Search

Androgen deprivation remains our mainstay of therapy for many aspects of prostate cancer at many stages. Our panel discusses the use of hormonal therapy in patients who have prostate cancer and how changes in reimbursement for LHRH analogs are likely to alter how hormone therapy is used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewed interest in the applications of laparoscopy to the specialty of urology has spurred a reexamination of the role of this approach in treating genitourinary malignancies. In part 2 of the roundtable, the participants discuss the merits of laparoscopy for staging testis tumors, for adrenalectomy, and for nephroureterectomy, and address training issues and turf battles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine a radical cystectomy population to determine the most common postoperative causes for increased length of stay and to identify patient risk factors that may predict a prolonged hospitalization. These data demonstrate minor and major complications, increased estimated blood loss, and transfusion requirement correlate with delayed discharge. The most common cause for prolonged hospitalization in this series was postoperative paralytic ileus. The use of a collaborative pathway for radical cystectomy that includes a plan of care, structured preoperative and postoperative patient/family teaching, and proactive discharge planning may be a factor in decreasing length of stay in this patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: Specialist palliative care benefits patients undergoing medical treatment of cancer; however, data are lacking on whether patients undergoing surgery for cancer similarly benefit from specialist palliative care., Objective: To determine the effect of a specialist palliative care intervention on patients undergoing surgery for cure or durable control of cancer., Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a single-center randomized clinical trial conducted from March 1, 2018, to October 28, 2021. Patients scheduled for specified intra-abdominal cancer operations were recruited from an academic urban referral center in the Southeastern US., Intervention: Preoperative consultation with palliative care specialists and postoperative inpatient and outpatient palliative care follow-up for 90 days., Main Outcomes and Measures: The prespecified primary end point was physical and functional quality of life (QoL) at postoperative day (POD) 90, measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) Trial Outcome Index (TOI), which is scored on a range of 0 to 56 with higher scores representing higher physical and functional QoL. Prespecified secondary end points included overall QoL at POD 90 measured by FACT-G, days alive at home until POD 90, and 1-year overall survival. Multivariable proportional odds logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to test the hypothesis that the intervention improved each of these end points relative to usual care in an intention-to-treat analysis., Results: A total of 235 eligible patients (median [IQR] age, 65.0 [56.8-71.1] years; 141 male [60.0%]) were randomly assigned to the intervention or usual care group in a 1:1 ratio. Specialist palliative care was received by 114 patients (97%) in the intervention group and 1 patient (1%) in the usual care group. Adjusted median scores on the FACT-G TOI measure of physical and functional QoL did not differ between groups (intervention score, 46.77; 95% CI, 44.18-49.04; usual care score, 46.23; 95% CI, 43.08-48.14; P = .46). Intervention vs usual care group odds ratio (OR) was 1.17 (95% CI, 0.77-1.80). Palliative care did not improve overall QoL measured by the FACT-G score (intervention vs usual care OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.75-1.58), days alive at home (OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.69-1.11), or 1-year overall survival (hazard ratio, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.50-1.88)., Conclusions and Relevance: This randomized clinical trial showed no evidence that early specialist palliative care improves the QoL of patients undergoing nonpalliative cancer operations., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03436290.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between gender, body mass index (BMI), and prognosis in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients., Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 1353 patients with RCC who underwent a partial or radical nephrectomy between 1988 and 2015. The association among sex, BMI, stage, grade, overall survival (OS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) was analyzed., Results: The median age of the patients was 59.4 ± 11.9 years. Female patients had proportionally lower grade tumors than male patients (Grade I-II in 75.5% vs. 69.3% in women and men, respectively, P = 0.022). There was no relationship between Fuhrman grade and BMI when substratified by gender (p > 0.05). There was a nonsignificant trend toward more localized disease in female patients (p = 0.058). There was no relationship between T stage and BMI when stratified by gender (p > 0.05). Patients with higher BMI had significantly better OS (p = 0.0004 and P = 0.0003) and RFS (P = 0.0209 and P =0.0082) whether broken out by lower 33 rd or 25 th percentile. Male patients with higher BMI had significantly better OS and RFS rates. However, there was no relationship between BMI and OS or RFS for female patients (P > 0.05). Multivariate analysis of the entire cohort demonstrated that a BMI in the lower quartile independently predicts OS (hazard ratio 1.604 [95% confidence interval: 1.07-2.408], P = 0.022) but not RFS (P > 0.05). When stratified by gender, there was no relationship between BMI and either OS or RFS (P > 0.05)., Conclusions: Increasing BMI was associated with RCC prognosis. However, the clinical association between BMI and oncologic outcomes may be different between men and women., Competing Interests: None

Purpose: The RAZOR (Randomized Open versus Robotic Cystectomy) trial revealed noninferior 2-year progression-free survival for robotic radical cystectomy. This update was performed with extended followup for 3 years to determine potential differences between the approaches. We also report 3-year overall survival and sought to identify factors predicting recurrence, and progression-free and overall survival., Materials and Methods: We analyzed the per protocol population of 302 patients from the RAZOR study. Cumulative recurrence was estimated using nonbladder cancer death as the competing risk event and the Gray test was applied to assess significance in differences. Progression-free survival and overall survival were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the log rank test. Predictors of outcomes were determined by Cox proportional hazard analysis., Results: Estimated progression-free survival at 36 months was 68.4% (95% CI 60.1-75.3) and 65.4% (95% CI 56.8-72.7) in the robotic and open groups, respectively (p=0.600). At 36 months overall survival was 73.9% (95% CI 65.5-80.5) and 68.5% (95% CI 59.8-75.7) in the robotic and open groups, respectively (p=0.334). There was no significant difference in the cumulative incidence rates of recurrence (p=0.802). Patient age greater than 70 years, poor performance status and major complications were significant predictors of 36-month progression-free survival. Stage and positive margins were significant predictors of recurrence, and progression-free and overall survival. Surgical approach was not a significant predictor of any outcome., Conclusions: This analysis showed no difference in recurrence, 3-year progression-free survival or 3-year overall survival for robotic vs open radical cystectomy. It provides important prospective data on the oncologic efficacy of robotic radical cystectomy and high level data for patient counseling.

Purpose: We designed a prospective randomized, controlled pilot trial to investigate the effects of an enriched oral nutrition supplement on body composition and clinical outcomes following radical cystectomy., Materials and Methods: A total of 61 patients were randomized to an oral nutrition supplement or a multivitamin multimineral supplement twice daily during an 8-week perioperative period. Body composition was determined by analyzing abdominal computerized tomography images at the L3 vertebra. Sarcopenia was defined as a skeletal muscle index of less than 55 cm/m in males and less than 39 cm/m in females. The primary outcome was the difference in 30-day hospital free days. Secondary outcomes included hospital length of stay, complications, readmissions and mortality., Results: The oral nutrition supplement group lost less weight (-5 vs -6.5 kg, p = 0.04) compared to the multivitamin multimineral supplement group. The proportion of patients with sarcopenia did not change in the oral nutrition supplement group but increased 20% in the multivitamin multimineral supplement group (p = 0.01). Mean length of stay and 30-day hospital free days were similar in the groups. The oral nutrition supplement group had a lower rate of overall and major (Clavien grade 3 or greater) complications (48% vs 67% and 19% vs 25%, respectively) and a lower readmission rate (7% vs 17%) but the differences did not reach statistical significance., Conclusions: Patients who undergo radical cystectomy after consuming an oral nutrition supplement perioperatively have a reduced prevalence of sarcopenia and may also experience fewer and less severe complications and readmissions. A larger blinded, randomized, controlled trial is necessary to determine whether oral nutrition supplement interventions can improve outcomes following radical cystectomy.

Background: Radical cystectomy is the surgical standard for invasive bladder cancer. Robot-assisted cystectomy has been proposed to provide similar oncological outcomes with lower morbidity. We aimed to compare progression-free survival in patients with bladder cancer treated with open cystectomy and robot-assisted cystectomy., Methods: The RAZOR study is a randomised, open-label, non-inferiority, phase 3 trial done in 15 medical centres in the USA. Eligible participants (aged ≥18 years) had biopsy-proven clinical stage T1-T4, N0-N1, M0 bladder cancer or refractory carcinoma in situ. Individuals who had previously had open abdominal or pelvic surgery, or who had any pre-existing health conditions that would preclude safe initiation or maintenance of pneumoperitoneum were excluded. Patients were centrally assigned (1:1) via a web-based system, with block randomisation by institution, stratified by type of urinary diversion, clinical T stage, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, to receive robot-assisted radical cystectomy or open radical cystectomy with extracorporeal urinary diversion. Treatment allocation was only masked from pathologists. The primary endpoint was 2-year progression-free survival, with non-inferiority established if the lower bound of the one-sided 97·5% CI for the treatment difference (robotic cystectomy minus open cystectomy) was greater than -15 percentage points. The primary analysis was done in the per-protocol population. Safety was assessed in the same population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01157676., Findings: Between July 1, 2011, and Nov 18, 2014, 350 participants were randomly assigned to treatment. The intended treatment was robotic cystectomy in 176 patients and open cystectomy in 174 patients. 17 (10%) of 176 patients in the robotic cystectomy group did not have surgery and nine (5%) patients had a different surgery to that they were assigned. 21 (12%) of 174 patients in the open cystectomy group did not have surgery and one (1%) patient had robotic cystectomy instead of open cystectomy. Thus, 302 patients (150 in the robotic cystectomy group and 152 in the open cystectomy group) were included in the per-protocol analysis set. 2-year progression-free survival was 72·3% (95% CI 64·3 to 78·8) in the robotic cystectomy group and 71·6% (95% CI 63·6 to 78·2) in the open cystectomy group (difference 0·7%, 95% CI -9·6% to 10·9%; p non-inferiority =0·001), indicating non-inferiority of robotic cystectomy. Adverse events occurred in 101 (67%) of 150 patients in the robotic cystectomy group and 105 (69%) of 152 patients in the open cystectomy group. The most common adverse events were urinary tract infection (53 [35%] in the robotic cystectomy group vs 39 [26%] in the open cystectomy group) and postoperative ileus (33 [22%] in the robotic cystectomy group vs 31 [20%] in the open cystectomy group)., Interpretation: In patients with bladder cancer, robotic cystectomy was non-inferior to open cystectomy for 2-year progression-free survival. Increased adoption of robotic surgery in clinical practice should lead to future randomised trials to assess the true value of this surgical approach in patients with other cancer types., Funding: National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: We sought to determine whether bladder neck size is associated with incontinence scores after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy., Materials and Methods: Consecutive eligible patients undergoing robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy between July 19 and December 28, 2016 were enrolled in a prospective, longitudinal, observational cohort study. The primary outcome was patient reported urinary incontinence on the EPIC (Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite) scale 6 and 12 weeks postoperatively. The relationship between the EPIC score of urinary incontinence and bladder neck size was evaluated by multiple regression. Predicted EPIC scores for incontinence were displayed graphically after using restricted cubic splines to model bladder neck size., Results: A total of 107 patients were enrolled. The response rate was 98% and 87% at 6 and 12 weeks, respectively. Bladder neck size was not significantly associated with incontinence scores at 6 and 12 weeks. Comparing the 90th percentile for bladder neck size (18 mm) with the 10th percentile (7 mm) revealed no significant difference in adjusted EPIC scores for incontinence at 6 weeks (β coefficient 0.88, 95% CI -10.92-12.68, p = 0.88) or at 12 weeks (β coefficient 5.80, 95% CI -7.36-18.97, p = 0.39)., Conclusions: These findings question the merit of creating an extremely small bladder neck during robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. We contend that doing so increases the risk of positive margins at the bladder neck without facilitating early recovery of continence., (Copyright © 2017 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Health literacy is the ability to obtain, comprehend, and act on medical information and is an independent predictor of health outcomes in patients with chronic health conditions. However, little has been reported regarding the potential association of health literacy and surgical outcomes. We hypothesized that patient complications after radical cystectomy would be associated with health literacy. In a sample of 368 patients, we found that higher health literacy scores (as determined by the Brief Health Literacy Screen) were associated with decreased odds of developing minor complications (odds ratio = 0.90, 95% confidence interval [0.83, 0.97]). Health literacy should be considered when caring for patients undergoing radical cystectomy and should serve as a potential indicator of the need for additional resources to improve postoperative outcomes.

We previously found loss of forkhead box A1 (FOXA1) expression to be associated with aggressive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, as well as increased tumor proliferation and invasion. These initial findings were substantiated by The Cancer Genome Atlas, which identified FOXA1 mutations in a subset of bladder cancers. However, the prognostic significance of FOXA1 inactivation and the effect of FOXA1 loss on urothelial differentiation remain unknown. Application of a univariate analysis (log-rank) and a multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model revealed that loss of FOXA1 expression is an independent predictor of decreased overall survival. An ubiquitin Cre-driven system ablating Foxa1 expression in urothelium of adult mice resulted in sex-specific histologic alterations, with male mice developing urothelial hyperplasia and female mice developing keratinizing squamous metaplasia. Microarray analysis confirmed these findings and revealed a significant increase in cytokeratin 14 expression in the urothelium of the female Foxa1 knockout mouse and an increase in the expression of a number of genes normally associated with keratinocyte differentiation. IHC confirmed increased cytokeratin 14 expression in female bladders and additionally revealed enrichment of cytokeratin 14-positive basal cells in the hyperplastic urothelial mucosa in male Foxa1 knockout mice. Analysis of human tumor specimens confirmed a significant relationship between loss of FOXA1 and increased cytokeratin 14 expression., (Copyright © 2015 American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To determine whether statin use at time of surgery is associated with survival following nephrectomy or partial nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Statins are thought to exhibit a protective effect on cancer incidence and possibly cancer survival in a number of malignancies. To date, no studies have shown an independent association between statin use and mortality in RCC., Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 916 patients who underwent radical or partial nephrectomy for RCC from 2000 to 2010 at a single institution was performed. Primary outcomes were overall (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). Univariable survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier and the log-rank methods. Multivariable analysis was performed using a Cox proportional hazards model. The predictive discrimination of the models was assessed using the Harrell c-index., Results: The median follow-up of the entire cohort was 42.5 months. The 3-year OS estimate was 83.1% (95% CI: 77.6%-87.3%) for statin users and 77.3% (95% CI: 73.7%-80.6%) for nonstatin users (P = 0.53). The 3-year DSS was 90.9% (95% CI: 86.3%-94.0%) for statin users and 83.5% (95% CI: 80.1%-86.3%) for nonstatin users (P = 0.015). After controlling for age, American Society of Anesthesiology class, pT category, pN category, metastatic status, preoperative anemia and corrected hypercalcemia, and blood type, statin use at time of surgery was independently associated with improved OS (hazard ratio = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.43-0.90; P = 0.011) and DSS (hazard ratio = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.28-0.83; P = 0.009). The multivariable model for DSS had excellent predictive discrimination with a c-index of 0.91., Conclusions: These data suggest that statin usage at time of surgery is independently associated with improved OS and DSS in patients undergoing surgery for RCC., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: We determined the extent to which complications as well as number of hospital-free days within 30 and 90 days of surgery predicted health related quality of life 1 year after radical cystectomy., Materials and Methods: We used data from a prospective health related quality of life study using a validated instrument, the Vanderbilt Cystectomy Index-15. Complications were graded by the Clavien system, and hospital length of stay and length of stay during readmissions were used to calculate 30 and 90-day hospital-free days, respectively. We compared the number of hospital-free days among patients with varying levels of complications. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine predictors of Vanderbilt Cystectomy Index-15 score 1 year after surgery adjusting for demographic (age, gender, comorbidities) and clinical variables (stage and diversion type)., Results: A total of 100 patients with complete baseline and 1-year followup health related quality of life data were included in the analysis. Median (IQR) 30 and 90-day hospital-free days were 24 (22-25) and 84 (82-85), respectively. Patients who experienced any complications had significantly fewer 30-day hospital-free days (22 vs 24 days, p <0.01) and 90-day hospital-free days (81 vs 84 days, p <0.01), and patients with higher grade complications had fewer hospital-free days than those with lower grade or no complications (p <0.01). On multivariate analysis female gender and baseline Vanderbilt Cystectomy Index-15 score independently predicted higher 1-year health related quality of life scores., Conclusions: Patients who experience complications after radical cystectomy have fewer 30 and 90-day hospital-free days. However, neither predicts health related quality of life at 1 year. Instead, long-term health related quality of life appears to be driven largely by baseline health related quality of life and gender., (Copyright © 2014 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Initial orthograde root canal therapy (RCT) is used to treat dentoalveolar pathosis. The effect RCT has on pain intensity has been frequently reported, but the effect on other dimensions of pain has not. Also, the lack of large prospective studies involving diverse groups of patients and practitioners who are not involved in data collection suggest that there are multiple opportunities for bias to be introduced when these data are systematically aggregated., Methods: This prospective observational study assessed pain intensity, duration, and its interference with daily activities among RCT patients. Sixty-two practitioners (46 general dentists and 16 endodontists) in the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network enrolled patients requiring RCT. Patient-reported data were collected before, immediately after, and 1 week after treatment using the Graded Chronic Pain Scale., Results: The enrollment of 708 patients was completed over 6 months with 655 patients (93%) providing 1-week follow-up data. Before treatment, patients reported a mean (± standard deviation) worst pain intensity of 5.3 ± 3.8 (0-10 scale), 50% had "severe" pain (≥ 7), and mean days in pain and days pain interfered with activities were 3.6 ± 2.7 and 0.5 ± 1.2, respectively. After treatment, patients reported a mean worst pain intensity of 3.0 ± 3.2, 19% had "severe" pain, and mean days in pain and days with pain interference were 2.1 ± 2.4 and 0.4 ± 1.1, respectively. All changes were statistically significant (P < .0001)., Conclusions: RCT is an effective treatment for patients experiencing pain, significantly reducing pain intensity, duration, and related interference. Further research is needed to reduce the proportion of patients experiencing "severe" postoperative pain., (Copyright © 2014 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate predictors of understaging in patients with presumed non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) identified on transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT) who underwent radical cystectomy (RC) with attention to the role of a restaging TURBT., Patients and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 279 consecutive patients with clinically staged T1 (cT1) disease after TURBT who underwent RC at our institution from April 2000 to July 2011. In all, 60 of these cT1 patients had undergone a restaging TURBT before RC. The primary outcome measure was pathological staging of ≥T2 disease at the time of RC., Results: In all, 134 (48.0%) patients were understaged. Of the 60 patients who remained cT1 after a restaging TURBT, 28 (46.7%) were understaged. Solitary tumour (odds ratio [OR] 0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.25-0.76, P = 0.004) and fewer prior TURBTs (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.71-1.00, P = 0.05) were independent risk factors for understaging., Conclusions: Despite the overall improvement in staging accuracy linked to restaging TURBTs, the risk of clinical understaging remains high in restaged patients found to have persistent T1 urothelial carcinoma who undergo RC. Solitary tumour and fewer prior TURBTs are independent risk factors for being understaged. Incorporating these predictors into preoperative risk stratification may allow for augmented identification of those patients with clinical NMIBC who stand to benefit most from RC., (© 2013 The Authors. BJU International © 2013 BJU International.)

Objective: To compare biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survival and predictors of BCR in intermediate-risk (IR) and high-risk (HR) patients undergoing robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) vs open radical prostatectomy (ORP)., Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on 1336 men with D'Amico IR or HR prostate cancer who underwent RALP or ORP between 2003 and 2009. Exclusion criteria were use of neoadjuvant therapy, <6 months of follow-up, and insufficient clinicopathologic data. We compared demographic, clinical, and pathologic variables between groups. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to compare the 5-year BCR-free survival between groups. Multivariate models were developed to determine whether surgical approach influences BCR., Results: A total of 979 IR and HR patients (237 ORP and 742 RALP patients) met inclusion criteria. Median follow-up was shorter for RALP (43 vs 63 months; P<.001). ORP patients had a higher median prostate-specific antigen level (7.9 vs 6.7 ng/mL; P<.002), significantly more Gleason sum 8-10 tumors, and more adverse pathologic features overall. There was no difference in positive surgical margins between groups. Pathologic features including extraprostatic extension, seminal vesicle involvement, lymph node involvement, pathologic Gleason sum, and positive surgical margin were significant independent predictors of BCR in multivariate analysis. Surgical approach (RALP vs ORP) did not predict BCR when controlling for other known predictors of BCR., Conclusion: Among IR and HR prostate cancer patients, the oncologic outcomes are similar between RALP and ORP. Not surprisingly, adverse pathologic features are harbingers of BCR., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In many patients with prostate cancer, the cancer will be recurrent and eventually progress to lethal metastatic disease after primary treatment, such as surgery or radiation therapy. Therefore, it would be beneficial to better predict which patients with early-stage prostate cancer would progress or recur after primary definitive treatment. In addition, many studies indicate that activation of NF-κB signaling correlates with prostate cancer progression; however, the precise underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Our studies show that activation of NF-κB signaling via deletion of one allele of its inhibitor, IκBα, did not induce prostatic tumorigenesis in our mouse model. However, activation of NF-κB signaling did increase the rate of tumor progression in the Hi-Myc mouse prostate cancer model when compared with Hi-Myc alone. Using the nonmalignant NF-κB-activated androgen-depleted mouse prostate, a NF-κB-activated recurrence predictor 21 (NARP21) gene signature was generated. The NARP21 signature successfully predicted disease-specific survival and distant metastases-free survival in patients with prostate cancer. This transgenic mouse model-derived gene signature provides a useful and unique molecular profile for human prostate cancer prognosis, which could be used on a prostatic biopsy to predict indolent versus aggressive behavior of the cancer after surgery., (©2014 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Background: Differences in quality of care may contribute to racial variation in outcomes of bladder cancer (BCa). Quality indicators in patients undergoing surgery for BCa include the use of high-volume surgeons and high-volume hospitals, and, when clinically indicated, receipt of pelvic lymphadenectomy, receipt of continent urinary diversion, and undergoing radical cystectomy instead of partial cystectomy. The authors compared these quality indicators as well as adverse perioperative outcomes in black patients and white patients with BCa., Methods: The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases for New York, Florida, and Maryland (1996-2009) were used, because they consistently included race, surgeon, and hospital identifiers. Quality indicators were compared across racial groups using regression models adjusting for age, sex, Elixhauser comorbidity sum, insurance, state, and year of surgery, accounting for clustering within hospital., Results: Black patients were treated more often by lower volume surgeons and hospitals, they had significantly lower receipt of pelvic lymphadenectomy and continent diversion, and they experienced higher rates of adverse outcomes compared with white patients. These associations remained significant for black patients who received treatment from surgeons and at hospitals in the top volume decile., Conclusions: Black patients with BCa had lower use of experienced providers and institutions for BCa surgery. In addition, the quality of care for black patients was lower than that for whites even if they received treatment in a high-volume setting. This gap in quality of care requires further investigation., (© 2013 American Cancer Society.)

Objectives: Radical cystectomy (RC) is associated with significant blood loss and transfusion requirement. We performed a prospective, randomized trial to compare blood loss, operative time, and cost using 2 different and commonly employed approaches to tissue ligation and division during RC: mechanical (stapler device) and electrosurgical (heat-sealing device)., Methods and Materials: Eighty patients undergoing RC for urothelial bladder carcinoma were randomized to use of either an Endo GIA Stapler or Impact LigaSure device for tissue ligation and division. Primary outcomes were blood loss, operative time, and device costs. Data were analyzed with Wilcoxon rank sum test and Welch 2-sample t test., Results: There were no significant demographic or preoperative differences between the cohorts. Mean estimated blood loss was similar between the electrosurgical (687 ml) and stapler (708 ml) arms (P = 0.850). There were no significant differences between cohorts when comparing operative times or transfusion requirement. There was a significant increase in the mean number of adjunctive suture ligatures used in the stapling device arm (3.0 vs. 1.5, P = 0.047). Total device costs were significantly lower with the LigaSure compared with the GIA Stapler ($625.00 vs. $1490.10, P<0.001). There were no complications attributable to either device., Conclusions: This prospective, randomized study demonstrates no significant difference in blood loss, transfusion requirement, or safety between mechanical vs. electrosurgical control of the vascular pedicles. The LigaSure device, however, is significantly less costly than the GIA Stapler and required fewer additional measures for hemostasis., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The relationship between perioperative blood transfusion (PBT) and oncologic outcomes is controversial. In patients undergoing surgery for colon cancer and several other solid malignancies, PBT has been associated with an increased risk of mortality. Yet, the urologic literature has a paucity of data addressing this topic. We sought to evaluate whether PBT affects overall survival following radical cystectomy (RC) for patients with bladder cancer., Methods: The medical records of 777 consecutive patients undergoing RC for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder were reviewed. PBT was defined as transfusion of red blood cells during RC or within the postoperative hospitalization. The primary outcome was overall survival. Clinical and pathologic variables were compared using χ(2) tests, and Cox multivariate survival analyses were performed., Results: A total of 323 patients (41.6%) underwent PBT. In the univariate analysis, PBT was associated with increased overall mortality (HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.11-1.78). Additionally, an independent association was demonstrated in a non-transformed Cox regression model (HR, 95% CI 1.01-1.36) but not in a model utilizing restricted cubic splines (HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.77-1.38). The c-index was 0.78 for the first model and 0.79 for the second., Conclusions: In a traditional multivariate model, mirroring those that have been applied to this question in the general surgery literature, we demonstrated an association between PBT and overall mortality after RC. However, this relationship is not observed in a second statistical model. Given the complex nature of adequately controlling for confounding factors in studies of PBT, a prospective study will be necessary to fully elucidate the independent risks associated with PBT., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Salvage robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy is a treatment option for certain patients with recurrent prostate cancer after primary therapy. Data regarding patient selection, complication rates and cancer outcomes are scarce. We report the largest, single institution series to date, to our knowledge, of salvage robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy., Materials and Methods: We reviewed our database of 4,234 patients treated with robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy at Vanderbilt University and identified 34 men who had surgery after the failure of prior definitive ablative therapy. Each patient had biopsy proven recurrent prostate cancer and no evidence of metastases. The primary outcome measure was biochemical failure., Results: Median time from primary therapy to salvage robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy was 48.5 months with a median preoperative prostate specific antigen of 3.86 ng/ml. Most patients had Gleason scores of 7 or greater on preoperative biopsy, although 12 (35%) had Gleason 8 or greater disease. After a median followup of 16 months 18% of patients had biochemical failure. The positive margin rate was 26%, of which 33% had biochemical failure after surgery. On univariable analysis there was a significant association between prostate specific antigen doubling time and biochemical failure (HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.60-0.99, p = 0.049) as well as between Gleason score at original diagnosis and biochemical failure (HR 3.49, 95% CI 1.18-10.3, p = 0.023). There were 2 Clavien II-III complications, namely a pulmonary embolism and a rectal laceration. Postoperatively 39% of patients had excellent continence., Conclusions: Salvage robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy is safe, with many favorable outcomes compared to open salvage radical prostatectomy series. Advantages include superior visualization of the posterior prostatic plane, modest blood loss, low complication rates and short length of stay., (Copyright © 2013 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Robot-assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy has been increasingly used to decrease the morbidity of radical cystectomy. However, whether it truly lowers the complication rate compared to open radical cystectomy is not well established. We examined the benign ureteroenteric anastomotic stricture rates of open and robot-assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy., Materials and Methods: In the 478 consecutive patients who underwent radical cystectomy at our institution from December 2007 to December 2011 we examined the proportion diagnosed with benign ureteroenteric anastomotic stricture. Clinicopathological variables were compared by treatment group. Cox multivariable analysis was performed to determine which patient or disease specific factors were independently associated with stricture diagnosis., Results: A total of 375 patients (78.5%) underwent open radical cystectomy and 103 (21.5%) underwent robot-assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy. Of the patients 45 (9.4%) were diagnosed with ureteroenteric anastomotic stricture a median of 5.3 months postoperatively. There was no difference in the stricture rate between the open and robot-assisted groups (8.5% vs 12.6%, p = 0.21). On adjusted Cox proportional hazards analysis no patient variable was independently associated with stricture diagnosis, including operative approach., Conclusions: Of the patients 9.4% were diagnosed with benign ureteroenteric anastomotic stricture after radical cystectomy with no significant difference in the risk of diagnosis by surgical approach. No patient or disease specific factor was independently associated with an increased risk of stricture diagnosis. Ureteroenteric anastomotic stricture is likely related to surgical technique. Continued efforts are needed to refine the technique of open and robot-assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy to minimize the occurrence of this critical complication., (Copyright © 2013 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Hospital volume and surgeon volume are each associated with outcomes after complex oncological surgery. However, the interplay between hospital and surgeon volume, and their impact on these outcomes has not been well characterized. We studied the relationship between surgeon and hospital volume, and overall mortality after radical cystectomy., Materials and Methods: The SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results)-Medicare linked database was used to identify 7,127 patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder who underwent radical cystectomy from 1992 to 2006. Hospital volume and surgeon volume were expressed by tertile. The primary outcome measure was overall survival. Covariates included age, Charlson comorbidity index, stage, grade, node count, node density, number of positive nodes, urinary diversion and year of surgery. Multivariate analyses using generalized linear multilevel models were used to determine the independent association between hospital and surgeon volume and survival., Results: When hospital volume or surgeon volume was included in the multivariate model, a significant volume-survival relationship was observed for each. However, when both were in the model, hospital volume attenuated the impact of surgeon volume on mortality while the significant hospital volume-mortality relationship persisted (HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.08-1.30, p <0.01). In addition, the adjusted 3-year probability of survival was significantly correlated with hospital volume in each distinct surgeon volume stratum while survival was not correlated with surgeon volume in each hospital volume stratum., Conclusions: After adjustment for patient and disease characteristics, the relationship between surgeon volume and survival after radical cystectomy is accounted for by hospital volume. In contrast, hospital volume remained an independent predictor of survival, suggesting that structure and process characteristics of high volume hospitals drive long-term outcomes after radical cystectomy., (Copyright © 2012 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Difference in the quality of care may contribute to the less optimal prostate cancer treatment outcomes among black men compared with white men. We determined whether a racial quality of care gap exists in surgical care for prostate cancer, as evidenced by racial variation in the use of high volume surgeons and facilities, and in the quality of certain outcome measures of care., Materials and Methods: We performed cross-sectional and cohort analyses of administrative data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project all-payer State Inpatient Databases, encompassing all nonfederal hospitals in Florida, Maryland and New York State from 1996 to 2007. Included in analysis were men 18 years old or older with a diagnosis of prostate cancer who underwent radical prostatectomy. We compared the use of surgeons and/or hospitals in the top quartile of annual volume for this procedure, inpatient blood transfusion, complications, mortality and length of stay between black and white patients., Results: Of 105,972 patients 81,112 (76.5%) were white, 14,006 (13.2%) were black, 6,999 (6.6%) were Hispanic and 3,855 (3.6%) were all other. In mixed effects multivariate models, black men had markedly lower use of high volume hospitals (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.70-0.76) and surgeons (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.64-0.70) compared to white men. Black men also had higher odds of blood transfusion (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.01-1.14), longer length of stay (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.06-1.07) and inpatient mortality (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.02-2.92)., Conclusions: Using an all-payer data set, we identified concerning potential quality of care gaps between black and white men undergoing radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer., (Copyright © 2012 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)