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Objectives: To compare the results of Gleason Grade Group (GGG) classification following central pathology review with previous local pathology assessment, and to examine the difference between using overall and worst GGG in a large patient cohort treated with radiotherapy and short‐course hormone therapy. Patients and Methods: Patients with low‐ to high‐risk localized prostate cancer were randomized into the multicentre CHHiP fractionation trial between 2002 and 2011. Patients received short‐course hormone therapy (≤6 month) and radical intensity‐modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Of 2749 consented patients, 1875 had adequate diagnostic biopsy tissue for blinded central pathology review. The median follow‐up was 9.3 years. Agreement between local pathology and central pathology‐derived GGG and between central pathology‐derived overall and worst GGG was assessed using kappa (κ) statistics. Multivariate Cox regression and Kaplan–Meier methods were used to compare the biochemical/clinical failure (BCF) and distant metastases (DM) outcomes of patients with GGG 1–5. Results: There was poor agreement between local pathology‐ and central pathology‐derived GGG (κ = 0.19) but good agreement between overall and worst GGG on central pathology review (κ = 0.89). Central pathology‐derived GGG stratified BCF and DM outcomes better than local pathology, while overall and worst GGG on central pathology review performed similarly. GGG 3 segregated with GGG 4 for BCF, with BCF‐free rates of 90%, 82%, 74%, 71% and 58% for GGGs 1–5, respectively, at 8 years when assessed using overall GGG. There was a progressive decrease in DM‐free rates from 98%, 96%, 92%, 88% and 83% for GGGs 1–5, respectively, at 8 years with overall GGG. Patients (n = 57) who were upgraded from GGG 2–3 using worst GS had BCF‐free and DM‐free rates of 74% and 92% at 8 years. CHHiP eligibility criteria limit the interpretation of these results. Conclusion: Contemporary review of International Society of Urological Pathology GGG successfully stratified patients treated with short‐course hormone therapy and IMRT with regard to both BCF‐free and DM‐free outcomes. Patients upgraded from GGG 2 to GGG 3 using worst biopsy GS segregate with GGG 3 on long‐term follow‐up. We recommend that both overall and worst GS be used to derive GGG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the significance of close surgical margins in organ‐sparing surgery (OSS) in the treatment of penile squamous cell carcinoma (pSCC) and clinicopathological factors that may influence local recurrence. Patients and Methods: At our tertiary referral centre, between March 2001 and September 2012, 332 patients treated with OSS for pSCC had clear surgical margins. As the focus was the impact of close clear margins on local recurrence, patients with positive margins were excluded for the purpose of this study. Our overall positive margin rate for OSS in penile cancer is 7.6% (42 patients). Analysis was carried out on an on‐going prospective database, including prospective accurate pathological recording of surgical margins. Patients underwent OSS after multidisciplinary team (MDT) discussion. Local recurrence was the primary outcome measured and Fisher's exact test and time‐to‐recurrence curves were used in the analysis. All local recurrences were scrutinised by the MDT and were categorised into: true recurrences or metachronous new occurrences (i.e. tumours arising from a background of penile intraepithelial neoplasia and forming on an epithelial surface not related to the site of initial resection). A multivariate analysis was also conducted to elucidate other factors influencing local recurrence. Results: In all, 64% of the patients had a <5 mm clear deep surgical margin, with 16% clear by <1 mm. Overall, 4% of patients had a true local recurrence, with a median time to recurrence of 6 months. In all, 53% were due to embolic spread, with residual occult local disease accounting for 47%. There was a statistically significant relationship between cavernosal involvement (P = 0.014) and lymphovascular invasion (LVI; P = 0.001) and local recurrence. Although multivariate analysis revealed that the extent of clear margin was not a predictor of disease (P = 0.405), we found an increased risk of local recurrence in the clear margin cohort of <1 mm compared to those of >1 mm (P < 0.001). Those patients considered to have metachronous tumours were scrutinised by our MDT, and eight patients (2.4%) were found to have new occurrences. Our overall proportion of patients therefore needing further treatment for either new occurrences or recurrent disease after OSS stands at 6.4%. Conclusions: Overall the presence of local recurrent disease in OSS in our experience is low (4%). We report an embolic mechanism of local recurrence, strongly suggested by the presence of cavernosal involvement and LVI. We conclude that a deep clear margin of >1 mm has a very low risk of local recurrence in penile OSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the difference between 8th edition of the TNM classification (UICC 8) and 8th edition of the American Joint Committee for Cancer (AJCC 8). Topics discussed include UICC 8 classification does not take into account the clear evidence like lack of agreement relating to staging criteria for testicular tumors; AJCC 8 consists lack of comparability between treatment centres; and lack of guidance regarding how tumors added into World Health Organization 2016 classification.

Stankiewicz E, Prowse D M, Ktori E, Cuzick J, Ambroisine L, Zhang X, Kudahetti S, Watkin N, Corbishley C & Berney D M (2011) Histopathology, 433-439 The pathogenesis of penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) is not well understood. Human papillomavirus (HPV) may be involved in carcinogenesis, but few studies have compared cell-cycle protein expression in HPV positive and negative cancers. The aim was to determine the extent of HPV infection in different histological subtypes of PSCC and its impact on the expression of key cell-cycle proteins: p53, p21, p16 and retinoblastoma (RB) protein. One hundred and forty-eight PSCC samples were examined immunohistochemically for RB, p16, p53 and p21 protein expression. One hundred and two cases were typed for HPV by PCR. HPV DNA was detected in 56% of tumours, with HPV16 present in 81%. Basaloid tumours were related strongly to HPV infection (10 of 13), while verrucous were not (three of 13). Fifty-nine per cent (38 of 64) of usual type SCCs had HPV infection. RB protein correlated negatively ( P < 0.0001) and p16 ( P < 0.0001) and p21 ( P = 0.0002) correlated positively with HPV infection. p53 did not correlate with HPV infection. HPV infection is present in more than half of penile cancers and it is responsible for RB pathway disruption. However, no link between HPV and p53 immunodetection was found. Only basaloid and half of usual-type PSSCs correlate with HPV infection, confirming possible separate aetiologies for those tumours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES To investigate, in a retrospective study, the expression of erythropoietin (Epo) in human renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and its correlation with overall survival, as Epo (an haematopoietic cytokine that regulates the production of red blood cells), with its receptor, was recently localized in non-haematopoietic tissues, e.g. liver, uterus, central nervous system, vascular endothelial cells and solid tumours. PATIENTS AND METHODS We used data from 113 patients who had radical nephrectomy for RCC between 1990 and 2000, taking sections from formalin-fixed and paraffin wax-embedded tissue blocks. The association between Epo staining and the patients’ characteristics was assessed by either chi-squared tests (for categorical variables) or two-sample independent t-tests (for continuous variables). RESULTS Tissue from 37 patients (33%) was positive for cytoplasmic Epo expression; 76 (67%) samples were negative. Univariate hazard ratio analysis confirmed that those with positive Epo staining were more than twice as likely to die as those with negative staining (hazard ratio 2.34, 95% confidence interval 1.27–4.3). CONCLUSION This study shows that the expression of Epo in RCC is adversely associated with overall survival. This is the first report of such an association, and might be explained by the loss of Von Hippel-Lindau protein function in clear cell RCC. The expression of Epo might have potential use in clinical trials when stratifying high-risk patients for adjuvant therapy after nephrectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE To evaluate medium-term outcome data from patients with distal urethral cancers treated with penile-preserving surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS We analysed prospectively 18 consecutive men referred for the management of urethral carcinoma. All had a specialist review in a supra-regional multidisciplinary team meeting, where the histology findings were reviewed by one pathology consultant. Tumours were staged according to the Tumour-Node-Metastasis classification and the patients offered penile-preserving surgery when tumours were limited to the glanular or penile urethra. RESULTS All 18 patients were suitable for penile-preserving surgery; the procedures were: three hypospadias formation with or without topical chemotherapy; four buccal mucosa urethroplasty; three glansectomy and reconstruction; six glansectomy, distal corporectomy, reconstruction and hypospadias formation; two urethrectomy with or with no excision of adjacent tunica albuginea. The mean (median, range) follow-up was 26 (20.5, 9–58) months. There were no local recurrences; four patients with regional nodal disease progressed and of these, two died from metastatic disease, and one died from an unrelated condition. CONCLUSION Medium-term data show that penile-preserving surgery is a feasible treatment for men with distal urethral carcinoma, providing excellent local control without prejudicing survival; a longer follow-up is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the feasibility, toxicity and immunogenicity of dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy in patients with advanced urological cancers. Patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer (11) and metastatic renal cell carcinoma (five) received 1–3 × 106 intradermal allogeneic tumour lystate-pulsed DCs fortnightly for six vaccinations then monthly until disease progression. Intradermal keyhole limpet haemocyanin was injected near the DCs as the adjuvant. DC vaccine was prepared from buffy coats, then lysate-pulsed, cryopreserved in aliquots, and tested for phenotypic expression and activity in an allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction before clinical use. There was no evidence of significant toxicity from vaccine or adjuvant. Delayed-type hypersensitivity skin testing and biopsy revealed a cellular infiltrate to intradermal re-challenge to tumour lysate and adjuvant in almost all patients. In addition, there was increased expression of T helper type 1 cytokines, interferon-γ-expressing T cell by ELISPOT analysis, but also interleukin-10 in a few patients. Vaccination resulted in a reduction in the level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in one patient, a reduction in PSA velocity in a further man and an increased PSA doubling time in six. Two of five patients with renal cell carcinoma had stabilization of disease. The cryopreservation and repeated administration of DC vaccine was feasible and not toxic. There was evidence of induction of both humoral and cellular immunity to vaccine and adjuvant in most patients. The use of sequential aliquots of identical cryopreserved vaccine will ensure quality control and greatly facilitate future clinical studies in terms of consistency of vaccine administered and the provision of primed DCs for in vitro assessment of response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on a study published within the issue about centralized histopathological review in penile cancer. The experiences of the author in managing penile cancer patients at St. George's Hospital in South London, England are highlighted. The significance of a central review and expert second opinion service in the management of penile cancer is emphasized.