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Purpose: In this retrospective review we characterize the outcomes of patients treated for transitional cell carcinoma in a bladder diverticulum., Materials and Methods: Between 1986 and 2001, 39 patients were treated for tumors in a bladder diverticulum. All patients underwent initial transurethral resection of the tumor. Based on cystoscopic evaluation, bimanual examination and computerized tomography findings, tumors were classified as superficial (Ta, Tis), superficially invasive confined to diverticulum (T1) or extra diverticular (T3+). Patients with superficial or superficially invasive disease were treated either conservatively with repeat transurethral resection, or with partial or radical cystectomy. Patients with extra diverticular extension were treated with partial or radical cystectomy when amenable to surgical extirpation. Predictors of outcome were assessed by univariate and multivariate analyses. End point was overall and disease-specific survival., Results: Of our cohort of 39 patients 13 (33%) presented with superficial disease, 13 (33%) with superficially invasive tumors and 13 (33%) with invasive (extra diverticular) disease. Actuarial 5-year disease specific survival for the cohort was 72 +/- 5.4%. Significant differences in 5-year disease specific survival were observed among patients presenting with superficial tumors (83 +/- 9%), superficially invasive tumors (67 +/- 7%) and extra diverticular disease (45 +/- 14%). Of the patients presenting with T1 tumors the primary mode of treatment did not correlate with outcome. In a multivariate model clinical staging was the only independent predictor of outcome and concomitant carcinoma in situ reached borderline significance., Conclusions: Our data support a conservative approach for tumors confined to the bladder diverticulum, provided complete removal is feasible and close surveillance ensues.

Purpose: The impact of orthotopic urinary diversion on the quality of cystectomy and ensuing cancer control has not been adequately studied. We analyzed our experience with this clinical problem., Materials and Methods: The records of 214 patients who underwent cystectomy and orthotopic diversion for bladder cancer were retrospectively evaluated and compared with those of 269 treated with an ileal conduit. Analyzed end points included overall and cancer specific survival. We specifically assessed the patterns of relapse and their association with pathological findings at cystectomy in the neobladder group., Results: No cancer specific survival difference was identified in the neobladder and ileal conduit cohorts when adjusting for pathological stage. Patterns of relapse in 62 of the 214 patients with a neobladder (29%) included local recurrence in 23 (11%), distant recurrence in 19 (9%), and combined local and distant recurrence in 18 (8%). Urethral recurrence was rare (2%). Of 10 patients (4.6%) diagnosed with upper tract recurrence 6 and 4 initially had relapse in the ureteroenteric anastomosis and renal pelvis, respectively. Five of the 6 patients with anastomotic relapse had evidence of disease in the intramural or juxtavesical ureter that was removed en bloc with the cystectomy specimen. Only 1 patient required neobladder takedown after such anastomotic recurrence., Conclusions: These results indicate that neobladders do not compromise the quality of preceding cystectomy or interfere with management in the presence of local or distant disease relapse. Our data suggest that involvement of the intramural or juxtavesical ureteral segment at cystectomy irrespective of surgical margin status may identify patients at higher risk for anastomotic recurrence, which is associated with an ominous prognosis.

Purpose: Bladder neck invasion by prostate cancer in radical prostatectomy specimens is uncommon and, thus, its influence on disease recurrence has not been well defined. Consequently the classification of bladder neck invasion in the TNM staging system is controversial. We studied our cohort of patients with stage pT4 disease and bladder neck invasion to clarify the true clinical behavior and prognostic significance of bladder neck invasion in radical prostatectomy specimens., Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of 4,090 consecutive patients treated with radical prostatectomy at one of our institutions between 1983 and 2001. Median followup was 53.1 months (range 1 to 189). After excluding from analysis patients treated with neoadjuvant androgen withdrawal or preoperative irradiation 72 of the remaining 2,571 (2.8%) with bladder neck invasion were classified with stage pT4 disease and their specimens were reviewed. Progression-free probability was determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Using the Cox proportional hazards model the independent prognostic significance of bladder neck invasion was assessed after controlling for pretreatment prostate specific antigen, final Gleason sum, extracapsular extension, surgical margins status, seminal vesicle invasion and lymph node involvement., Results: Of the 72 patients categorized with stage pT4 disease 14 (19%) had poorly differentiated Gleason sum 8 to 10 cancer, 38 (53%) had established extracapsular extension, 24 (33%) had seminal vesicle invasion and 8 (11%) had lymph node involvement. However, 26 patients (36%) had cancer confined to the prostate and 28 (39%) had negative surgical margins except for the bladder neck site. The mean 5-year progression-free probability plus or minus SD in all stage pT4 cases was 68% +/- 7%, which was better than in cases of seminal vesicle invasion (52% +/- 5%, log rank test p = 0.0156) but worse than in those of extracapsular extension (84% +/- 4.1%). Univariate analysis of the stage pT4 cohort revealed that higher prostatectomy Gleason sum, more extensive extracapsular extension and seminal vesicle invasion were significantly associated with an adverse prognosis. However, in a multivariate model that included all radical prostatectomy cases the finding of bladder neck invasion or stage pT4 disease did not independently predict prostate specific antigen recurrence., Conclusions: Stage pT4 disease comprises a heterogeneous group of tumors with various pathological features and inconsistent outcomes. Assigning the pT4 stage to cases of microscopic bladder neck invasion provides no independent ability for predicting disease progression after adjusting for other adverse disease features. Due to this and previously reported data the definition of stage pT4 disease should be modified in the next version of the TNM staging system.

Purpose: The natural history and prognosis of bladder cancer in young patients is not well defined. We analyzed our experience with such patients., Materials and Methods: The medical records of 74 patients presenting with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder at 40 years and younger were reviewed and compared with those of 75 patients diagnosed with bladder transitional cell carcinoma at 65 years old and older., Results: Median followup was 28.1 months (range 1 to 155) and 34.7 (range 1 to 178) in young and old patients, respectively. Initial stage distribution was similar with 80% of patients presenting with superficial disease. No difference was observed in the disease-free progression or disease-free recurrence rate among the groups in patients initially presenting with stage Ta, Tis or T1 tumors. A significantly higher proportion of older versus younger patients underwent cystectomy (54% versus 23%). We did not observe a difference in pathological stage distribution or the rate of extravesical disease in young and old patients (47% and 45%, respectively). Younger patients who ultimately underwent radical cystectomy had significantly lower disease-free survival, mainly due to a higher rate of distant metastases than in the older group (41% versus 24%). The rate of local recurrence was similar., Conclusions: Bladder transitional cell carcinoma in young adults has a clinical stage distribution and natural history similar to that in older patients. Our study suggests that a subset of young patients who ultimately undergo radical cystectomy have particularly aggressive tumors, portending a poor outcome.