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Despite currently used intravesical therapies in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), the rate of intravesical recurrence remains very high. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of adding nonintravesical interventions to standard intravesical therapies to prevent intravesical recurrence. In April 2024, 3 databases were queried for prospective studies evaluating nonintravesical interventions in addition to standard intravesical therapies for NMIBC (CRD42024490988). The primary outcome was intravesical recurrence-free survival (iRFS). Standard pairwise meta-analyses were performed using hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) with a random-effects model. We identified 18 eligible studies (14 RCTs and 4 prospective trials) comprising 4,593 NMIBC patients, which investigated pharmacological interventions (eg, selenium, vitamins, Lactobacillus casei, celecoxib, metformin, mistletoe lectin) and lifestyle modifications (diet). The addition of Lactobacillus casei significantly improved iRFS (HR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.34-0.73; P < .001). A high western diet pattern significantly worsened iRFS (HR:1.48, 95%CI:1.06-2.06, P = .03). The other nonintravesical interventions were not associated with iRFS. Our comprehensive review of the published literature highlights the need for further research into the efficacy of nonvesical interventions for NMIBC. While Lactobacillus was shown to improve iRFS in 2 RCTs, additional high-quality randomized studies are required to evaluate the effectiveness of other interventions., Competing Interests: Disclosure None of the authors has conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and/or tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) are the standard treatment of advanced unresectable or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the impact of concomitant medications remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the impact of concomitant medications on survival outcomes in patients treated with systemic therapy for advanced unresectable or metastatic RCC. In August 2024, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were queried for studies evaluating concomitant medications in patients with advanced unresectable or metastatic RCC (PROSPERO: CRD42024573252). The primary outcome was overall survival (OS). A fixed- or random-effects model was used for meta-analysis according to heterogeneity. We identified 22 eligible studies (5 prospective and 17 retrospective) comprising 16,072 patients. Concomitant medications included proton pump inhibitors (PPI) (n = 3959), antibiotics (n = 571), statins (n = 5466), renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi) (n = 6615), and beta-blockers (n = 1964). Both concomitant PPI and antibiotics were significantly associated with worse OS in patients treated with ICI (PPI: HR: 1.22, P = .01, and antibiotics: HR: 2.09, P < .001). Concomitant statins, RASi, or beta-blocker were significantly associated with improved OS in patients treated with TKI (statins: HR: 0.81, P = .03, RASi: HR: 0.63, P < .001, beta-blocker: HR: 0.69, P < .001, respectively). In patients treated with ICI, RASi was significantly associated with improved OS (HR: 0.64, P = .02). Concomitant use of antibiotics or PPI with ICI can reduce its oncologic efficacy. Conversely, concomitant statins, RASi, or beta-blockers can enhance the oncologic efficacy of TKI. When initiating systemic therapy for metastatic RCC, it may be important for clinicians to assess baseline co-medications and recognize their possible positive or negative effects., Competing Interests: Disclosure None of the authors has conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: We evaluate the predictive and prognostic value of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1), IGF binding protein-2 (IGFBP-2) and -3 (IGFBP-3) in patients treated with radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC)., Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of a multi-institutional database comprising 753 patients who underwent RNU for UTUC and had a preoperative plasma available. Logistic and Cox regression analyses were performed. The discriminative ability and clinical utility of the models was calculated using the lasso regression test, area under receiver operating characteristics curves, C-index, and decision curve analysis (DCA)., Results: Lower preoperative plasma levels of IGFBP-2 and -3 independently correlated with increased risks of lymph node metastasis, pT3/4 disease, nonorgan confined disease, and worse recurrence-free survival (RFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) (all P ≤ .004). The addition of both IGFBP-2 and -3 to a postoperative multivariable model, that included standard clinicopathologic characteristics, improved the model's concordance index by 10%, 9%, and 8% for RFS, CSS, and OS, respectively. On DCA, addition of both IGFBP-2 and -3 to base models improved their performance for RFS, CSS, and OS by a statistically and clinically significant margin. Plasma IGF-1 was not associated with any of outcomes., Conclusions: We confirmed that a lower plasma levels of IGFBP-2 and -3 both are independent and clinically significant predictors of adverse pathological features and survival outcomes in UTUC patients treated with RNU. These findings might help guide the clinical decision-making regarding perioperative systemic therapy and follow-up scheduling., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors have stated that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

To identify risk factors for upper urinary tract recurrence (UUTR) in patients treated with radical cystectomy (RC) for urothelial bladder carcinoma (UBC). The PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched on March 2022 to identify relevant studies according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review (PRISMA) statement. We included studies that provided multivariate logistic regression analyses. The pooled UUTR rate was calculated using a fixed effect model. We identified 235 papers, of which seven and 6 articles, comprising a total of 8981 and 8404 UBC patients, were selected for qualitative and quantitative analyses, respectively. Overall, 418 (4.65%) patients were diagnosed with UUTR within a median time of 1.4 to 3.1 years after RC. Risk factors for UUTR were surgical margin (hazard ratio [HR] 3.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.59-4.49, P < .00001), preoperative hydronephrosis (HR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.25-2.43, P = .001), ureteral margin (HR: 4.34, 95% CI: 2.75-6.85, P < .00001), and pT stage (HR: 2.69, 95% CI: 1.37-5.27, P < .004). Incorporation of established risk factors into a clinical prediction model might aid in the decision-making process regarding the intensity and type of surveillance protocols after RC as well as help determine the pretest probability of UUTR., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)