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Background METastasis Reporting and Data System for Prostate Cancer (MET-RADS-P) has been proposed as a standard of data acquisition and interpretation for whole-body diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (WB-DWI) performed in men with advanced prostate cancer. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the clinical significance of the scores in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Materials and Methods We retrospectively evaluated WB-DWI obtained from 72 patients with CRPC between 2014 and 2017, when disease progression was suspected at the time of starting a new line of anticancer therapy. Twenty-five (35%) and 30 (42%) patients had a treatment history that included taxane-based chemotherapy and new hormonal drugs, respectively. Results Active bone metastases were identified in 60 patients (83%; number of bone metastasis = 0, 1-2, 3-5, 6-10, and > 10: n = 12 [17%], 20 [28%], 11 [15%], 1 [1%], and 28 [39%], respectively). Progressive lymph node and visceral metastases were identified in 10 (14%) and 4 (6%), respectively. During the median follow-up period of 24 months, 36 (50%) died of prostate cancer. Cancer-specific survival (CSS) was significantly stratified according to the MET-RADS-P scores of osseous metastatic burden and the presence of visceral metastasis (P 10) and the presence of visceral metastasis were significant indicators of shorter CSS (P = .0036 and P = .0017, respectively). Conclusions The extent of bone metastasis and the presence of visceral metastasis on WB-DWI were associated with a shorter CSS in CRPC. MET-RADS-P score can be a prognostic imaging biomarker for CRPC.

An association between the development of overall or specific immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and outcomes of immune checkpoint inhibitors has recently been suggested. To address this emerging association in patients with urothelial cancer receiving pembrolizumab, we conducted a multicenter retrospective analysis, which is the first and largest in an Asian cohort as well as a systematic literature review. We retrospectively evaluated 97 patients with advanced urothelial cancer treated with pembrolizumab as second- or later-line treatment between January 2018 and March 2019. irAEs were categorized by the involved organs and graded using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0. Associations between irAEs and pembrolizumab efficacy, including objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS), were evaluated. In our review of the literature, 28 studies, including 9 studies involving patients with urothelial cancer and 19 studies reporting the association between outcomes and spectrum of irAEs, were analyzed. Patients with irAEs had significantly higher ORR (52% vs. 16%, P .01), longer PFS (11.0 months vs. 3.6 months, P .01) and OS (median not reached vs. 13.1 months, P = .12) than in patients without irAEs. Endocrine (P = .02), pneumological (P = .06), and other (gastrointestinal, hematological, hepatic) (P = .04) irAEs were associated with increased ORR, whereas skin irAEs were not. Endocrine irAEs (P = .04) was associated with improved OS, whereas pneumological and skin irAEs were not. The association between the occurrence of irAEs and clinical efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors was consistently supported by the multiple studies we reviewed. The association between clinical outcomes and the spectrum of organs/systems affected by irAEs seems to be inconsistent and could be dependent on tumor type. irAEs were associated with a higher ORR and better survival of patients with advanced urothelial cancer treated with pembrolizumab.

We aimed to evaluate the incidence and risk factors for nephrectomy-related hypertension (NR-HT) in patients with renal tumors who underwent partial nephrectomy (PN) or radical nephrectomy (RN).A retrospective cross-sectional follow-up survey of postoperative home blood pressure (BP) and defined daily dose (DDD) of antihypertensive medications was conducted in patients with renal tumors who underwent PN (210 patients) or RN (120 patients), and they were compared. We evaluated the incidence and risk factors for NR-HT, defined as the addition of antihypertensive medications in doses of 1 DDD or more after surgery, or postoperative BP of 140/90 mmHg with an increase of 20 mmHg from preoperative BP with no reduction in dose of antihypertensive medications.Both systolic (mean, 124 vs. 129 mmHg; P .001) and diastolic BP (mean, 74 vs. 79 mmHg; P .001) significantly increased after PN compared with RN. Systolic (P .001) and diastolic (P = .003) BP increased significantly more after PN than after RN, and NR-HT was more frequent after PN than after RN (16% vs. 5%; P = .002). PN (odds ratio [OR], 2.93; P = .022) and higher postoperative peak C-reactive protein (OR, 2.34; P = .017) were independently associated with NR-HT. When limited to only the patients who underwent PN, acute kidney injury (OR, 2.65; P = .036) and higher postoperative peak C-reactive protein (OR, 2.54; P = .016) were independent risk factors for NR-HT.PN may cause postoperative progression of hypertension possibly through renal parenchymal damage.

Tumor location in bladder neck has reported to be a prognostic factor for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). We investigated the impact of bladder neck involvement (BNI) on recurrence in NMIBC using time-dependent covariate analysis.We enrolled 585 Japanese patients who underwent transurethral resection for bladder tumors at a single center from 2000 to 2016 and were pathologically diagnosed with Ta and T1 NMIBC. Each patient at each recurrence was assigned to a separate time-dependent stratum with its own baseline hazard function according to the Prentice-Williams-Peterson gap time model for analyzing recurrent events.Over a median follow-up period of 41.3 months (interquartile range, 18.0-82.3 months), 253 (43.2%) patients experienced a total of 475 recurrences. Among the 1001 total transurethral resection procedures, BNI was observed in 122 (12.2%) cases. The 3-year cumulative recurrence rates of patients with and without BNI were 62.5% and 46.3%, respectively. Multivariable analysis revealed that number of tumors ≥ 4 (sub-hazard ratio [SHR], 1.48; P = .004), intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy (SHR, 0.44; P .001), and BNI (SHR, 1.59; P = .004) were all independent predictors of recurrence. Assigning 1 point for each of these 3 predictive factors, the resulting scores enabled us to classify patients into 3 prognostic groups that were clearly stratified according to recurrence.Our time-dependent covariate analysis shows that BNI is a significant risk factor for recurrence in NMIBC. Our prognostic model incorporating BNI is an easy means of estimating recurrence risk and determining optimal management for individual patients.

Background Tetramodal bladder-preservation therapy includes maximal transurethral resection (TUR), induction chemoradiotherapy (CRT), and consolidative partial cystectomy with pelvic lymph node dissection. Tetramodal bladder-preservation therapy theoretically provides surgical consolidation of chemotherapy- and radioresistant cells. However, its efficacy in providing optimal cancer control for patients with histologic variants of urothelial carcinoma (VUCs) is currently unknown. We compared the oncologic outcomes between patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and pure urothelial carcinoma (PUC) and those with MIBC and VUCs after selective tetramodal bladder-preservation therapy. Patients and Methods We prospectively enrolled 154 patients. After maximal TUR and induction CRT, patients with a clinical complete response were offered consolidative partial cystectomy to achieve bladder preservation, with radical cystectomy recommended for the others. The VUCs identified in the maximal TUR samples were categorized according to the 2004 World Health Organization classification. The primary endpoint was cancer-specific survival. The secondary endpoints included the clinical and pathologic response rates to induction CRT and MIBC recurrence-free survival. Results A VUC was identified in 37 patients (24%). The most frequent variants involved glandular differentiation (n = 13), squamous differentiation (n = 11), and micropapillary (n = 8). No difference was found in the clinical complete response rate to CRT between PUC and VUCs (P = .81). On an intention-to-treat basis, the 5-year cancer-specific survival rates for those with PUC (n = 116) and VUC (n = 37) were 82% and 81% (P = .86), respectively. Conclusion Tetramodal bladder-preservation therapy incorporating partial cystectomy could provide favorable locoregional control and survival for patients with VUC. Thus, patients with MIBC need not be excluded from the bladder-preservation approach because of the presence of a variant histologic type.

Background Positive results from voided urine cytology (VUC) indicate the fragility of the intercellular adhesion of bladder cancer cells, a critical biological process for invasion and metastasis, along with the presence of atypical cells. Few studies have focused on the prognostic role of VUC in non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Methods Between 2000 and 2010, 326 patients diagnosed pathologically with Ta or T1 bladder urothelial carcinoma underwent 597 transurethral resections of bladder tumor (TURBTs). Clinicopathological data were prospectively collected at each TURBT. Reports of cells of class IIIb or greater were considered positive VUC results. Muscle-invasive or metastatic recurrences were considered progression. Risk factors for progression and cancer-specific mortality (CSM) were determined using time-fixed and time-dependent Cox models. Variables at the study entry and at each TURBT were used for time-fixed and time-dependent models, respectively. Results The 5-year cumulative progression and CSM rates were, respectively, 7% and 5% (median follow-up, 46 months). The 5-year cumulative progression and CSM rates for patients with positive VUC were 20% and 15%, respectively, compared with 2% ( P P = .0002), respectively, for patients with negative VUC results. A positive VUC result was a significant and independent risk factor for progression and CSM in the time-fixed and time-dependent models. In time-dependent models, 7 predictors for progression or CSM were identified (positive VUC results, T1 disease, lack of intravesical instillation, higher prior recurrence rate, higher histological grade, male gender, and advanced age), whereas 3 predictors were identified in time-fixed models (positive VUC, T1 disease, and higher prior recurrence rate). VUC results consistently outperformed histological grade as a prognostic predictor. Conclusion Positive VUC results predict the progression and CSM of NMIBC, independent of and outperforming histological grade.