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Cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) before radical cystectomy is the standard of care in muscle-invasive bladder cancer. There are limited data regarding chemotherapy tolerability and outcomes for patients with low glomerular filtration rate (GFR) who receive cisplatin-based NAC.A retrospective analysis of patients who received cisplatin-based NAC at Cleveland Clinic (2005-2016) was undertaken. Patients with pre-NAC GFR 60 mL/min by either Cockcroft-Gault (CG) or Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula were compared to patients with GFR ≥ 60 mL/min for NAC tolerability, pathologic complete and partial response (pPR), and the ability to undergo radical cystectomy.Thirty patients with low GFR (34-59 mL/min) and 94 patients with normal GFR (≥ 60 mL/min) were identified. Low GFR patients were older (median, 71 vs. 65 years), but other demographic and transurethral resection of bladder tumor characteristics were comparable. Low GFR patients more frequently had early NAC discontinuation (30% vs. 13%), NAC modifications (delays, dose reduction, or discontinuation, 66% vs. 40%), and cisplatin-based NAC administered in split doses (37% vs. 16%). No differences in NAC tolerability or outcomes were noted among low GFR patients receiving split-dose versus standard regimens. No differences were noted between low and normal GFR patients in NAC cycles (median, 3 for each), cystectomy rates (93% for each), time to cystectomy, and GFR change from baseline to after NAC. Pathologic complete response was higher among normal GFR patients (24% vs. 14%).Patients with low GFR had more NAC discontinuations and modifications, but most completed planned NAC cycles. For carefully selected patients with GFR 60 mL/min, cisplatin-based NAC remains a treatment option.

Background Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) accounts for approximately 5% of all urothelial cancers. Because of similarities in morphology and histology between UTUC and urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, most treatment guidelines used for UTUC are extrapolated from the urothelial bladder carcinoma setting. With the emergence of new treatment modalities, such as immunotherapy, UTUC-specific prognostic and predictive models are needed. Patients and Methods A retrospective study of 454 UTUC patients who received surgery at Cleveland Clinic (1995-2014) was conducted. Univariable and multivariable analysis (MVA) was used to identify independent predictors of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results Two hundred eighty-six patients with invasive UTUC were identified with pT1, pT2, pT3, and pT4 in 93 (33%), 51 (18%), 126 (44%), and 16 (6%), respectively. Most patients (76%) had laparoscopic nephroureterectomy, 14% had positive invasive surgical margins, and 22% had multifocal tumors. All patients had urothelial carcinoma as primary histology, 93 of 183 (51%) with available follow-up data had disease recurrence. Estimated median PFS was 17.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 13.1-39.3). In MVA, pT stage (P = .0005), positive margins (P = .04), and age older than 70 years (P = .002) independently correlated with PFS. Overall, 101 patients (37%) of 272 patients with available data died with estimated median OS of 64.5 months (95% CI, 39.3-107.4); median follow-up was 39.5 (range, 0.3-186) months in patients alive and recurrence-free at last follow-up. In MVA, lymphovascular invasion (P = .005), tumor size (P = .0005), age (P = .005), and pT stage (P = .03) independently predicted OS. Using these factors, 3 prognostic groups for PFS and 2 for OS were identified. Conclusion Clinical-pathological parameters can be prognostic in UTUC and might inform clinical trial design and decision-making.

Ewing sarcoma typically presents as a skeletal-based tumor, with rare instances of peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) arising in the soft tissues. Few examples of organ-based PNETs have been previously described in the literature. These tumors are exceedingly rare as a primary renal neoplasm. To our knowledge, this is the first report documenting a primary extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma of the kidney with thrombus extending into the intrahepatic inferior vena cava thrombus (level III).

Localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains a surgical disease, with excision of the tumor or tumor-bearing kidney offering the only chance of cure for affected patients. After the widespread acceptance of partial nephrectomy as equivalent treatment to radical nephrectomy in appropriately selected cases of RCC, a range of nephron-sparing procedures has become available to patients. These include laparoscopic partial nephrectomy, thermal ablative techniques, as well as open partial nephrectomy. These techniques offer the attraction of being minimally invasive, in some cases as outpatient procedures under sedation. This review attempts to clarify the current status of these nephron-sparing techniques. Case selection criteria, outcomes, and complications are presented with the aim of helping the modern urologist appreciate the benefits of these procedures as well as their limitations and role in the management of patients with RCC.