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Aim of the Study: To investigate the time points at which different major complications occur and their temporal distribution over the postoperative intervals., Patients and Methods: Patients who underwent RC between January 2003 and March 2024 at the university hospital Essen and had complete records regarding postoperative complications and their timing were included. All major complications with Clavian-Dindo (CD) grading III-V were identified and recorded according to a predefined morbidity catalog. The time to occurrence of complications, readmission and mortality, was plotted against the postoperative day over a 90-day period to illustrate the distribution of events in the postoperative period. For each complication group, the median timing and the interquartile range (IQR) as well as the incidence during the postoperative weeks were calculated., Results: Out of 757 patients, 282 (37.2%) suffered at least one major complication (CDC grade III-IV) with a total of 452 major complications. Most common complications were gastrointestinal, genitourinary and wound complications. Median (IQR) time to first major complication was 7 (4-17) days. Hospital readmission due to major complications was required in 68 (9%) patients at a median of 47 days. Most of cardiac, pulmonary, bleeding and gastrointestinal complications occurred very early in the first week, at a median of 3, 4, 4 and 5 days, respectively. Wound complications were more likely to occur within the second and third week, with a median time of 13 days. Thromboembolism developed at similar rates throughout the first 3 weeks. The other groups of complications including infectious, genitourinary and miscellaneous (mostly lymphocele) complications showed no specific pattern and occurred in a wide range over the 90 days and were considered intermediate and late events. Further analysis of the time to all complications (first major and secondary), showed an increase in median time to occurance for all complications except genitouranry and lymphocele, which occurred earlier. Deaths related to major complications were observed in 50 (6.6%) patients at a median time of 17 days., Conclusion: The current study shows the temporal patterns of the major complications within the RC morbidity catalog. Physicians should be aware of these patterns to facilitate anticipation and prevent fatal outcomes., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval: This study protocol was reviewed and approved by pproved by the local ethics committee at University Hospital Essen with approval number: 23-11582-BO. Informed consent was waived by the institutional review board in view of the retrospective nature of the study. All the procedures being performed were part of the routine care. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: Despite the high incidence of perioperative complications following cystectomy, there is a lack of evidence regarding patients' perceptions. Moreover, discrepancies between established complication grading systems and the patient's perspective remain unexplored., Methods: We prospectively evaluated perioperative complications after cystectomy using the Clavien-Dindo Classification (CDC) and the Comprehensive Complication Index (CCI). The CDC and CCI were compared to patient-reported complication grades through Spearman correlation analysis. Discrepancies between physician-assessed and patient-reported complication grades were then evaluated. The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05153694)., Results: Between December 2021 and March 2024, 172 patients underwent open cystectomy at our department. Of those, 154 provided written consent to participate in the study, and 111 completed the post-discharge questionnaire. We found a moderate correlation between physician-assessed and patient-reported complication grades (CDC: r = 0.34, CCI: r = 0.39; p < 0.001). Patients with matching grades were defined as realists (50%). Those who reported lower complication grades than assessed by physicians were defined as optimists (38%), while those who reported higher grades were defined as pessimists (12%). Optimists rated the preoperative medical information better than pessimists ("very good": 79% vs. 38%, p = 0.006). We found no significant differences between optimists and pessimists regarding age, gender, tumor characteristics or educational level., Conclusion: In our prospective study, the correlation between physician-assessed and patient-reported complication grades was only moderate. Only half of the cystectomy patients accurately perceived the severity of their complications. Our findings represent the first study to investigate patients' perspectives on complications in urology and underscore the importance of thorough preoperative medical information., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics statement: The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki, approved by the university ethics committee (project number: 18–059) and registered on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05153694). Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process: During the preparation of this work the authors used Microsoft Copilot in order to enhance the fluency of the text and to perform grammar checks. After using this tool/service, the author reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the publication. Conflict of interest: The authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Purpose: To prospectively evaluate prognostic capabilities of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) biomarkers for predicting disease recurrence or progression after radical TURB (transurethral resection of bladder tumor)., Methods: Evaluated biomarkers included blood: plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), interleukin 8 (IL-8) and urine: IL-8, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and apolipoprotein E (APOE). Blood and urine samples acquired before TURB for NMIBC from 223 subjects were analysed. The primary outcome was tumor recurrence or progression., Results: After 3 months follow-up with cystoscopy or TURB- 92 patients were tumor free (Group 1). In 131 subjects (Group 2) a recurrence of NMIBC (n = 120) or progression to muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) (n = 11) has been observed. No major clinical differences between these two groups were spotted. The group 2 has presented with significantly higher concentrations of blood IL-8 and suPAR as well as urine VEGF and APOE. The serum IL-8 and urinary VEGF showed the highest prognostic abilities with AUROC of 0.611 (95% CI: 0.534-0.687, p = 0.0044) and 0.632 (95% CI: 0.557-0.707, p = 0.0006), respectively. Multivariable machine learning models which included all investigated biomarkers and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) risk scores have allowed to discriminate the two patient entities with AUROC of 0.84 (95% CI: 0.73-0.95, p < 0.0001)., Conclusions: The assessed biomarkers alone have shown unsatisfactory prognostic capabilities to be used for prognostication of outcomes after TURB. More complex multivariable prediction models may improve their prognostic performance., Trial Registration: The study was retrospectively registered at clinicaltrails.gov with National Clinical Trial number (NCT): NCT06235853., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The approval of the Bioethics Committee of the Wroclaw Medical University was obtained (approval number: KB − 692/2019; Ethical Statement Date: 22nd October 2019, Wrocław). Every study participant has signed the informed consent form (ICF). Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Purpose: To present the clinical outcomes of nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff excision (NU-BCE) or radical cystectomy (NU-RC) when distal ureteral carcinoma invaded muscle of the ureteral orifice using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW)., Methods: This multicenter study retrospectively studied the demographics and perioperative outcomes of 59 patients who underwent NU-BCE or NU-RC between 2003 and 2024. Relapse-free survival (RFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) were presented using Kaplan-Meier curves. Cox proportional hazard regression to find independent predictors., Results: Of all patients, the median follow-up time for RFS was 8 months and 18 months for CSS and OS. After IPTW, the median RFS, CSS, and OS for patients who underwent NU-BCE and NU-RC was 9 vs. 27 months (p = 0.037), 18 vs. 40 months (p = 0.027), 18 vs. 30 months (p = 0.371), respectively. The mortality due to progression and complications in NU-BCE and NU-RC patients were 56.4% vs. 20.4% and 2.2% vs. 22.9% (p = 0.016). NU-BCE reduced the median operation time, blood loss, and drainage volume. Apart from NU-RC (HR, 0.18; 95%CI: 0.08-0.44; p < 0.001) (HR, 0.28; 95%CI: 0.1-0.79; p = 0.016) and tumor volume(HR, 1.17; 95%CI: 1.06-1.29; p = 0.002) (HR, 1.21; 95%CI: 1.11-1.31; p < 0.001), which are independent prognostic factors for RFS and CSS, another independent prognostic factor for CSS is the ureteral carcinoma with renal pelvic carcinoma (HR, 4.32; 95%CI: 1.28-14.511; p = 0.018)., Conclusions: Patients who underwent NU-RC had better RFS and CSS than NU-BCE, but there was little difference in OS due to the higher mortality rate of postoperative complications in the NU-RC., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This retrospective study involving human participants followed the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The Ethics Committee of Lanzhou University Second Hospital approved this study (number: 2023A-354). Consent to participate informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Purpose: To characterize trends and patterns in treatment characteristics and perioperative outcomes of patients with urothelial muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC)., Materials and Methods: We utilized the National Cancer Database to assess trends and patterns in treatment modalities (radical cystectomy [RC] with or without neoadjuvant/adjuvant treatments, trimodal bladder-sparing treatment [trimodal treatment], and others) among MIBC patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2017. We also assessed trends and patterns of short-term post-surgery outcomes, including 30-day and 90-day mortality, and readmissions., Results: Among 83,259 MIBC patients, those who received RC, trimodal treatment, and transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) plus chemotherapy were 34,715 (41.7%), 7,372 (8.9%), and 6,171 (7.4%), respectively. A substantial proportion (29,314; 35.2%) of MIBC patients received other treatments, including TURBT-only. From 2004 through 2017, the proportion of MIBC patients who utilized guideline-recommended treatments, whether RC (from 36.4% to 42.8%) or trimodal treatment (from 7.9% to 10.2%), increased. Among those who received RC, there was a substantial increase in neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) utilization, from 7.8% to 29.4%. Conversely, utilization of RC without perioperative treatments decreased from 62.3% to 32.7%. There was a significant decrease in 30-day (2.8%-1.8%) and 90-day (7.1%-5.3%) mortality rates among RC recipients., Conclusion: There was a shift in treatment modalities for MIBC, with increased utilization of RC with NAC. A decrease in post-surgery mortality rates may indicate improved outcomes, although the unmet need for NAC utilization requires further investigation., (© 2025 The Author(s). Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background and Objective: There is no standardized regimen for follow-up after radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer (BC). To address this gap, we conducted a multicenter study involving urologist members from the European Association of Urology (EAU) bladder cancer guideline panels. Our objective was to identify consistent post-RC follow-up strategies and develop a practice-based framework based on expert opinion., Methods: We surveyed 27 urologist members of the EAU guideline panels for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer and muscle-invasive and metastatic bladder cancer using a pre-tested questionnaire with dichotomous responses. The survey inquired about follow-up strategies after RC and the use of risk-adapted strategies. Consistency was defined as >75% affirmative responses for follow-up practices commencing 3 mo after RC. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis., Key Findings and Limitations: We received responses from 96% of the panel members, who provided data from 21 European hospitals. Risk-adapted follow-up is used in 53% of hospitals, with uniform criteria for high-risk (at least ≥pT3 or pN+) and low-risk ([y]pT0/a/1N0) cases. In the absence of agreement for risk-based follow up, a non-risk-adapted framework for follow-up was developed. Higher conformity was observed within the initial 3 yr, followed by a decline in subsequent follow-up. Follow-up was most frequent during the first year, including patient assessments, physical examinations, and laboratory tests. Computed tomography of the chest and abdomen/pelvis was the most common imaging modality, initially at least biannually, and then annually from years 2 to 5. There was a lack of consistency for continuing follow-up beyond 10 yr after RC., Conclusions and Clinical Implications: This practice-based post-RC follow-up framework developed by EAU bladder cancer experts may serve as a valuable guide for urologists in the absence of prospective randomized studies., Patient Summary: We asked urologists from the EAU bladder cancer guideline panels about their patient follow-up after surgical removal of the bladder for bladder cancer. We found that although urologists have varying approaches, there are also common follow-up practices across the panel. We created a practical follow-up framework that could be useful for urologists in their day-to-day practice., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Introduction: Urinary bladder tumors are one of the most common urological malignancies. Traditionally, it has been initially managed with conventional trans-urethral resection of urinary bladder tumors (cTURBT) which has certain drawbacks and complications. Efforts have been made to find newer methods for management. In this study, we have used low power Holmium laser en-bloc resection and have assessed its safety, efficacy and feasibility., Materials and Methods: Forty patients have been included in this prospective observational study who underwent low power Holmium laser en-bloc resection of urinary bladder tumor after taking Institutional ethical committee clearance and informed consent from all the patients. Intra-operative and post-operative data were collected., Results: The average tumor size was 21.68 ± 9.55 mm. Out of those, 65% of the patients had a tumor less than 3 cm in size. Fourteen patients (35%) had tumors at multiple sites. The average duration of resection per tumor was 24.84 ± 6.83 min. None of the cases required conversion to cTURBT. There was no obturator reflex or urinary bladder perforation in any of the cases. Detrusor muscle was present in the histopathology reports of 92.5% patients. The average duration of catheterization was 1.82 ± 0.61 days., Conclusion: For NMIBC's, low power Holmium laser en-bloc resection is a safe procedure with minimum risk of complications. High rate of detrusor-positive specimens indicates its efficacy and feasibility., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Purpose: To compare the oncologic outcomes of patients with nonmetastatic muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) undergoing complete versus incomplete transurethral tumor resection (TURBT) before radiation therapy., Methods and Materials: Patients with nonmetastatic MIBC who underwent curative-intent radiation therapy between 2002 and 2018 at 10 Canadian institutions were retrospectively evaluated. Inverse probability of treatment weighting was performed using baseline characteristics. Differences in survival outcomes by complete and incomplete TURBT were analyzed., Results: Of the 757 patients included, 66% (498) had documentation of a complete and 34% (259) an incomplete TURBT. Before adjustment, 121 (47%) and 45 (9%) patients who underwent incomplete and complete TURBT, respectively, were diagnosed with cT3-4 tumor (P <.001). After weight-adjustment, all baseline cohort characteristics were balanced (absolute standardized differences < 0.1). The adjusted median follow-up was 27 months. Adjusted survival analyses showed no significant difference in 5-year overall survival (48% vs 52%, 1.03 [0.82-1.29]; P = .8), cancer-specific survival (64% vs 61%, 0.93 [0.70-1.25]; P = .7), metastasis-free survival (43% vs 46%, 0.97 [0.79-1.19]; P = .8), and disease-free survival (32% vs 35%, 0.95 [0.79-1.15]; P = .7) between the 2 groups., Conclusions: Complete TURBT may be associated with clinical organ-confined disease. Extent of TURBT was not independently associated with oncologic outcomes in patients with MIBC treated with radiation therapy., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To quantify the oncological risks of bladder-sparing therapy (BST) in patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) compared to upfront radical cystectomy (RC)., Patients and Methods: Pre-specified data elements were collected from retrospective cohorts of patients with BCG-unresponsive NMIBC from 10 international sites. After Institutional Review Board approval, patients were included if they had BCG-unresponsive NMIBC meeting United States Food and Drug Administration criteria. Oncological outcomes were collected following upfront RC or BST. BST regimens included re-resection or surveillance only, repeat BCG, intravesical chemotherapy, systemic immunotherapy, and clinical trials., Results: Among 578 patients, 28% underwent upfront RC and 72% received BST. The median (interquartile range) follow-up was 50 (20-69) months. There were no statistically significant differences in metastasis-free survival, cancer-specific survival, or overall survival between treatment groups. In the BST group, high-grade recurrence rates were 37% and 52% at 12 and 24 months and progression to MIBC was observed in 7% and 13% at 12 and 24 months, respectively. RC was performed in 31.7% in the BST group and nodal disease was found in 13% compared with 4% in upfront RC (P = 0.030)., Conclusion: In a selected cohort of patients, initial BST offers comparable survival outcomes to upfront RC in the intermediate term. Rates of recurrence and progression increase over time especially in patients treated with additional lines of BST., (© 2024 The Author(s). BJU International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of BJU International.)

Background: A second transurethral resection of bladder tumour (Re-TURBT) is recommended by European Association of Urology (EAU) Guidelines on non-muscle-invasive bladder cancers (NMIBCs) due to the risk of understaging and/or persistent disease following the primary resection. However, in many cases this may be unnecessary, potentially harmful, and significantly expensive constituting overtreatment. The CUT-less trial aims to combine the preoperative staging accuracy of Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) and the intraoperative enhanced ability of photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) to overcome the primary TURBT pitfalls thus potentially re-defining criteria for Re-TURBT indications., Study Design: Single-centre, non-inferiority, phase IV, open-label, randomised controlled trial with 1:1 ratio., Endpoints: The primary endpoint is short-term BC recurrence between the study arms to assess whether patients preoperatively categorised as VI-RADS Score 1 and/or Score 2 (i.e., very-low and low likelihood of MIBC) could safely avoid Re-TURBT by undergoing primary PDD-TURBT. Secondary endpoints include mid- and long-term BC recurrences and progression (i-ii). Also, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes (iii) and health-economic cost-benefit analysis (iv) will be performed., Patients and Methods: All patients will undergo preoperative Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the bladder with VI-RADS score determination. A total of 327 patients with intermediate-/high-risk NMIBCs, candidate for Re-TURBT according to EAU Guidelines, will be enrolled over a 3-year period. Participants will be randomised (1:1 ratio) to either standard of care (SoC), comprising primary white-light (WL) TURBT followed by second WL Re-TURBT; or the Experimental arm, comprising primary PDD-TURBT and omitting Re-TURBT. Both groups will receive adjuvant intravesical therapy and surveillance according to risk-adjusted schedules. Measure of the primary outcome will be the relative proportion of BC recurrences between the SoC and Experimental arms within 4.5 months (i.e., any 'early' recurrence detected at first follow-up cystoscopy). Secondary outcomes measures will be the relative proportion of late BC recurrences and/or BC progression detected after 4.5 months follow-up. Additionally, we will compute the HRQoL variation from NMIBC questionnaires modelled over a patient lifetime horizon and the health-economic analyses including a short-term cost-benefit assessment of incremental costs per Re-TURBT avoided and a longer-term cost-utility per quality-adjusted life year gained using 2-year clinical outcomes to drive a lifetime model across the two arms of treatment., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrial.gov identifier (ID): NCT05962541; European Union Drug Regulating Authorities Clinical Trials Database (EudraCT) ID: 2023-507307-64-00., (© 2024 The Author(s). BJU International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of BJU International.)

Objective: To report real-world outcomes for high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HRNMIBC), including bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and radical cystectomy (RC), as randomised comparisons of these have not been possible., Methods: We detail consecutive participants screened for the BRAVO randomised controlled trial comparing RC with BCG (International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number [ISRCTN]12509361). Patients were prospectively registered and case-note review used for outcomes. The primary outcome was overall survival. Secondary outcomes included recurrence, progression, metastasis, and bladder cancer-specific survival., Results and Limitations: A total of 193 patients were screened, including 106 (54.9%) who received BCG, 43 (22.3%) primary RC, 37 (19.2%) 'other' treatment and seven (3.6%) hyperthermic intravesical mitomycin C. All-cause death occurred in 55 (28.5%) patients at median (interquartile range [IQR]) of 29.0 (19.5-42.0) months. In multivariable analysis, overall mortality was more common in older patients (hazard ratio [HR] 2.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.35-5.13; Cox P = 0.004 for age >70 years), those recruited from district hospitals (HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.3-0.95; P = 0.032) and those who did not undergo RC as their first treatment (HR 2.16, 95% CI 1.17-3.99; P = 0.014). In all, 17 (8.8%) patients died from bladder cancer (BC) at median (IQR) of 22.5 (19-36.25) months. In multivariable analysis, BC-specific mortality was more common in older patients (HR 4.87, 95% CI 1.1-21.6; P = 0.037) and those with Tis/T1 disease (HR 2.26, 95% CI 1.23-4.16; P = 0.008) but did not vary with initial treatment., Conclusions: Patients with HRNMIBC are at high-risk of mortality. Those choosing RC as their initial treatment have lower risks of mortality than others, although this may reflect fitness and selection., (© 2024 The Author(s). BJU International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of BJU International.)

Purpose: There are few markers to identify those likely to recur or progress after treatment with intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). We developed and validated artificial intelligence (AI)-based histologic assays that extract interpretable features from transurethral resection of bladder tumor digitized pathology images to predict risk of recurrence, progression, development of BCG-unresponsive disease, and cystectomy., Materials and Methods: Pre-BCG resection-derived whole-slide images and clinical data were obtained for high-risk nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer cases treated with BCG from 12 centers and were analyzed through a segmentation and feature extraction pipeline. Features associated with clinical outcomes were defined and tested on independent development and validation cohorts. Cases were classified into high or low risk for recurrence, progression, BCG-unresponsive disease, and cystectomy., Results: Nine hundred forty-four cases (development: 303, validation: 641, median follow-up: 36 months) representative of the intended use population were included (high-grade Ta: 34.1%, high-grade T1: 54.8%; carcinoma in situ only: 11.1%, any carcinoma in situ: 31.4%). In the validation cohort, "high recurrence risk" cases had inferior high-grade recurrence-free survival vs "low recurrence risk" cases (HR, 2.08, P < .0001). "High progression risk" patients had poorer progression-free survival (HR, 3.87, P < .001) and higher risk of cystectomy (HR, 3.35, P < .001) than "low progression risk" patients. Cases harboring the BCG-unresponsive disease signature had a shorter time to development of BCG-unresponsive disease than cases without the signature (HR, 2.31, P < .0001). AI assays provided predictive information beyond clinicopathologic factors., Conclusions: We developed and validated AI-based histologic assays that identify high-risk nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer cases at higher risk of recurrence, progression, BCG-unresponsive disease, and cystectomy, potentially aiding clinical decision making.

Objective: This systematic review was conducted to synthesize current research on the role of repeated transurethral resection of the bladder (re-TURB) and the emerging use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in discerning patient suitability for safely foregoing this procedure., Evidence Acquisition: Employing a methodical literature search, we consulted several bibliographic databases including PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Embase. The review process adhered strictly to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) guidelines., Evidence Synthesis: We evaluated data from 667 patients (mean age 65.8 years; age range 59-75 years) who underwent MRI prior to potential re-TURB. The gap between initial TURB and MRI was reported as 42 days in one study, while the interval between MRI and subsequent cystoscopy, with or without biopsy, varied from 21 days to 3 months. Initial TURB pathology for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients identified stage Ta in 177 (42.5%) and T1 in 246 (57.5%) patients across three studies. High-grade and low-grade pathologic classifications were reported in 377 (64.5%) and 207 (35.5%) patients respectively in two studies. The VI-RADS scoring system's sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) for the detection of bladder cancer recurrence were 89%, 85.5%, 82.7%, and 96%, respectively. A total of 365 patients (54.7%) underwent re-TUR. Among NMIBC patients, re-TUR pathology revealed Ta in 22 cases (5.4%) and pT1 in 179 cases (44%) with VI-RADS 1-2, while no cases of Ta (0%) and 37 cases of T1 (9%) were reported with VI-RADS 4-5, as documented in two studies. Notably, only 69 patients (10.7%) were identified as having MIBC across all studies., Conclusion: MRI is demonstrating reliability as a diagnostic tool for non-muscle invasive bladder cancers. The VI-RADS scoring system appears to be a promising approach in selecting patients for re-TURB. DW-MRI may serve as a primary diagnostic examination for patient follow-up post-TURB., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Lymphatic leakage is a common complication after radical cystectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC).This study aimed to investigate the risk factors contributing to postoperative lymphatic leakage in patients with MIBC., Materials and Methods: A total of 534 patients undergoing radical cystectomy and PLND were enrolled in the retrospective study at Peking University Third Hospital from January 2010 to July 2023. Patients were categorized into lymphatic leakage(n = 254)and non-leakage groups (n = 280) and compared demographic, perioperativ and pathologic factors. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to identify risk factors for lymphatic leakage. Spearman correlation was used to analyze the relationship between lymph leakage ratio and risk factors., Results: Patients with lymphatic leakage had significantly higher rates of receiving extended PLND (19.7% vs. 11.4%, p = 0.008), higher total number of dissected lymph nodes (median 11 vs. 8, p < 0.001), longer hospital stays (median 13 vs. 11 days, p < 0.001), higher postoperative hypoalbuminemia rate (56.7% vs. 36.4%, p < 0.001) and higher fever rate (14.2% vs. 8.6%, p = 0.04) compared to the non-leakage group. On multivariate analysis, higher number of dissected lymph nodes (OR 3.278, 95% CI 1.135-9.471, p = 0.028) was found to be a independent risk factor for lymphatic leakage. Additionally, a positive correlation was observed between the numbers of dissected lymph nodes and lymphatic leakage rate (R = 0.456, p = 0.013)., Conclusions: The increased number of dissected lymph nodes is associated with a heightened risk of lymphatic leakage following radical cystectomy for MIBC., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics statement: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by Peking University Third Hospital Medical Science Research Ethics Committee (approval no. 402-02). Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Credit author statement: This is the first submission of this manuscript and no parts of this manuscript are being considered for publication elsewhere. All authors have approved this manuscript. No author has financial or other contractual agreements that might cause conflicts of interest. Financial disclosures: Zixuan, Xue certifies that all conflicts of interest, including specific financial interests and relationships and affiliations relevant to the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript (e.g., employment/affiliation, grants or funding, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, royalties, or patents filed, received, or pending), are the following: None., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Open ureteroenteric reimplantation (OUER) of ureteroenteric strictures (UESs) is related to important morbidity. Robot-assisted ureteroenteric reimplantation (RUER) has been proposed to provide similar outcomes with lower morbidity. We aimed to compare perioperative and functional outcomes between RUER and OUER., Methods: A retrospective multicenter study of 80 patients, who underwent 82 ureteroenteric reimplantations (17 OUER vs 65 RUER) at 8 institutions between 2009-2021 for benign UESs after radical cystectomy. All the open procedures were performed by the same center in order to compare the robotic approach with a standardized technique. Data were reviewed for demographics, stricture characteristics, and perioperative outcomes. Complication and stricture recurrence rates were compared between both groups., Results: Among 82 reimplantations, 44 were left sided (54%) and 12 bilateral (14%). Median time from cystectomy to diagnosis of stricture was 6 months (range 3-18). Baseline characteristics (gender, age, BMI, side, type of urinary diversion and previous abdominal radiotherapy) were comparable between RUER and OUER groups, except for ASA score and rates of prior robotic cystectomy. The 30-day overall postoperative complication rate was 37% in RUER compared to 70.6% in OUER (p = 0.026). Patients who underwent a RUER had statistically significant lower rate of intraoperative blood transfusion (0% vs 12%, p = 0.041), urinary tract infection (12% vs 53%, p < 0.001), bowel injury (0% vs 12%, p = 0.041) and high-grade complications (Clavien III-IV) (4.6% vs 23.5%, p = 0.031). RUER patients had shorter median length of hospital stay (3 days IQR[1-6] vs 6 IQR[3-9], p = 0.018) and lower readmission rate (4.6% vs 29.4%, p = 0.008). After a median follow-up of 23.5 months (8.7-43), 80% of RUER cases were stricture free compared to 90% of OUER (p = 0.42)., Conclusions: RUER achieved a success rate comparable to that of open revisions and may provide some advantages in terms of perioperative outcomes. Prospective and larger studies are warranted to prove its superiority compared to the standard open technique., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purposes: This study aimed to clarify the clinical outcomes of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) treatment in patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the prostatic urethra., Methods: Between August 2003 and January 2023, 428 patients with non-muscle-invasive UC received BCG treatment (Tokyo strain, 80 mg, ≥ 5 times) in our hospital; 39 had UC of the prostatic urethra. We evaluated the cumulative incidence of intravesical recurrence, progression (muscle-invasive bladder cancer [MIBC] or metastasis), and subsequent radical cystectomy after BCG treatment in patients with UC of the prostatic urethra., Results: The median follow-up period was 57 months (interquartile range, 30-85 months). The exact T stage of the patients with UC of the prostatic urethra was carcinoma in situ (CIS) in 29 (27 in the prostatic urethral mucosa and two in the ductal spread), Ta in 7, Ta + CIS in 2, and T1 in 1. All 39 patients had previous or concurrent bladder cancer. Patients with UC of the prostatic urethra experienced significantly higher rates of intravesical recurrence, progression (MIBC or metastasis), and subsequent radical cystectomy than those without UC of the prostatic urethra. In the multivariate analysis, UC of the prostatic urethra was a significant risk factor for progression (hazard ratio 4.06, 95% confidence interval 1.86-8.86, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: This study reported the largest number of clinical outcomes after BCG treatment in patients with UC of the prostatic urethra. Concomitant UC of the prostatic urethra is a strong predictor of subsequent progression; therefore, early timing of radical cystectomy should be discussed., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interests. Informed consent: The requirement for informed consent was waived owing to the retrospective nature of this study. The study information was placed on the hospital’s homepage to provide the means to opt out. Approval of the research protocol by an institutional reviewer board: This single-center study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Shizuoka Cancer Center (J2023-170–2023-1–3). Animal studies: Not applicable., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose of Review: This review explores the design and endpoints of perioperative platforms in clinical trials for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC)., Recent Findings: The choice of clinical trial design in perioperative platforms for MIBC must align with specific research objectives to ensure robust and meaningful outcomes. Novel designs in perioperative platforms for MIBC integrate bladder-sparing approaches. Primary endpoints such as pathological complete response and disease-free survival are highlighted for their role in expediting trial results in perioperative setting. Incorporating patient-reported outcomes is important to inform healthcare decision makers about the outcomes most meaningful to patients. Given the growing body of evidence, potential biomarkers, predictive and prognostic tools should be considered and implemented when designing trials in perioperative platforms for MIBC., Summary: Effective perioperative platforms for MIBC trials are critical in enhancing patient outcomes. The careful selection and standardization of study designs and endpoints in the perioperative platform are essential for the successful implementation of new therapies and the advancement of personalized treatment approaches in MIBC., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Bladder invasion by appendiceal cancer resulting in a vesico-appendiceal fistula is an uncommon occurrence. Both radical tumor removal and functional preservation of the bladder are desirable in the surgical treatment of this disease, and there are few reports on detailed surgical methods. Here, we describe a case of primary appendiceal mucinous carcinoma with bladder invasion treated with robotic laparoscopy and endoscopy cooperative surgery (RECS). A woman in her 60s was initially considered to be bladder tumor and underwent transurethral resection. However, the tumor rapidly regrew, and she was rediagnosed with primary appendiceal cancer invading the bladder. RECS was performed, involving ileocecal resection with partial cystectomy. The postoperative course was favorable, with no bladder anastomotic leakage or ureteral obstruction. In the RECS procedure, the robotic operability facilitates bladder wall repair, and simultaneous cystoscopic observation allows for identification of the ureteral orifices, making the combined bladder resection radical and safe., (© 2025 Asia Endosurgery Task Force and Japan Society of Endoscopic Surgery and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Introduction: Placing ureteral stents at the ureteroileal anastomosis for radical cystectomy with ileal conduit (RCIC) has long been common practice. Recently, some providers have begun omitting stents. We sought to investigate differences in perioperative and 30-day outcomes between patients who underwent RCIC with and without stents placed at the ureteroileal anastomosis., Methods: We identified RCICs performed between 2019 and 2021 in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database and corresponding Cystectomy-Targeted Participant Use File. Baseline demographics, comorbidities, and operative parameters were compared via Pearson's χ 2 and t tests between stented and stentless RCICs. Outcomes of interest, including rates of UTIs, acute kidney injury, renal failure requiring dialysis, ileoileal anastomotic leaks, ureteral obstruction, urinary leak or fistula formation, reoperations, and 30-day hospital readmissions, were compared using Pearson's χ 2 . All statistical tests were 2-tailed with P < .05 considered significant., Results: A total of 5418 RCICs were identified. Four hundred ninety-eight (9.2%) were stentless. There were no differences in baseline demographics or comorbidities. Significantly fewer stented patients had robotic-assisted operations (23% vs 29%, P < .01). Stented patients had lower rates of urinary leak or fistula formation (3.1% vs 4.8%, P = .04). There was no significant difference in 30-day rates of UTIs, acute kidney injuries, renal failure, ileoileal anastomotic leaks, ureteral obstruction, reoperations, and readmissions. Limitations include retrospective design and lack of longitudinal tracking past 30 days., Conclusions: Stentless patients had noninferior outcomes compared to stented patients in most important 30-day outcomes. Our analysis suggests that stents may not be necessary in ileal conduit urinary diversion procedures.

Purpose: For bladder-sparing treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer, 5-fluorouracil/cisplatin with twice-daily radiation (FCT) or gemcitabine plus daily radiation (GD) are effective chemoradiation (CRT) regimens. This trial evaluated these regimens and demonstrated efficacy with either regimen at 3 years. With further follow-up, longer-term results are reported here., Methods and Materials: Patients with cT2 to cT4a muscle-invasive bladder cancer were randomized to FCT or GD. Patients had a transurethral resection and induction CRT to 40 Gy. Patients with a complete response received consolidation CRT to 64 Gy. Others had cystectomy. Adjuvant gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy was administered. The primary endpoint was freedom from distant metastasis (FDM). This updated analysis reports 7-year data. Toxicity and efficacy endpoints, including bladder-intact distant metastasis-free survival (BI-DMFS) were also assessed., Results: From December 2008 to April 2014, 70 patients were enrolled; 66 were eligible for analysis, 33 per arm. Median follow-up was 9.1 years for eligible living patients. At 7 years, FDM was 65% and 73% for FCT and GD, respectively. Bladder-intact distant metastasis-free survival was 58% (95% CI, 41-76) and 68% (95% CI, 51-84), respectively. The post hoc hazard ratio of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.37-1.55) showed no difference between treatments (P = .44). Overall survival at 7 years was 48% and 59%. There were 4 and 5 cystectomies performed for FCT and GD, respectively. In the FCT arm, there were 5 (16%), 1 (3%), and 0 grade 3, 4, and 5 late toxicities reported, respectively. In the GD arm, there were 7 (23%), 0, and 0 grade 3, 4, and 5 late toxicities reported, respectively., Conclusions: Both regimens maintained high FDM rates at 7 years. Cystectomy rates were low and overall survival rates were high on both arms. Late toxicity rates were low. Either gemcitabine and daily radiation or a cisplatin-based regimen are effective bladder-sparing therapies., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Purpose: Patients treated with radical cystectomy experience a high rate of postoperative complications and frequent hospital readmissions. We sought to explore the utility of the Care Assessment Need (CAN) score, derived from electronic health data, to estimate the risk of these adverse clinical outcomes, thereby aiding patient counseling and informed treatment decision-making., Materials and Methods: We retrospectively examined data from 982 patients with bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy between 2013 and 2018 within the national Veterans Health Administration system. We tested for associations between the preoperative CAN score and length of stay, discharge location, and readmission rates., Results: We observed a correlation between higher CAN scores and longer hospital stays (adjusted relative risk = 1.03 [95% CI: 1.02-1.05]). An increased CAN score was also linked to greater odds of discharge to a skilled nursing facility or death (adjusted odds ratio = 1.16 [95% CI: 1.06-1.26]). Furthermore, the score was associated with hospital readmission at both 30 and 90 days postdischarge (adjusted HR = 1.03 [95% CI: 1.00-1.07] and 1.04 [95% CI: 1.00-1.07], respectively)., Conclusions: The CAN score is associated with length of hospital stay, discharge to a skilled nursing facility, and readmission within 30 and 90 days after radical cystectomy. These findings highlight the potential of health care systems leveraging electronic health records for automatically calculating multidimensional tools, such as the CAN score, to identify patients at risk of adverse clinical outcomes after radical cystectomy.

Background: Postoperative pain management is a challenge after robot-assisted cystectomy (RAC). Methadone has a long duration of action, and we therefore hypothesized that a single dose of intraoperative methadone would reduce postoperative opioid requirements and pain intensity in bladder cancer patients undergoing RAC., Methods: We conducted a blinded randomized controlled clinical trial from July 2020 to August 2023. Patients scheduled to undergo RAC because of bladder cancer were randomized to receive intraoperative methadone (0.15 mg/kg -1 ) or morphine (0.15 mg kg -1 ) 1 h before endotracheal extubation. The primary outcome was opioid requirements after 24 h. Secondary outcomes were opioid requirements after 3 h, pain intensity at rest and during coughing, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), sedation, hypoxemia, hypoventilation, time spent in the post-anesthetic care unit, and patient satisfaction., Results: A total of 114 patients were randomized. Data from 99 patients (14 females, 85 males; mean age 69.8 ± 8.9 years) were available for analysis; 52 received methadone and 47 received morphine. Opioid consumption was similar between the methadone group and morphine group at 3 h (median, mg, 45 (IQR 30 to 75) vs. 45 (IQR 15 to 82.5) p = .97) and at 24 h (median, mg, 125 (IQR 75 to 198.5) versus 105 (IQR 72 to 157.5), p = .29). Pain intensity was significantly lower in the morphine group at 48 h compared with the methadone group. Patient satisfaction at 24 h was increased in the methadone group compared with the morphine group (median, (IQR), NRS; 9 (IQR 7 to 10) versus 7 (IQR 4 to 9), p = .020). There were no differences between treatment groups in terms of time spent in the post-anesthetic care unit and the occurrence of opioid-related side effects., Conclusion: A single dose of intraoperative methadone does not reduce postoperative opioid requirements compared with a single dose of morphine in bladder cancer patients undergoing RAC., (© 2024 The Author(s). Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation.)

Introduction: In many cases of female radical cystectomy for bladder cancer, the procedure involves simultaneous removal of the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, anterior vaginal wall, and urethra. After this procedure, rare complications like vaginal dehiscence and evisceration may occur. We herein describe this article surgical technique involving preservation of the distal anterior vaginal wall to maintain pelvic floor strength and retrograde resection of the proximal anterior vaginal wall., Materials and Surgical Technique: The presented case was a 61-year-old woman who had a bladder tumor. After undergoing a transurethral resection, the pathology revealed muscle-invasive squamous cell bladder cancer. Consequently, she received a robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Before opening the vaginal wall, the urethra, including the external urethral meatus, was dissected along its entire length. Next, a transverse incision was made in the anterior vaginal wall at the level of bladder neck, and the wall was resected retrogradely toward the anterior vaginal fornix while preserving the distal anterior vaginal wall. The opened vaginal wall was closed in a tubular shape., Discussion: Preservation of the distal anterior vaginal wall and retrograde anterior vaginal wall resection can be safely performed in female RARC and may reduce the risk of vaginal dehiscence by minimizing the vaginal wall defect., (© 2024 Asia Endosurgery Task Force and Japan Society of Endoscopic Surgery and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Purpose: Many patients receiving intravesical BCG treatment for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer experience high recurrence rates despite initial adequate response. In this study, the effectiveness of intravesical chemohyperthermia (CHT) with mitomycin C (MMC) was evaluated in patients who developed relapse after intravesical BCG treatment or could not tolerate the treatment and could not undergo radical cystectomy for any reason., Materials and Methods: 59 patients who underwent complete bladder tumour resection, who had a T1 high-grade tumour and no variant histology was observed in the pathology, and who had previously received intravesical BCG treatment were included in the study. Adjuvant treatment with intravesical CHT-MMC was applied. As a treatment protocol, induction was applied once a week for 6 weeks, followed by maintenance treatment 6 times at 4-week intervals. Each treatment session, it involved bladder wall hyperthermia with a temperature of up to 42 ℃ ± 2 and intravesical administration of 20 mg/50 ml MMC solution twice at 30-min intervals., Results: Recurrence-free survival after warm mitomycin was 58.7 and 48%, respectively, at 24 months and 44 months, and progression-free survival was 72.6 and 66.2%, respectively. In the subgroup analysis performed according to the number of tumours at diagnosis (single, 2-5, more than 5), recurrence-free survival rates were 81.8%, 48.2% and 11%, respectively, during the median follow-up period of 44 months., Conclusions: Intravesical CHT-MMC can be considered as an alternative treatment in selected well-informed patients with non-muscle-invasive papillary urothelial carcinoma who are unresponsive to BCG or intolerant to BCG. Prospectively designed studies with larger number of patients are needed., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Purpose of Review: The role of radical cystectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) with clinically positive lymph nodes is debated. This review examines the role of surgery in treating patients with clinical N1 and more advanced nodal involvement (N2-N3) within a multimodal treatment approach., Recent Findings: For clinical N1 disease, guidelines typically recommend neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery. However, for N2-N3 disease, guidelines vary. Advances in diagnostics, systemic therapies, and surgical recovery have improved the prognosis for these patients. Research is increasingly identifying MIBC patients, including those with positive nodes, who may achieve complete pathologic response and long-term survival, supporting the role of surgery even in advanced nodal stages., Summary: Managing MIBC with clinically positive lymph nodes, especially in N2-N3 disease, requires a tailored approach. While neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical cystectomy is standard for N1 disease, the role of surgery in advanced nodal stages is growing because of better patient selection and treatment strategies. Emerging evidence suggests that consolidative surgery may improve outcomes in these complex cases., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To evaluate the carbon footprint of the perioperative transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT) pathway from decision to treat to postoperative discharge, and model potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategies., Materials and Methods: This process-based attributional cradle-to-grave life-cycle assessment (LCA) of GHG emissions modelled the perioperative TURBT pathway at a hospital in Southwest England. We included travel, energy and water use, all reusable and consumable items, and laundry and equipment sterilisation. Resource use for 30 patients undergoing surgery was recorded to understand average GHG emissions and the inter-case variability. Sensitivity analysis was performed for manufacturing location, pharmaceutical manufacturing carbon-intensity, and theatre list utilisation., Results: The median (interquartile range) perioperative TURBT carbon footprint was 131.8 (119.8-153.6) kg of carbon dioxide equivalent. Major pathway categories contributing to GHG emissions were surgical equipment (22.2%), travel (18.6%), gas and electricity (13.3%), and anaesthesia/drugs and associated adjuncts (27.0%), primarily due to consumable items and processes. Readily modifiable GHG emissions hotspots included patient travel for preoperative assessment, glove use, catheter use, irrigation delivery and extraction, and mitomycin C disposal. GHG emissions were higher for those admitted as inpatients after surgery., Conclusions: This cradle-to-grave LCA found multiple modifiable GHG emissions hotspots. Key mitigation themes include minimising avoidable patient travel, rationalising equipment use, optimally filling operating theatre lists, and safely avoiding postoperative catheterisation and hospital admission where possible. A crucial next step is to design and deliver an implementation strategy for the environmentally sustainable changes demonstrated herein., (© 2024 The Author(s). BJU International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of BJU International.)

Purpose: The use of immediate postoperative intravesical chemotherapy (IVC) following transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) has been shown to reduce the rate of recurrence of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. Historically, utilization of IVC following TURBT has been low. We sought to determine the rate of immediate postoperative IVC following TURBT, as well as assess factors that may influence its use., Methods: We utilized the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database to assess the rates of IVC between the years 2016 to 2021. All patients who underwent TURBT based on appropriate procedure codes were initially included. Patients with an additional procedure code for the administration of IVC were identified., Results: From 2016 to 2021, 50,295 patients underwent TURBT for bladder cancer. There were 21,544 (43%) small, 18,135 (36%) medium, and 10,616 (21%) large tumors treated. In total, 2,833 (5.6%) patients received IVC. Use of IVC was associated with surgery performed in an elective setting, those who did not receive preoperative blood transfusion, and shorter operative time. Receipt of chemotherapy was more common in the later years examined., Conclusions: The rate of use of IVC remains very low. Ongoing study and improvement initiatives are in place, though these predominantly are assessing academic centers. Further study and quality improvement should be performed and include community practice settings., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: Comparative effectiveness studies comparing trimodal therapy (TMT) to radical cystectomy (RC) are typically hindered by selection bias where TMT is usually reserved to patients with poor overall health status. We developed a novel approach by matching patients based on their calculated other-cause mortality (OCM) risk. Using this homogeneous cohort, we tested the impact of TMT vs RC on cancer-specific mortality (CSM)., Materials and Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) 2004-2018 database was queried to identify patients diagnosed with cT2-4N0M0 muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). A Fine-Gray competing-risk regression model calculating the 5-year OCM risk was used to create a 1:1 propensity-score matched-cohort of patients treated with RC or TMT. Cumulative incidence and competing-risk regression analyses tested the impact of treatment type (RC vs TMT) on CSM. Patients were further stratified according to clinical T stage (cT2 vs cT3-4) in sensitivity analyses., Results: We identified 6,587 patients (76%) treated with RC and 2,057 (24%) with TMT. The median follow-up was 3.0 years. In the unmatched-cohort, 5-year OCM and CSM rates were 14% and 40% for RC vs 23% and 47% in TMT group, respectively (all P < 0.001). Our matched-cohort included 4,074 patients, equally distributed for treatment type, with no difference in 5-year OCM (HR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.86-1.11, P = 0.714). In clinical-stage specific sensitivity analyses, 5-year CSM rate was significantly worse for cT2N0M0 patients treated with TMT (HR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.21-1.91, P < 0.001) than those treated with RC. For cT3-4N0M0 patients, there was no difference in CSM among the 2 approaches (HR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.63-1.52, P = 0.900)., Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate an oncologic advantage of RC over TMT for cT2 MIBC patients. Conversely, we did not find a cancer-specific survival difference for cT3-T4 MIBC patients, regardless of treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None of the authors have any relevant disclosures, and none of the authors have any financial or nonfinancial interests that may be relevant to the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) before radical cystectomy (RC) is guideline-recommended in patients with cT2-T4N0M0 urothelial carcinoma of urinary bladder (UCUB). However, no population-based study validated the survival benefit of NAC recorded in clinical trials in a stage-specific fashion. We addressed this knowledge gap., Methods: Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (2007-2020), we identified patients with cT2-T4N0M0 UCUB treated with NAC before RC versus RC alone. Cumulative incidence plots and multivariable competing risks regression (CRR) models were fitted. Survival analyses were performed according to organ confined (OC: cT2N0M0) versus nonorgan confined stages (NOC: cT3-T4N0M0)., Results: Of 3,743 assessable patients, 1,020 (27%) underwent NAC versus 2,723 (73%) RC alone. NAC rates increased over time in OC stage (EAPC = 11.9%, P < 0.001) and NOC stage (EAPC = 8.6%, P < 0.001). In OC stage, cumulative incidence plots derived 5-year CSM was 15.6% in NAC and 19.9% in RC alone patients (P = 0.008). In multivariable CRR models, NAC independently predicted lower CSM (hazard ratio (HR): 0.74, P = 0.01). Similarly, in NOC stage, cumulative incidence plots derived 5-year CSM was 36.1% in NAC and 46.0% in RC alone patients (P = 0.01). In multivariable CRR models, NAC independently predicted lower CSM (HR: 0.66, P < 0.001)., Conclusion: NAC is associated with improved CSM compared to RC alone, both in OC and NOC stages. Specifically, the magnitude of the protective NAC effect was greater in NOC than OC patients. Thus, NAC should always be administered in all eligible patients before RC., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: To examine the impact of increased compliance to contemporary perioperative care measures, as outlined by enhanced recover after surgery (ERAS) guidelines, among patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC)., Patients and Methods: From the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database we captured patients undergoing RC between 2019 and 2021. We identified five perioperative care measures: regional anaesthesia block, thromboembolism prophylaxis, ≤24 h perioperative antibiotic administration, absence of bowel preparation, and early oral diet. We stratified patients by the number of measures utilised (one to five). Statistical endpoints included 30-day complications, hospital length of stay (LOS), readmissions, and optimal RC outcome. Optimal RC outcome was defined as absence of any postoperative complication, re-operation, prolonged LOS (75th percentile, 8 days) with no readmission. Multivariable regressions with Bonferroni correction were performed to assess the association between use of contemporary perioperative care measures and outcomes., Results: Of the 3702 patients who underwent RC, 73 (2%), 417 (11%), 1010 (27%), 1454 (39%), and 748 (20%) received one, two, three, four, and five interventions, respectively. On multivariable analysis, increased perioperative care measures were associated with lower odds of any complication (odds ratio [OR] 0.66, 99% confidence interval [CI] 0.6-0.73), and shorter LOS (β -0.82, 99% CI -0.99 to -0.65). Furthermore, patients with increased compliance to contemporary care measures had increased odds of an optimal outcome (OR 1.38, 99% CI 1.26-1.51)., Conclusions: Among the measures we assessed, greater adherence yielded improved postoperative outcomes among patients undergoing RC. Our work supports the efficacy of ERAS protocols in reducing the morbidity associated with RC., (© 2024 The Author(s). BJU International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of BJU International.)

Objectives: Radical cystectomy with urinary diversion is the gold standard treatment for bladder cancer (high-risk/muscle invasive). The transperitoneal approach is associated with significant gastrointestinal complications like ileus. In the elderly and frail with a single functional kidney, we describe an extraperitoneal technique of radical cystectomy, with a ureterostomy, to be performed without general anesthesia., Materials and Methods: The elderly, frail, and high-risk candidates for general anesthesia, with a prior history of nephroureterectomy with a second primary muscle-invasive bladder cancer, were chosen. All patients underwent the described procedure under combined spinal and epidural anesthesia. The posterior dissection was retrograde, caudal to cranial, with the peritoneum being opened only for resection of the dome. A cutaneous ureterostomy was fashioned on the side of the functional kidney. Peri-operative parameters were assessed for early recovery in this high-risk group., Results: The mean age was 82 years (range: 73-91), with Charleson Comorbidity Index 5, and were all deemed unfit for neoadjuvant chemotherapy. With a median duration of 127.5 minutes, an average blood loss of 225ml, and no patient requiring general anesthesia; early ambulation, early return of bowel function, and a lesser hospital stay (7 days) with minimal morbidity were achieved. Negative surgical margins were achieved in all cases, with a mean harvest of 29 lymph nodes. Only 1 patient developed stomal stenosis. The cause-specific survival (CSS) is 100% at 2 years., Conclusions: The highlighting features are the early return of bowel function (flatus passage on day 1) and the avoidance of the cardio-pulmonary complications of general anesthesia. The extraperitoneal cystectomy offers a promising alternative in this select group and warrants further studies to extrapolate this technique for bilateral urinary drainage., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To systematically compare the evidence about surgical outcomes, postoperative complications, and sequelae of Radical cystectomy with urinary diversion with or without stent placement., Material and Methods: A literature search was performed through PubMed, Scopus®, and Web of Science up to December 2023 in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement. The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD 42023492384), and the research question was formulated according to the PICOs model. Three comparative studies were identified, 2 randomized and 1 prospective coming from a randomized cohort., Results: The stent group showed higher odds of postoperative major complications (OR 3.00 - 95%CI 1.06; 8.52; P = 0.04) than the stentless group. There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups regarding 30-day readmission (P = 0.06), postoperative uretero-ileal anastomotis stricture (UIAS) (P = 0.09), postoperative uretero-ileal anastomotis leak (UIAL) (P = 0.20), postoperative urinary tract infections (UTIs) (P = 0.08), and postoperative ureteral obstruction (P = 0.35). No statistically significant difference between the 2 groups was found regarding UIAS management in terms of ureteral reimplantation (P = 0.28) or dilatation (P = 0.36)., Conclusions: Our pooled data analysis shows no statistically significant difference between stentless and stented urinary diversion after radical cystectomy. Stentless could be a reasonable choice when performing diversion during radical cystectomy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest I declare there are no conflicts of interest regarding any author., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and Objective: Neoadjuvant therapy followed by radical cystectomy with lymphadenectomy remains the gold standard of treatment in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Pathologically positive lymph node (pN+) disease is known to convey a poor prognosis. Tumor-informed circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has emerged as a possible novel prognostic biomarker in the field. We seek to assess recurrence-free survival (RFS) for patients undergoing robotic-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) with extended pelvic lymphadenectomy (ePLND) and to assess whether ctDNA status can be a prognostic marker for RFS outcomes in patients with pN+ disease., Methods: Patients who underwent RARC + ePLND during 2015 to 2023 were included. A sub-group analysis (n = 109) of patients who had prospectively collected serial-longitudinal tumor-informed ctDNA analyses during 2021-2023 was performed. Survival analysis and Cox-regression models were conducted., Results: Included were 458 patients with a median age of 69 (IQR 63-76), and a median follow-up time of 20 months (IQR 10-37). RFS for pN0 (n = 353) and pN+ (n = 105) at 12, 24 and 36 months were 87% vs. 54%, 80% vs. 39%, and 74% vs. 35%, respectively (log-rank, P < 0.0001). On Cox multivariate analysis ≥pT3 disease (Hazzard ratio [HR] = 3.36 [2.18-5.18], P < 0.001), pN+ disease (HR = 2.39 [1.55-3.7], P < 0.001), and recipients of neoadjuvant treatment (HR = 1.61 [1.11-2.34], P = 0.013) were predictive of disease relapse. Patients with pN+ disease and undetectable precystectomy or postcystectomy ctDNA status had similar RFS to patients with pN0 with undetectable ctDNA. On Cox-regression multivariate sub-group analysis, detectable precystectomy ctDNA status (HR = 3.89 [1.32-11.4], P = 0.014), detectable ctDNA status in the minimal residual disease window ([MRD], HR = 2.89 [1.12-7.47], P = 0.028), and having ≥pT3 with pN+ disease (HR = 4.2 [1.43-12.3], P = 0.009) were predictive of disease relapse., Conclusions: Patients with pN+ .after RARC had worse oncological outcomes than patients with pN0 disease. Undetectable ctDNA status was informative of RFS regardless of nodal status at both the precystectomy and the MRD window. Patients with undetectable ctDNA status and pN+ disease may benefit from treatment de-escalation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the risk factors affecting cancer-specific survival (CSS) in nonresponsive disease to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) among patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) who were treated with NAC and radical cystectomy (RC)., Methods: Patients with MIBC who underwent NAC and RC were retrospectively examined. By comparing clinical and pathological stages, patients whose pathological stage was lower than clinical stage were categorized as "NAC-responsive" and the remainder as "NAC-non-responsive." Apart from pathologic staging, variables compared between groups included age, gender, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score, clinical stages, NAC type and cycle number, durations between MIBC diagnosis and NAC initiation and RC, presence of hydronephrosis, number of lymph nodes removed, and variant histology of urothelial bladder cancer. CSS analysis was performed by construction of Kaplan-Meier survival curves and multivariable Cox regression was performed to identify the prognosticators in the NAC-non-responsive-group., Results: Ninety-two patients were included with a mean age was 61.5 ± 8.5 years, of whom 84.8% were men. The NAC regimen used was predominantly gemcitabine-cisplatin (88%) and the median cycle number was 4. Fifty-six (60.9%) patients were NAC-non-responsive. There was a significantly lower proportion of patients receiving ≥4 cycles (46.4% vs. 66.7%) and a higher rate of patients with ECOG score ˃1 (33.9% vs. 11.1%) in the NAC-non-responsive-group compared to the NAC-responsive-group (both P < 0.05). Other variables were similar between groups. In multivariable analysis, only ypN+ was found to be an independent prognosticator for CSS in NAC-non-responsive-group (HR: 2.725, CI95%:1.017-7.303)., Conclusion: Although higher ECOG scores and lower cycle numbers appears to be associated factors in NAC-non-responsive disease, only ypN(+) status was a prognosticator for CSS in this population., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To compare ileal conduit (IC) and other organ at risk (OAR) dosimetry between treatment techniques in a prospective cohort of patients planned for adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) after radical cystectomy and IC reconstruction., Methods and Materials: Computed tomography (CT datasets of twenty patients who underwent adjuvant RT were obtained and used prospectively for delineation of target volumes (primary and nodal) and OARs, including IC, uretero-ileal anastomosis and ileal stoma using a specified protocol for simulation including a delayed CT to identify IC. Three RT plans were generated for each patient for a dose of 54 gray (Gy) in 27 fractions (PTV V95% >95%): 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) with (3DCRT&#95;S) and without (3DCRT&#95;N) stoma shielding, and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), with OAR constraints specified for VMAT plans (IC: Dmax<54Gy, V50Gy < 20 cc). Constraints were given for other pelvic OARs (bowel, rectum, femur heads) as per published literature. Plans were evaluated for target coverage as well as OAR doses; in particular, IC and ileal stoma). ANOVA test was used to compare medians of achieved doses, and a p-value <0.05 was statistically significant., Results: The median IC volume was 63.34 (55.29-82.93) cc. The cranial end of IC was at L5 or L4 vertebral level in 95% of patients and caudal level at S2 or S3 in 80% of patients. In contrast, the ileal stoma spanned from L4 or L5 vertebral level cranially (100%) to L5 level caudally (80%). PTV V95% was similar for 3DCRT&#95;N and VMAT plans while it was significantly lower for 3DCRT&#95;S in areas of ileal stoma shielding (99.95% vs 99.01% vs 96.29%, p < 0.01). Median IC V50Gy was comparable in 3DCRT&#95;N (38.81 cc) and 3DCRT&#95;S (35.62 cc) while it was significantly lower in the VMAT plan (17.05 cc, p < 0.01). IC Dmax did not differ significantly between the three plans. On the other hand, when 3DCRT&#95;N, 3DCRT&#95;S, and VMAT plans were compared for ileal stoma doses, Dmean was comparable (11.93 Gy vs 7.41 Gy vs 9.54 Gy, p = 0.06) while Dmax was significantly higher for 3DCRT&#95;N plan and least for VMAT plan (35.32 Gy vs 27.57 Gy vs 24.22 Gy, p < 0.01). VMAT plans fared significantly better than both 3DCRT plans for uretero-ileal anastomosis, bowel, and rectal dosimetry., Conclusions: Ileal stoma shielding in 3DCRT compromises PTV coverage but does not spare IC effectively. Sparing IC with VMAT is feasible without compromising PTV coverage. Dosimetric gains with VMAT are expected to benefit patients needing higher pelvic RT doses and nodal RT by reducing the risk of anastomotic and mucosal complications. Clinical benefits should be evaluated in a prospective protocol., (Copyright © 2024 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Bladder cancer (BCa) diagnosis relies on distinguishing muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) from non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) forms. Transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT) is a standard procedure for initial staging and treatment. The Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) enhances diagnostic accuracy for muscle invasiveness through advanced imaging techniques, potentially reducing reliance on repeat TURBT and improving patient management., Objective: We aimed to evaluate the role of VI-RADS in predicting muscle invasiveness in BCa and its potential to predict adverse pathology in high-risk NMIBC to avoid unnecessary repeat TURBT procedures., Methods: In this prospective study, we included 62 patients over the age of 18 years who underwent TURBT. In a secondary phase, patients selected for restaging TURBT (re-TURBT) were included, but those with T2 tumors or low-risk NMIBC were excluded. Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations were scored by a radiologist using the VI-RADS 5 method, while a pathologist analyzed TURBT and re-TURBT samples for accurate staging. Statistical analysis evaluated the role of VI-RADS in BCa staging., Results: The VI-RADS score was the only predictive factor for muscle invasion in multivariate analysis. Setting the VI-RADS score at >3 resulted in the highest sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy, with values of 67.0%, 89.0%, and 78%, respectively. The receiver operating characteristic area under the curve score for VI-RADS for muscle invasion was 85% for stage Ta, 61% for stage T1, and 88% for stage T2, which shows the utility of VI-RADS in the predictiveness of MIBC/NMIBC., Conclusion: VI-RADS is effective in stratifying BCa patients by predicting muscle invasiveness and identifying NMIBC cases that may not need repeat TURBT., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Informed consent: All participants in this study provided informed consent prior to their involvement in the research., (© 2024. Society of Surgical Oncology.)

Objective: An exercise programme in primary care soon after radical cystectomy for urinary bladder cancer was previously evaluated regarding its effects on physical function. A secondary aim, presented herein, was to evaluate the programme in terms of its effect on postoperative complications., Materials and Methods: Patients who were planned for robot-assisted radical cystectomy for urinary bladder cancer at Karolinska University Hospital between September 2019 and October 2022 were invited to participate. At discharge from hospital, they were randomised to intervention group including aerobic and resistance exercises with physiotherapist in primary care twice a week for 12 weeks and daily walks, or to unsupervised home-based exercise including daily walks. Readmission rates between 30 and 90 days after discharge, and complications according to Clavien Dindo were collected from the medical records and analysed., Results: Ninety patients were randomised, with a mean (SD) age of 72 (9) years. Readmission rates between 30 and 90 days showed no difference between the groups. For readmitted patients, the intervention group had significantly fewer complications reported as Clavien Dindo grade 2 compared to the control group.  Conclusion: An exercise programme in primary care soon after robot-assisted radical cystectomy appears to be safe for patients, as measured by hospital readmission rates.  Trial registration: Clinical Trials (NCT03998579).

Background: Prediction models based on machine learning (ML) methods are being increasingly developed and adopted in health care. However, these models may be prone to bias and considered unfair if they demonstrate variable performance in population subgroups. An unfair model is of particular concern in bladder cancer, where disparities have been identified in sex and racial subgroups., Objective: This study aims (1) to develop a ML model to predict survival after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer and evaluate for potential model bias in sex and racial subgroups; and (2) to compare algorithm unfairness mitigation techniques to improve model fairness., Methods: We trained and compared various ML classification algorithms to predict 5-year survival after radical cystectomy using the National Cancer Database. The primary model performance metric was the F 1 -score. The primary metric for model fairness was the equalized odds ratio (eOR). We compared 3 algorithm unfairness mitigation techniques to improve eOR., Results: We identified 16,481 patients; 23.1% (n=3800) were female, and 91.5% (n=15,080) were "White," 5% (n=832) were "Black," 2.3% (n=373) were "Hispanic," and 1.2% (n=196) were "Asian." The 5-year mortality rate was 75% (n=12,290). The best naive model was extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), which had an F 1 -score of 0.860 and eOR of 0.619. All unfairness mitigation techniques increased the eOR, with correlation remover showing the highest increase and resulting in a final eOR of 0.750. This mitigated model had F 1 -scores of 0.86, 0.904, and 0.824 in the full, Black male, and Asian female test sets, respectively., Conclusions: The ML model predicting survival after radical cystectomy exhibited bias across sex and racial subgroups. By using algorithm unfairness mitigation techniques, we improved algorithmic fairness as measured by the eOR. Our study highlights the role of not only evaluating for model bias but also actively mitigating such disparities to ensure equitable health care delivery. We also deployed the first web-based fair ML model for predicting survival after radical cystectomy., (©Samuel Carbunaru, Yassamin Neshatvar, Hyungrok Do, Katie Murray, Rajesh Ranganath, Madhur Nayan. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (https://medinform.jmir.org), 13.12.2024.)

Purpose of Review: The purpose of this review is to highlight the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) burden of bladder cancer due to the disease itself and its treatments., Recent Findings: Large database studies have provided evidence that patients with bladder cancer have worse HRQOL than the general population. While transurethral resections and intravesical therapy are known to cause urinary symptoms, a large impact on HRQOL otherwise has not been demonstrated. Radical cystectomy (RC) has considerable morbidity, but after an initial adjustment period, there are favorable HRQOL outcomes. Evidence is insufficient to conclude that there are HRQOL advantages for continent versus ileal conduit urinary diversion, minimally invasive RC, or trimodal therapy. Bladder cancer and its treatment has a considerable HRQOL burden, but even among those requiring radical treatment, acceptable long term HRQOL is possible. Research on improved HRQOL assessment and translating this to personalized support are needed., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of Interest: Matthew B. Clements was the PI for Lahey for the SunRISE3 trial which was sponsored by Janssen Pharmaceuticals. He received no financial incentives related to participation in the study and has no other relevant ties to the sponsor. Additionally the study has now been closed to enrollment in the US and therefore is not currently underway at our site. Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent: All reported studies/experiments with human subjects performed by the authors were performed in accordance with all applicable ethical standards including the Helsinki Declaration and its amendments, institutional/national research committee standards, and international/national/institutional guidelines., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: To evaluate the activity and safety of nivolumab with nab-paclitaxel as neoadjuvant therapy, followed by radical cystectomy (RC) and postsurgical adjuvant nivolumab in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC)., Patients and Methods: Eligible patients had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of ≤1 and a T2-4aN0-1M0 stage with >50% urothelial carcinoma histology and were ineligible for or refused cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Patients received four cycles of nivolumab 360 mg once every 3 weeks + nab-paclitaxel 125 mg/m 2 once on days 1 and 8, every 3 weeks, followed by RC, and then adjuvant nivolumab 360 mg once every 3 weeks × 13 cycles. The primary end point was the pathologic complete response (CR) rate (ypT0N0). Secondary end points were major pathologic response (ypT≤1N0), safety, event-free survival (EFS), and overall survival., Results: Thirty-one patients were enrolled from December 2021 to June 2023; 19 (61.3%) had a cT2 stage, two (6.5%) had N1 stage, and 16 (51.6%) had a variant histology. Five patients (16.1%) received less than four full courses of neoadjuvant treatment because of treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). Grade 3/4 TRAEs occurred in eight patients (25.8%). Twenty-eight patients underwent RC, and three refused RC after evidence of clinical CR and received a redo transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (reTURBT). The trial met its primary end point: 10 patients (32.3%; 95% CI, 16.7 to 51.4) achieved an ypT0N0 response. By including those who underwent reTURBT, 22 (70.9%; 95% CI, 55 to 87) achieved an ypT≤1N0-x response. After a median follow-up of 12 months (range, 5-22), two patients had a disease relapse after surgery. The 12-month EFS was 89.8% (95% CI, 79.5 to 100)., Conclusion: To our knowledge, the first results from NURE-Combo trial suggest that this combination could expand the therapeutic opportunities of immune-chemotherapy in patients with MIBC.

Objective: To compare surgical parameters and short-term outcomes between open radical cystectomy (ORC) and robotic radical cystectomy with total intracorporeal urinary diversion (icRARC)., Methods: Among the study period, 133 patients who underwent ORC and pelvic node dissection for bladder cancer (group 1) were matched and compared to 61 patients who underwent icRARC during the same period (group 2). The groups were matched 1:1 according to their propensity scores adjusted on their baseline demographics and disease characteristics. The main surgical parameters compared were: operative time, estimated blood loss (EBL), and postoperative outcomes including time to oral intake, ninety-day complications, readmission rate, and secondary procedures., Results: Overall, 122 patients (61 in each group) were matched and finally analyzed. Although operative times (307 ± 97 min vs. 444 ± 113 min; p < 0.001) were longer, EBL (948 ± 657 ml vs. 357 ± 219 ml; p < 0.001) and transfusion rates were lower in the icRARC group. Overall complications were comparable but late complications tended to be lower in the icRARC group (p = 0.06). Readmission rate (54.8% vs. 26.8%, p = 0.01) was higher in the ORC group while secondary procedures (28.6% vs. 12.5%, p = 0.07) also tended to be lower in the robotic approach. Finally, in multivariable logistic regression the icRARC group was not associated with any complications of any grade including grade 3 or higher compared to the open approach., Conclusion: This study comparing open radical cystectomy to robotic radical cystectomy with total intracorporeal urinary diversion demonstrated encouraging outcomes for the minimally invasive management of urothelial carcinoma., Competing Interests: Declarations. Informed consent: For this study, oral consent was obtained for every patient. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: Radical cystectomy is a highly morbid procedure with short term perioperative complications rates cited to be as high as 60%. Short term perioperative complications have been demonstrated to be more frequent in underweight and overweight patients. We sought to evaluate the impact of metabolic syndrome on surgical outcomes., Materials and Methods: We identified 19,071 eligible patients who underwent radical cystectomy for nonmetastatic bladder cancer using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database between the years 2014 to 2021. The primary exposure was the presence of metabolic syndrome (body mass index >30, hypertension, diabetes) and included 1,566 patients. Our primary outcome was the development of a post operative surgical complication with secondary outcomes of the impact on length of stay, return to operating room, readmission, and 30 day mortality., Results: Metabolic syndrome was associated with an increased rate of complications following radical cystectomy (P < 0.001). Complications were demonstrated in 68% of patients with metabolic syndrome in comparison to 60% of those without. Following multivariable adjustment for relevant demographic, comorbidity, and treatment factors, compared to patients without metabolic syndrome, patients with metabolic syndrome were significantly more likely to experience a complication in the 30 days following cystectomy. Among the secondary outcomes, on multivariable analysis significant differences were found in the risk of readmission and extended length of stay. Critically, the risk of 30 day morbidity was associated with a 1.8 fold increase in those with metabolic syndrome., Conclusions: Metabolic syndrome demonstrates significantly worse perioperative outcomes following radical cystectomy for bladder cancer., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To identify the association between cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and outcomes of radical cystectomy (RC), as RC is historically associated with high rates of short- and long-term morbidity and mortality., Methods: This quantitative systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines. An electronic literature search was conducted to identify all relevant studies evaluating the relationship between CPET parameters and RC outcomes. The primary outcome was short-term mortality. Secondary outcomes included hospital length of stay (LOS) and rate of serious adverse events as defined by the Clavien-Dindo classification., Results: The search identified six studies for inclusion. A total of 546 patients underwent CPET prior to RC. There were significantly more deaths following RC observed in patients with poorer cardiopulmonary function (risk ratio RR 5.80, 95% confidence interval 4.96-6.78). There was no significant association between CPET parameters and adverse events or hospital LOS., Conclusions: The present systematic review and meta-analysis identified a greater risk of 90-day mortality in patients with poorer cardiorespiratory function, as measured by CPET. However, there remains a paucity of robust clinical data and further high-quality studies are required to verify these results., (© 2024 BJU International.)

Objectives: The quality of life in patients undergoing radical cystectomy and urinary diversion is gaining importance. Nowadays a broad consensus about the best urinary diversion does not exist. This study presents an all-round analysis of the impact of two types of urinary diversion on life's psycho-social aspects in patients undergoing radical cystectomy., Methods: This is an observational, single-centre, prospective study. Eligible participants underwent radical cystectomy and urinary diversion for bladder cancer in our department from January 2020 and February 2024. Of 130 included patients, 90 (45 with Bricker's ureteroileocutaneostomy and 45 received orthotopic bladder replacement) patients were matched and the study groups were well balanced for the baseline-matched variables. Patients completed 4 questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30, PGWBI, HADS, PSQI) at three different times: before the surgical procedure, and at 3 and 12 months., Results: Time shows a statistically significant effect (p < 0.0005) on four of the five functional scales explored (Physical Functioning, Role Functioning, Emotional Functioning, Social Functioning), and for all the nine symptoms/items' scales (p < 0.0005) and the Global Health Status (p = 0.003) in EORTC QLQ-C30. Neobladder's group shows a statistically significant improvement on the scales of Physical Functioning, Role Functioning, and Social Functioning, and for symptoms of nausea (p = 0.0027), pain (p = 0.0005), dyspnea (p = 0.012), insomnia (p = 0.004), constipation (p = 0.003)., Conclusion: We do not find a better urinary diversion in absolute terms. Neobladder obtained better results only for specific items and features. The urinary diversion's choice must be made in concert by the patient, the caregiver, and health professionals with adequate counseling., (© 2024 The Author(s). International Journal of Urology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of The Japanese Urological Association.)

Objective: To develop performance metrics that objectively define a reference approach to a transurethral resection of bladder tumours (TURBT) procedure, seek consensus on the performance metrics from a group of international experts., Methods: The characterisation of a reference approach to a TURBT procedure was performed by identifying phases and explicitly defined procedure events (i.e., steps, errors, and critical errors). An international panel of experienced urologists (i.e., Delphi panel) was then assembled to scrutinise the metrics using a modified Delphi process. Based on the panel's feedback, the proposed metrics could be edited, supplemented, or deleted. A voting process was conducted to establish the consensus level on the metrics. Consensus was defined as the panel majority (i.e., >80%) agreeing that the metric definitions were accurate and acceptable. The number of metric units before and after the Delphi meeting were presented., Results: A core metrics group (i.e., characterisation group) deconstructed the TURBT procedure. The reference case was identified as an elective TURBT on a male patient, diagnosed after full diagnostic evaluation with three or fewer bladder tumours of ≤3 cm. The characterisation group identified six procedure phases, 60 procedure steps, 43 errors, and 40 critical errors. The metrics were presented to the Delphi panel which included 15 experts from six countries. After the Delphi, six procedure phases, 63 procedure steps, 47 errors, and 41 critical errors were identified. The Delphi panel achieved a 100% consensus., Conclusion: Performance metrics to characterise a reference approach to TURBT were developed and an international panel of experts reached 100% consensus on them. This consensus supports their face and content validity. The metrics can now be used for a proficiency-based progression training curriculum for TURBT., (© 2024 BJU International.)

Objectives: The optimal indication and survival benefits of prophylactic urethrectomy (PU) during radical cystectomy remain unclear. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the impact of urethra-preserving surgery (UPS) on oncological outcome including its recurrence patterns, and to establish an optimal urethral management strategy with a novel UPS technique in the robotic era., Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 281 male patients with bladder cancer who received radical cystectomy (RC) (115 with and 166 without PU) at our institutions between 2010 and 2023. Subsequently, perioperative and oncological outcomes were assessed between propensity score-matched cohorts., Results: Urethral recurrence (UR) occurred in 5 patients (5/166, 3.0%), all of whom underwent open-RC. Three among those (1.8%) with concomitant metastasis were died of cancer. There were no statistically significant differences between the PU and UPS groups in urethral-recurrence free survival (urethral-RFS) (P = .14), local-RFS (P = .59) and overall survival (OS) (P = .84) in the entire cohort. However, the UPS group showed significantly worse urethral-RFS (P = .008), local-RFS (P = .005) and OS (P = .03) in patients with high-risk of UR. Analysis of recurrence patterns revealed that UPS in high-risk patients significantly increased local recurrence (25.8% vs. 5.0%, P = .02). Conversely, a novel robotic-UPS technique demonstrated significantly favorable perioperative outcomes, comparable local-RFS (P = .79) and OS (P = .16) without UR (0/134, 0%) when compared to robotic-PU. Robotic-UPS also exhibited significantly better local-RFS (P =.007) and OS (P < .001) than open-UPS., Conclusions: UR-related death was rare and PU did not show a survival benefit for the entire cohort. However, inappropriate UPS in patients at high-risk of UR may increase local recurrence which might be responsible for poor survival after UPS rather than disease progression derived from UR. The robotic-UPS has the potential to reduce unnecessary PU, urethral and local recurrence without compromising survival., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: This study investigated radiologic features on preoperative MRI to differentiate urothelial carcinoma with squamous differentiation (UCSD) from conventional urothelial carcinoma (UC) in muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma., Methods: Ninety-nine patients who underwent radical cystectomy and a preoperative bladder MRI scan within three months before surgery were retrospectively enrolled. Various MRI features, including tumor length, location, multiplicity, long-to-short axis ratio, morphology, radiologic stage, and degree of severe necrosis, were analyzed. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify MRI features predictive of UCSD. The diagnostic performance of a significant MRI feature was assessed using 5-fold cross-validation., Results: Among the MRI features, significant radiologic findings associated with UCSD in the univariable analysis included heterogeneous tumor signal intensity in T2-weighted images (odds ratio [OR], 3.365; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.213-9.986; P = 0.022) and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images (OR, 4.428; 95% CI, 1.519-12.730; P = 0.007), as well as marked (≥ 50%) severe necrosis (OR, 17.100; 95% CI, 4.699-73.563; P < 0.001). In the multivariable analysis, marked (≥ 50%) severe necrosis (odds ratio [OR], 13.755; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.796-89.118; P = 0.004) was a significant predictor of UCSD. Marked (≥ 50%) severe necrosis showed a high specificity of 95.0% with a precision of 65.0% for diagnosing UCSD based on 5-fold cross-validation., Conclusion: Preoperative bladder MRI revealing marked severe necrosis may be indicative of UCSD and can assist in distinguishing it from conventional UC., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: To evaluate if VI-RADS can distinguish between nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancers (NMIBC), muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), and high-risk nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancers (HR-NMIBCs). It is unclear if the Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) can replace repeated transurethral resection of bladder tumor (Re-TURBT) as in the new VI-RADS-based algorithm., Methods: Sensitivity, specificity, and positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values of the VI-RADS score were calculated for mpMRI performance in patients undergoing TURBT and HR-NMIBC patients for only Re-TURBT., Results: Of 283 cases, when VI-RADS ≥3 lesions were considered muscle-invasive, its sensitivity was 95.7% and specificity was 92.5%. PPV and NPV were 86.6% and 97.7%, respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.942 (P <.001). Of 89 patients undergoing post-Re-TURBT, 41 (46%) were tumor-free, 47 (50.5%) showed permanent HR-NMIBC, and 3 (2.2%) were upgraded to MIBC. Per the new VI-RADS-based approach, 73 (41%) of the 178 HR-NMIBCs with VI-RADS ≤2 would not undergo Re-TURBT. Of the 75 patients with VI-RADS ≥4, 6 (6) with HR-NMIBCs (8%) would not undergo Re-TURBT. When incomplete resections were excluded, 35 (60.3%) of the patients had complete resection, 23 (39.7%) had residual disease, and complete resection would not have been performed in these patients, and 2 (100%) still had residual disease., Conclusion: The new VI-RADS-based algorithm helped VI-RADS ≥4 patients by switching to radical treatment. Since the residual disease is high in cases with VI-RADS ≤2, even if incomplete resections are excluded, TURBT should be continued., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction and Objectives: Radical cystectomy readmission rates remain high, with around 25% of patients readmitted to index and nonindex hospitals in 30 days. Nonindex readmissions have been associated with poorer outcomes, including longer lengths of stay and higher mortality rates. This study aimed to examine the associations of social factors (e.g., sex, race, socioeconomic status, insurance type, and resident location) on readmission to index versus nonindex hospitals and discharge disposition., Methods: We conducted a population-based retrospective study using the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry (PCR) to identify patients diagnosed with nonmetastatic muscle-invasive bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy in Pennsylvania between 2010 and 2018. Readmitted patients were identified using the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council data (PHC4). The primary outcome was readmission location (i.e., index or nonindex hospital) following radical cystectomy. We used chi-square tests for categorical variables, Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables, multivariable logistic regression model to assess predictors of being readmitted to an index hospital and calculating the predicted probability of being admitted to an index hospital depending on discharge disposition., Results: A total of 517 patients were readmitted within 30-days after radical cystectomy. The majority of readmissions were index readmissions (83%). Median readmission hospital stay was 4 days (interquartile range [IQR] 4) for index and 5 days (IQR 7) for nonindex hospitals, P = 0.01. Patients readmitted to index hospitals had fewer comorbidities (median weighted Elixhauser Comorbidity Index 2 (IQR 2)) and lived in urban areas (89%). Discharge with home care was associated with a higher odds of index readmission (odds ratio, [OR] 2.40; 95% confidence interval, [CI] 1.25-4.52)., Conclusions: Patients residing in urban areas and with fewer comorbidities were more likely to be readmitted to index hospitals than nonindex hospitals. Socioeconomic status and insurance type did not correlate with the type of readmission. Finally, being discharged with home health care was found to be a predictor of readmission to an index hospital., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To investigate the use of radiation with radiosensitizing chemotherapy following repeated transurethral resection (trimodality therapy) as an alternative to radical cystectomy in T1 bladder cancer which has failed Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)., Patients and Methods: Patients with recurrent T1 bladders who had failed BCG and were recommended to undergo cystectomy were treated with trimodality therapy. The primary end point was 3-year freedom from cystectomy. Secondary end points were distant metastasis at 3 and 5 years, local recurrence, disease-specific and overall survival (OS), and safety., Results: This single-arm phase II study enrolled 37 patients. Efficacy and safety were evaluated in 34 patients after three exclusions. The median follow-up was 5.1 years. The 3-year freedom from cystectomy rate was 88% (lower one-sided 97.5% confidence limit [CI], 72%), meeting the primary study goal. OS at 3 and 5 years was 69% (95% CI, 54 to 85) and 56% (95% CI, 39 to 74), respectively. The distant metastasis rates at 3 and 5 years were 12% (95% CI, 4 to 26) and 19% (95% CI, 7 to 34), respectively. Eight patients died due to urothelial cancer, 12 exhibited local recurrence at 3 years (cumulative incidence: 32%; 95% CI, 17 to 48), 18 experienced grade 3 adverse events, mostly hematological, and one developed grade 4 neutropenia., Conclusion: Trimodality therapy is an effective potential alternative to radical cystectomy for recurrent high-grade T1 urothelial cancer of the bladder. At 3 years, 88% of the patients remained free of cystectomy.