled, and patient information was deidentified in a Python-based program. Prompts were engineered in GPT-4 to assess for the presence of postoperative complications. GPT-4 was further asked to interpret each complication's Clavien-Dindo classification and institutional-specific category. GPT-4's database was compared to a human-curated database. Discrepancies were manually reviewed to calculate match and accuracy rates. RESULTS: Approximately 944 renal surgeries were conducted from August 2005 to March 2022. There was a 79.6% match rate between GPT-4 and human-curated data in detecting postoperative complications. Accuracy rates were 86.7% for GPT-4 and 92.9% for human-curated. A subgroup of 139 patients had a complication detected by both GPT-4 and human with available Clavien-Dindo classification and category information. There was a 37.4% overall match rate for Clavien-Dindo grade and 55.4% match rate for category. CONCLUSIONS: GPT-4 was able to accurately detect if there were any postoperative complications. It struggled with the complex task of further analyzing complications, especially with Clavien-Dindo classification, which requires more critical thinking and interpretation. While GPT-4 is not yet ready for advanced postoperative complication analysis, it can still be used to support clinicians in this endeavor.

Comprehensive proteogenomic characterization of rare kidney tumors.

Non-clear cell renal cell carcinomas (non-ccRCCs) encompass diverse malignant and benign tumors. Refinement of differential diagnosis biomarkers, markers for early prognosis of aggressive disease, and therapeutic targets to complement immunotherapy are current clinical needs. Multi-omics analyses of 48 non-ccRCCs compared with 103 ccRCCs reveal proteogenomic, phosphorylation, glycosylation, and metabolic aberrations in RCC subtypes. RCCs with high genome instability display overexpression of IGF2BP3 and PYCR1. Integration of single-cell and bulk transcriptome data predicts diverse cell-of-origin and clarifies RCC subtype-specific proteogenomic signatures. Expression of biomarkers MAPRE3, ADGRF5, and GPNMB differentiates renal oncocytoma from chromophobe RCC, and PIGR and SOSTDC1 distinguish papillary RCC from MTSCC. This study expands our knowledge of proteogenomic signatures, biomarkers, and potential therapeutic targets in non-ccRCC.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of kidney cancer identifies 63 susceptibility regions.

Here, in a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study meta-analysis of kidney cancer (29,020 cases and 835,670 controls), we identified 63 susceptibility regions (50 novel) containing 108 independent risk loci. In analyses stratified by subtype, 52 regions (78 loci) were associated with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and 6 regions (7 loci) with papillary RCC. Notably, we report a variant common in African ancestry individuals ( rs7629500 ) in the 3' untranslated region of VHL, nearly tripling clear cell RCC risk (odds ratio 2.72, 95% confidence interval 2.23-3.30). In cis-expression quantitative trait locus analyses, 48 variants from 34 regions point toward 83 candidate genes. Enrichment of hypoxia-inducible factor-binding sites underscores the importance of hypoxia-related mechanisms in kidney cancer. Our results advance understanding of the genetic architecture of kidney cancer, provide clues for functional investigation and enable generation of a validated polygenic risk score with an estimated area under the curve of 0.65 (0.74 including risk factors) among European ancestry individuals.

Timing, incidence and management of delayed bleeding after partial nephrectomy in patients at risk for recurrent, bilateral, multifocal renal tumors.

INTRODUCTION: Delayed bleeding is a potentially serious complication after partial nephrectomy (PN), with reported rates of 1%-2%. Patients with multiple renal tumors, including those with hereditary forms of kidney cancer, are often managed with resection of multiple tumors in a single kidney which may increase the risk of delayed bleeding, though outcomes have not previously been reported specifically in this population. The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence and timing of delayed bleeding as well as the impact of intervention on renal functional outcomes in a cohort primarily made up of patients at risk for bilateral, multifocal renal tumors. METHODS: A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database of patients with known or suspected predisposition to bilateral, multifocal renal tumors who underwent PN from 2003 to 2023 was conducted. Patients who presented with delayed bleeding were identified. Patients with delayed bleeding were compared to those without. Comparative statistics and univariate logistic regression were used to determine potential risk factors for delayed bleeding. RESULTS: A total of 1256 PN were performed during the study period. Angiographic evidence of pseudoaneurysm, AV fistula and/or extravasation occurred in 24 cases (1.9%). Of these, 21 were symptomatic presenting with gross hematuria in 13 (54.2%), decreasing hemoglobin in 4(16.7%), flank pain in 2(8.3%), and mental status change in 2 (8.3%), while 3 patients were asymptomatic. Median number of resected tumors was 5 (IQR 2-8). All patients underwent angiogram with super-selective embolization. Median time to bleed event was 13.5 days (IQR 7-22). Factors associated with delayed bleeding included open approach (OR 2.2, IQR(1.06-5.46), P = 0.04 and left-sided surgery (OR 4.93, IQR(1.67-14.5), P = 0.004. Selective embolization had little impact on ultimate renal functional outcomes, with a median change of 11% from the baseline eGFR after partial nephrectomy and embolization. One patient required total nephrectomy for refractory bleeding after embolization. CONCLUSIONS: Delayed bleeding after PN in a cohort of patients with multifocal tumors is an infrequent event, with similar rates to single tumor series. Patients should be counseled regarding timing and symptoms of delayed bleeding and multidisciplinary management with interventional radiology is critical for timely diagnosis and treatment.

Genome-wide Analysis Identifies Nuclear Factor 1C as a Novel Transcription Factor and Potential Therapeutic Target in Small Cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Recent insights regarding mechanisms mediating stemness, heterogeneity, and metastatic potential of lung cancers have yet to be fully translated to effective regimens for the treatment of these malignancies. This study sought to identify novel targets for lung cancer therapy. METHODS: Transcriptomes and DNA methylomes of 14 SCLC and 10 NSCLC lines were compared to normal human small airway epithelial cells (SAEC) and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) clones derived from SAEC. SCLC lines, lung iPSC (Lu-iPSC), and SAEC were further evaluated by DNase I hypersensitivity (DHS-seq). Changes in chromatin accessibility and depths of transcription factor (TF) footprints were quantified using Bivariate analysis of Genomic Footprint. Standard techniques were used to examine growth and tumorigenencity as well as changes in transcriptomes and glucose metabolism of SCLC cells following Nuclear Factor 1C (NFIC) knockdown, and to examine NFIC expression in SCLC cells following exposure to BET inhibitors. RESULTS: Significant commonality of transcriptomes and DNA methylomes was observed between Lu-iPSC and SCLC; however, this analysis was uninformative regarding pathways unique to lung cancer. Linking results of DNase-seq to RNA-seq enabled identification of networks not previously associated with SCLC. When combined with footprint depth, NFIC, a transcription factor not previously associated with SCLC, had the highest score of occupancy at open chromatin sites. Knockdown of NFIC impaired glucose metabolism, decreased stemness, and inhibited growth of SCLC cells in-vitro and in-vivo. ChIP-seq analysis identified numerous sites occupied by Bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) in the NFIC promoter region. Knock-down of BRD4 or treatment with Bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) inhibitors (BETi) markedly reduced NFIC expression in SCLC cells and SCLC PDX models. Approximately 8% of genes downregulated by BETi treatment were repressed by NFIC knockdown in SCLC, while 34% of genes repressed following NFIC knockdown were also downregulated in SCLC cells following BETi treatment. CONCLUSIONS: NFIC is a key TF and possible mediator of transcriptional regulation by BET family proteins in SCLC. Our findings highlight the potential of genome-wide chromatin accessibility analysis for elucidating mechanisms of pulmonary carcinogenesis and identifying novel targets for lung cancer therapy.

Kidney scoring surveillance: predictive machine learning models for clear cell renal cell carcinoma growth using MRI.

INTRODUCTION: Classification of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) growth rates in patients with Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) syndrome has several ramifications for tumor monitoring and surgical planning. Using two separate machine-learning algorithms, we sought to produce models to predict ccRCC growth rate classes based on qualitative MRI-derived characteristics. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We used a prospectively maintained database of patients with VHL who underwent surgical resection for ccRCC between January 2015 and June 2022. We employed a threshold growth rate of 0.5 cm per year to categorize ccRCC tumors into two distinct groups-'slow-growing' and 'fast-growing'. Utilizing a questionnaire of qualitative imaging features, two radiologists assessed each lesion on different MRI sequences. Two machine-learning models, a stacked ensemble technique and a decision tree algorithm, were used to predict the tumor growth rate classes. Positive predictive value (PPV), sensitivity, and F1-score were used to evaluate the performance of the models. RESULTS: This study comprises 55 patients with VHL with 128 ccRCC tumors. Patients' median age was 48 years, and 28 patients were males. Each patient had an average of two tumors, with a median size of 2.1 cm and a median growth rate of 0.35 cm/year. The overall performance of the stacked and DT model had 0.77 ± 0.05 and 0.71 ± 0.06 accuracies, respectively. The best stacked model achieved a PPV of 0.92, a sensitivity of 0.91, and an F1-score of 0.90. CONCLUSION: This study provides valuable insight into the potential of machine-learning analysis for the determination of renal tumor growth rate in patients with VHL. This finding could be utilized as an assistive tool for the individualized screening and follow-up of this population.

Deep learning algorithm (YOLOv7) for automated renal mass detection on contrast-enhanced MRI: a 2D and 2.5D evaluation of results.

INTRODUCTION: Accurate diagnosis and treatment of kidney tumors greatly benefit from automated solutions for detection and classification on MRI. In this study, we explore the application of a deep learning algorithm, YOLOv7, for detecting kidney tumors on contrast-enhanced MRI. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We assessed the performance of YOLOv7 tumor detection on excretory phase MRIs in a large institutional cohort of patients with RCC. Tumors were segmented on MRI using ITK-SNAP and converted to bounding boxes. The cohort was randomly divided into ten benchmarks for training and testing the YOLOv7 algorithm. The model was evaluated using both 2-dimensional and a novel in-house developed 2.5-dimensional approach. Performance measures included F1, Positive Predictive Value (PPV), Sensitivity, F1 curve, PPV-Sensitivity curve, Intersection over Union (IoU), and mean average PPV (mAP). RESULTS: A total of 326 patients with 1034 tumors with 7 different pathologies were analyzed across ten benchmarks. The average 2D evaluation results were as follows: Positive Predictive Value (PPV) of 0.69 ± 0.05, sensitivity of 0.39 ± 0.02, and F1 score of 0.43 ± 0.03. For the 2.5D evaluation, the average results included a PPV of 0.72 ± 0.06, sensitivity of 0.61 ± 0.06, and F1 score of 0.66 ± 0.04. The best model performance demonstrated a 2.5D PPV of 0.75, sensitivity of 0.69, and F1 score of 0.72. CONCLUSION: Using computer vision for tumor identification is a cutting-edge and rapidly expanding subject. In this work, we showed that YOLOv7 can be utilized in the detection of kidney cancers.

Belzutifan for von Hippel-Lindau Disease: Pancreatic Lesion Population of the Phase 2 LITESPARK-004 Study.

PURPOSE: Primary analysis of the ongoing, single-arm, phase 2 LITESPARK-004 study (NCT03401788) showed clinically meaningful antitumor activity in von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease-associated renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and other neoplasms with belzutifan treatment. We describe results of belzutifan treatment for VHL disease-associated pancreatic lesions [pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET) and serous cystadenomas]. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Adults with VHL diagnosis based on germline VHL alteration, ≥1 measurable RCC tumor, no renal tumor >3 cm or other VHL neoplasm requiring immediate surgery, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1, and no prior systemic anticancer treatment received belzutifan 120 mg once daily. End points included objective response rate (ORR), duration of response (DOR), progression-free survival (PFS), and linear growth rate (LGR) in all pancreatic lesions and pNETs per RECIST version 1.1 by independent review committee, and safety. RESULTS: All 61 enrolled patients (100%) had ≥1 pancreatic lesion and 22 (36%) had ≥1 pNET measurable at baseline. Median follow-up was 37.8 months (range, 36.1-46.1). ORR was 84% [51/61; 17 complete responses (CR)] in pancreatic lesions and 91% (20/22; 7 CRs) in pNETs. Median DOR and median PFS were not reached in pancreatic lesions or pNETs. After starting treatment, median LGR for pNETs was -4.2 mm per year (range, -7.9 to -0.8). Eleven patients (18%) had ≥1 grade 3 treatment-related adverse event (AE). No grade 4 or 5 treatment-related AEs occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Belzutifan continued to show robust activity and manageable safety in VHL disease-associated pNETs.

Rewiring of RNA methylation by the oncometabolite fumarate in renal cell carcinoma.

Metabolic reprogramming is a hallmark of cancer that facilitates changes in many adaptive biological processes. Mutations in the tricarboxylic acid cycle enzyme fumarate hydratase (FH) lead to fumarate accumulation and cause hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (HLRCC). HLRCC is a rare, inherited disease characterized by the development of non-cancerous smooth muscle tumors of the uterus and skin, and an increased risk of an aggressive form of kidney cancer. Fumarate has been shown to inhibit 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases (2OGDDs) involved in the hydroxylation of HIF1α, as well as in DNA and histone demethylation. However, the link between fumarate accumulation and changes in RNA post-transcriptional modifications has not been defined. Here, we determine the consequences of fumarate accumulation on the activity of different members of the 2OGDD family targeting RNA modifications. By evaluating multiple RNA modifications in patient-derived HLRCC cell lines, we show that mutation of FH selectively affects the levels of N6-methyladenosine (m6A), while the levels of 5-formylcytosine (f5C) in mitochondrial tRNA are unaffected. This supports the hypothesis of a differential impact of fumarate accumulation on distinct RNA demethylases. The observation that metabolites modulate specific subsets of RNA-modifying enzymes offers new insights into the intersection between metabolism and the epitranscriptome.

Non-Invasive Tumor Grade Evaluation in Von Hippel-Lindau-Associated Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Study.

BACKGROUND: Pathology grading is an essential step for the treatment and evaluation of the prognosis in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). PURPOSE: To investigate the utility of texture analysis in evaluating Fuhrman grades of renal tumors in patients with Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL)-associated ccRCC, aiming to improve non-invasive diagnosis and personalized treatment. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained cohort. POPULATION: One hundred and thirty-six patients, 84 (61%) males and 52 (39%) females with pathology-proven ccRCC with a mean age of 52.8 ± 12.7 from 2010 to 2023. FIELD STRENGTH AND SEQUENCES: 1.5 and 3 T MRIs. Segmentations were performed on the T1-weighted 3-minute delayed sequence and then registered on pre-contrast, T1-weighted arterial and venous sequences. ASSESSMENT: A total of 404 lesions, 345 low-grade tumors, and 59 high-grade tumors were segmented using ITK-SNAP on a T1-weighted 3-minute delayed sequence of MRI. Radiomics features were extracted from pre-contrast, T1-weighted arterial, venous, and delayed post-contrast sequences. Preprocessing techniques were employed to address class imbalances. Features were then rescaled to normalize the numeric values. We developed a stacked model combining random forest and XGBoost to assess tumor grades using radiomics signatures. STATISTICAL TESTS: The model's performance was evaluated using positive predictive value (PPV), sensitivity, F1 score, area under the curve of receiver operating characteristic curve, and Matthews correlation coefficient. Using Monte Carlo technique, the average performance of 100 benchmarks of 85% train and 15% test was reported. RESULTS: The best model displayed an accuracy of 0.79. For low-grade tumor detection, a sensitivity of 0.79, a PPV of 0.95, and an F1 score of 0.86 were obtained. For high-grade tumor detection, a sensitivity of 0.78, PPV of 0.39, and F1 score of 0.52 were reported. DATA CONCLUSION: Radiomics analysis shows promise in classifying pathology grades non-invasively for patients with VHL-associated ccRCC, potentially leading to better diagnosis and personalized treatment. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.

TFE3-Splicing Factor Fusions Represent Functional Drivers and Druggable Targets in Translocation Renal Cell Carcinoma.

TFE3 is a member of the basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper MiT transcription factor family, and its chimeric proteins are associated with translocation renal cell carcinoma (tRCC). Despite the variety of gene fusions, most TFE3 fusion partner genes are related to spliceosome machinery. Dissecting the function of TFE3 fused to spliceosome machinery factors (TFE3-SF) could direct the development of effective therapies for this lethal disease, which is refractory to standard treatments for kidney cancer. Here, by using a combination of in silico structure prediction, transcriptome profiling, molecular characterization, and high-throughput high-content screening (HTHCS), we interrogated a number of oncogenic mechanisms of TFE3-SF fusions. TFE3-SF fusions drove the transformation of kidney cells and promoted distinct oncogenic phenotypes in a fusion partner-dependent manner, differentially altering the transcriptome and RNA splicing landscape and activating different oncogenic pathways. Inhibiting TFE3-SF dimerization reversed its oncogenic activity and represented a potential target for therapeutic intervention. Screening the FDA-approved drugs library LOPAC and a small-molecule library (Microsource) using HTHCS combined with FRET technology identified compounds that inhibit TFE3-SF dimerization. Hit compounds were validated in 2D and 3D patient-derived xenograft models expressing TFE3-SF. The antihistamine terfenadine decreased cell proliferation and reduced in vivo tumor growth of tRCC. Overall, these results unmask therapeutic strategies to target TFE3-SF dimerization for treating patients with tRCC. SIGNIFICANCE: TFE3-splicing factor fusions possess both transcription and splicing factor functions that remodel the transcriptome and spliceosome and can be targeted with dimerization inhibitors to suppress the growth of translocation renal cell carcinoma.

The kidney imaging surveillance scoring system (KISSS): using qualitative MRI features to predict growth rate of renal tumors in patients with von-Hippel Lindau (VHL) syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the reliability of an MRI-based qualitative kidney imaging surveillance scoring system (KISSS) and assess which imaging features predict growth rate (GR) of renal tumors in patients with VHL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified 55 patients with VHL with 128 renal tumors who underwent intervention from 2015 to 2020 at the National Cancer Institute. All patients had 2 preoperative MRIs at least 3 months apart. Two fellowship-trained radiologists scored each tumor on location and MR-sequence-specific imaging parameters from the earlier MRI. Weighted kappa was used to determine the degree of agreement between radiologists for each parameter. GR was calculated as the difference in maximum tumor dimension over time (cm/year). Differences in mean growth rate (MGR) within categories of each imaging variable were assessed by ANOVA. RESULTS: Apart from tumor margin and renal sinus, reliability was at least moderate (K > 0.40) for imaging parameters. Median initial tumor size was 2.1 cm, with average follow-up of 1.2 years. Tumor MGR was 0.42 cm/year. T2 hypointense, mixed/predominantly solid, and high restricted diffusion tumors grew faster. When comparing different combinations of these variables, the model with the lowest mean error among both radiologists utilized only solid/cystic and restricted diffusion features. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate a novel MR-based scoring system (KISSS) that has good precision with minimal training and can be applied to other qualitative radiology studies. A subset of imaging variables (T2 intensity; restricted diffusion; and solid/cystic) were independently associated with growth rate in VHL renal tumors, with the combination of the latter two most optimal. Additional validation, including in sporadic RCC population, is warranted.

Preoperative Renal Parenchyma Volume as a Predictor of Kidney Function Following Nephrectomy of Complex Renal Masses.

Background: The von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) is a hereditary cancer syndrome with multifocal, bilateral cysts and solid tumors of the kidney. Surgical management may include multiple extirpative surgeries, which ultimately results in parenchymal volume loss and subsequent renal function decline. Recent studies have utilized parenchyma volume as an estimate of renal function prior to surgery for renal cell carcinoma; however, it is not yet validated for surgically altered kidneys with multifocal masses and complex cysts such as are present in VHL. Objective: We sought to validate a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based volumetric analysis with mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG-3) renogram and postoperative renal function. Design setting and participants: We identified patients undergoing renal surgery at the National Cancer Institute from 2015 to 2020 with preoperative MRI. Renal tumors, cysts, and parenchyma of the operated kidney were segmented manually using ITK-SNAP software. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Serum creatinine and urinalysis were assessed preoperatively, and at 3- and 12-mo follow-up time points. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated using serum creatinine-based CKD-EPI 2021 equation. A statistical analysis was conducted on R Studio version 4.1.1. Results and limitations: Preoperative MRI scans of 113 VHL patients (56% male, median age 48 yr) were evaluated between 2015 and 2021. Twelve (10.6%) patients had a solitary kidney at the time of surgery; 59 (52%) patients had at least one previous partial nephrectomy on the renal unit. Patients had a median of three (interquartile range [IQR]: 2-5) tumors and five (IQR: 0-13) cysts per kidney on imaging. The median preoperative GFR was 70 ml/min/1.73 m2 (IQR: 58-89). Preoperative split renal function derived from MAG-3 studies and MRI split renal volume were significantly correlated (r = 0.848, p < 0.001). On the multivariable analysis, total preoperative parenchymal volume, solitary kidney, and preoperative eGFR were significant independent predictors of 12-mo eGFR. When only considering patients with two kidneys undergoing partial nephrectomy, preoperative parenchymal volume and eGFR remained significant predictors of 12-mo eGFR. Conclusions: A parenchyma volume analysis on preoperative MRI correlates well with renogram split function and can predict long-term renal function with added benefit of anatomic detail and ease of application. Patient summary: Prior to kidney surgery, it is important to understand the contribution of each kidney to overall kidney function. Nuclear medicine scans are currently used to measure split kidney function. We demonstrated that kidney volumes on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging can also be used to estimate split kidney function before surgery, while also providing essential details of tumor and kidney anatomy.

Outcomes of and indications for renal transplantation in patients with von Hippel Lindau disease.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) is a hereditary cancer syndrome characterized by bilateral, multifocal renal masses. The cumulative impact of extirpative surgery can depreciate renal function and render patients anephric. In the larger end-stage renal disease population, renal transplant offers both excellent quality of life and functional renal replacement. This case control study aims to examine and compare oncologic and functional outcomes of patients who have undergone renal transplant as renal replacement therapy (RRT) to those who remain anephric. METHODS: Patient charts were retrospectively reviewed of patients with germline testing confirmed VHL between 1980 and 2022 for transplant, all prior surgical history (within and outside the NCI), renal function and graft outcomes. Overall survival (OS) was determined from years after radical nephrectomy, and graft time was defined as years of graft function from initial transplant until failure or patient death. Graft survival was determined as time between transplant(s) to last follow up. Kaplan-Meier analysis was conducted to compare graft times of anephric VHL patients to those with transplanted kidneys. RESULTS: A total of 23 VHLD patients were identified as either anephric or candidates for transplant. Out of this cohort, 11 total VHLD received 12 total kidney grafts. Median wait time from nephrectomy to transplant was 22.6 months (IQR: 1.02-40.25 months). Median age at transplant was 32 years (IQR: 23-54 years). OS at 5 and 10 years of anephric patients who did not receive a transplant was 33% and 16.7%, respectively. OS rates of the transplant cohort at 10, 15, and 20 years were 91%, 78%, and 58% years, respectively. Median graft time was 161 months (IQR: 56-214 months). Graft survival at 10, 15, and 20 years was 69.8%, 69.8%, and 26.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that transplant recipients have decreased mortality with no difference in cancer recurrence compared to those who do not receive renal transplant for RRT. This data can aid in informing providers of the optimal window for early RRT planning in VHL, while also improving patient counseling.

ANGPTL2-mediated epigenetic repression of MHC-I in tumor cells accelerates tumor immune evasion.

Loss or downregulation of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) contributes to tumor immune evasion. We previously demonstrated that angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPTL2) promotes tumor progression using a Xp11.2 translocation renal cell carcinoma (tRCC) mouse model. However, molecular mechanisms underlying ANGPTL2 tumor-promoting activity in the tRCC model remained unclear. Here, we report that ANGPTL2 deficiency in renal tubular epithelial cells slows tumor progression in the tRCC mouse model and promotes activated CD8+ T-cell infiltration of kidney tissues. We also found that Angptl2-deficient tumor cells show enhanced interferon γ-induced expression of MHC-I and increased susceptibility to CD8+ T-cell-mediated anti-tumor immune responses. Moreover, we provide evidence that the ANGPTL2-α5ß1 integrin pathway accelerates polycomb repressive complex 2-mediated repression of MHC-I expression in tumor cells. These findings suggest that ANGPTL2 signaling in tumor cells contributes to tumor immune evasion and that suppressing that signaling in tumor cells could serve as a potential strategy to facilitate tumor elimination by T-cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity.

Radiologic reporting of MRI-proven thoracolumbar epidural metastases on body CT: 12-Year single-institution experience.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Metastatic epidural masses are an important radiological finding. The purpose of this study is to determine factors associated with non-reporting of thoracolumbar epidural metastases on body CT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a study population of 166 patients from a single institution over a 12-year period, 293 body CT examinations were identified which were performed within 30 days before or after a spine MRI diagnosis of epidural metastasis. Associations were sought between patient diagnosis, CT examination characteristics, reporting radiologist (n = 17), and lesion characteristics with respect to whether an epidural metastasis was reported on CT. RESULTS: In retrospective consensus review comprised of 3 radiologists, epidural metastases reported on spine MRI were clearly visible in 80.5% (236/293) of body CT examinations, however 65.3% (154/236) of the body CT reports omitted reporting their presence, even in cases where there was a preceding MRI diagnosis within 30 days (65.4%, 74/113). The identity of the reporting radiologist was statistically significantly associated with the accurate diagnostic reporting of epidural metastasis on body CT (p = 0.04). The only lesion features which were statistically significantly associated with CT reporting were lesion volume (p = 0.03) on noncontrast CT, and lesion volume (p = 0.006) and percentage of spinal canal stenosis (p = 0.001) on intravenous contrast-enhanced CT. The presence or absence of intravenous contrast was not significantly associated with CT reporting (p = 1.0). CONCLUSION: Using spine MRI as the reference standard for the presence of epidural tumor, the majority of body CT reports omit describing thoracolumbar epidural metastases which are clearly visible in retrospect.

Complications after Nephron-sparing Interventions for Renal Tumors: Imaging Findings and Management.

The two primary nephron-sparing interventions for treating renal masses such as renal cell carcinoma are surgical partial nephrectomy (PN) and image-guided percutaneous thermal ablation. Nephron-sparing surgery, such as PN, has been the standard of care for treating many localized renal masses. Although uncommon, complications resulting from PN can range from asymptomatic and mild to symptomatic and life-threatening. These complications include vascular injuries such as hematoma, pseudoaneurysm, arteriovenous fistula, and/or renal ischemia; injury to the collecting system causing urinary leak; infection; and tumor recurrence. The incidence of complications after any nephron-sparing surgery depends on many factors, such as the proximity of the tumor to blood vessels or the collecting system, the skill or experience of the surgeon, and patient-specific factors. More recently, image-guided percutaneous renal ablation has emerged as a safe and effective treatment option for small renal tumors, with comparable oncologic outcomes to those of PN and a low incidence of major complications. Radiologists must be familiar with the imaging findings encountered after these surgical and image-guided procedures, especially those indicative of complications. The authors review cross-sectional imaging characteristics of complications after PN and image-guided thermal ablation of kidney tumors and highlight the respective management strategies, ranging from clinical observation to interventions such as angioembolization or repeat surgery. Work of the U.S. Government published under an exclusive license with the RSNA. Online supplemental material and the slide presentation from the RSNA Annual Meeting are available for this article. Quiz questions for this article are available in the Online Learning Center. See the invited commentary by Chung and Raman in this issue.

Reprogramming tumour-associated macrophages to outcompete cancer cells.

In metazoan organisms, cell competition acts as a quality control mechanism to eliminate unfit cells in favour of their more robust neighbours1,2. This mechanism has the potential to be maladapted, promoting the selection of aggressive cancer cells3-6. Tumours are metabolically active and are populated by stroma cells7,8, but how environmental factors affect cancer cell competition remains largely unknown. Here we show that tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) can be dietarily or genetically reprogrammed to outcompete MYC-overexpressing cancer cells. In a mouse model of breast cancer, MYC overexpression resulted in an mTORC1-dependent 'winner' cancer cell state. A low-protein diet inhibited mTORC1 signalling in cancer cells and reduced tumour growth, owing unexpectedly to activation of the transcription factors TFEB and TFE3 and mTORC1 in TAMs. Diet-derived cytosolic amino acids are sensed by Rag GTPases through the GTPase-activating proteins GATOR1 and FLCN to control Rag GTPase effectors including TFEB and TFE39-14. Depletion of GATOR1 in TAMs suppressed the activation of TFEB, TFE3 and mTORC1 under the low-protein diet condition, causing accelerated tumour growth; conversely, depletion of FLCN or Rag GTPases in TAMs activated TFEB, TFE3 and mTORC1 under the normal protein diet condition, causing decelerated tumour growth. Furthermore, mTORC1 hyperactivation in TAMs and cancer cells and their competitive fitness were dependent on the endolysosomal engulfment regulator PIKfyve. Thus, noncanonical engulfment-mediated Rag GTPase-independent mTORC1 signalling in TAMs controls competition between TAMs and cancer cells, which defines a novel innate immune tumour suppression pathway that could be targeted for cancer therapy.