Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:There is no consensus on the optimal approach for salvage local therapy in radiation-resistant/recurrent prostate cancer (RRPC). OBJECTIVE:To investigate oncological and functional outcomes for men treated with salvage whole-gland cryoablation (SWGC) of the prostate for RRPC. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS/METHODS:We retrospectively reviewed our prospectively collected cryosurgery database between January 2002 and September 2019 for men who were treated with SWGC of the prostate at a tertiary referral center. INTERVENTION/METHODS:SWGC of the prostate. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS/METHODS:The primary outcome was biochemical recurrence-free survival (BRFS) according to the Phoenix criterion. Secondary outcomes included metastasis-free survival, cancer-specific survival, and adverse events. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS/CONCLUSIONS:A total of 110 men with biopsy-proven RRPC were included in the study. Median follow-up for patients without biochemical recurrence (BCR) after SWGC was 71 mo (interquartile range [IQR] 42.3-116). BRFS was 81% at 2 yr and 71% at 5 yr. A higher prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir after SWGC was associated with worse BRFS. The median International Index of Erectile Function-5 score was 5 (IQR 1-15.5) before SWGC and 1 (IQR 1-4) after SWGC. Stress urinary incontinence, strictly defined as the use of any pads after treatment, was 5% at 3 mo and 9% at 12 mo. Clavien-Dindo grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in three patients (2.7%). CONCLUSIONS:In patients with localized RPPC, SWGC achieved excellent oncological outcomes with a low rate of urinary incontinence, and represents an alternative to salvage radical prostatectomy. Patients with fewer positive cores and lower PSA tended to have better oncological outcomes following SWGC. PATIENT SUMMARY/RESULTS:For men with prostate cancer that persists after radiotherapy, a freezing treatment applied to the whole prostate gland can achieve excellent cancer control. Patients who did not have elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) at 6 years after this treatment appeared to be cured.

BACKGROUND:This study reports the oncological and functional outcomes in men with localized prostate cancer (Pca) who were treated with primary whole gland cryoablation (WGC) of the prostate. METHODS:The authors retrospectively reviewed their prospectively collected cryosurgery database between January 2002 and September 2019 for men who were treated with WGC of the prostate at a tertiary referral center. Primary outcome includes biochemical recurrence-free survival (BRFS). Secondary outcomes include failure-free survival (FFS), metastasis-free survival (MFS) and adverse events. RESULTS:A total of 260 men were included in the study. Men having had prior treatment for Pca were excluded. Median follow-up was 107 months (interquartile range [IQR], 68.3-132.5 months). BRFS, FFS, and MFS at 10 years were 84%, 66%, and 96%, respectively. High risk D'Amico classification was associated with a lower BRFS and FFS on multivariable analysis. No patient had any Pca-related death during follow-up. American Urological Association symptoms score and bother index were unchanged following cryoablation. Median International Index of Erectile Function score precryoablation and post-cryoablation was 7 (IQR, 3-11) and 1 (IQR, 1-5), respectively. Stress urinary incontinence, defined as requiring any protective pads only occurred in five patients (2%). No patient developed a fistula. Grade > 2 Clavien-Dindo adverse events occurred in six (2.3%) patients. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:WGC of the prostate can achieve excellent oncological and functional outcomes in men with localized Pca at the 10-year mark. Primary WGC may be a good option for men who desire to preserve urinary continence and have an excellent oncologic outcome. LAY SUMMARY/BACKGROUND:Primary whole gland cryoablation is an alternative treatment option to radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy for men with organ-confined prostate cancer. Patients had excellent cancer outcomes 1 years after whole gland cryoablation, and patients with PSA nadir 0.1 ng/ml or lower after treatment were less likely to have disease recurrence.

INTRODUCTION: High grade, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is usually treated with intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin. Chemohyperthermia therapy (CHT) may be a novel alternative therapy for the treatment of NMIBC.
OBJECTIVE(S): To evaluate the recurrence-free survival (RFS) of patients treated with CHT using the Combat bladder recirculation system (BRS) for NMIBC.
METHOD(S): This was a prospective multi-institutional study of 1,028 consecutive patients with NMIBC undergoing CHT between 2012 and 2020. A total of 835 patients were treated with CHT with Mitomycin C (MMC). Disease was confirmed on transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) prior to starting CHT. Follow-up included cystoscopy and subsequent TURBT if recurrence/progression was suspected. The primary endpoint was RFS. Secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and adverse events from CHT. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Median follow up was 22.4 months (Interquartile range (IQR): 12.8 -35.8). Median age was 70.4 years (IQR: 62.1 -78.6). A total of 557 (66.7%), 172 (20.6) and 74 (8.9%) of patients were classified to BCG naive, BCG unresponsive and BCG failure, respectively. The RFS at 12 months and 24 months for BCG naive was 87.6% (95% CI 85.0% - 90.4%) and 75.0% (95% CI 71.3% - 78.8%), respectively. The RFS at 12 months and 24 months for BCG unresponsive cohort was 78.1% (95% CI 72.0% - 84.7%) and 57.4% (95% CI 49.7% - 66.3%), respectively. The RFS at 24 months for the BCG unresponsive cohort for CIS with/without papillary disease and papillary only disease were 43.6% (95% CI 31.4% -60.4%) and 64.5% (95% CI 55.4% - 75.1%), respectively. Minor adverse events occurred in 216 (25.6%) patients and severe events occurred in 17 (2.0%) patients.
CONCLUSION(S): CHT with MMC using the Combat BRS is effective in the medium term and has a favorable adverse event profile.
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Purpose/UNASSIGNED:The COVID-19 pandemic has led to competing strains on hospital resources and healthcare personnel. Patients with newly diagnosed invasive urothelial carcinomas of bladder (UCB) upper tract (UTUC) may experience delays to definitive radical cystectomy (RC) or radical nephro-ureterectomy (RNU) respectively. We evaluate the impact of delaying definitive surgery on survival outcomes for invasive UCB and UTUC. Methods/UNASSIGNED:We searched for all studies investigating delayed urologic cancer surgery in Medline and Embase up to June 2020. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. Results/UNASSIGNED: = 0.001). Limitations included between-study heterogeneity, particularly in the definitions of delay cut-off periods between diagnosis to surgery. Conclusions/UNASSIGNED:A delay from diagnosis of UCB or UTUC to definitive RC or RNU was associated with poorer survival outcomes. This was not the case for patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation or deferment of many elective cancer surgeries. We performed a systematic review on the oncological effects of delayed surgery for patients with localised or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the targeted therapy (TT) era. METHOD/METHODS:The protocol of this review is registered on PROSPERO(CRD42020190882). A comprehensive literature search was performed on Medline, Embase and Cochrane CENTRAL using MeSH terms and keywords for randomised controlled trials and observational studies on the topic. Risks of biases were assessed using the Cochrane RoB tool and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. For localised RCC, immediate surgery [including partial nephrectomy (PN) and radical nephrectomy (RN)] and delayed surgery [including active surveillance (AS) and delayed intervention (DI)] were compared. For metastatic RCC, upfront versus deferred cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) were compared. RESULTS:Eleven studies were included for quantitative analysis. Delayed surgery was significantly associated with worse cancer-specific survival (HR 1.67, 95% CI 1.23-2.27, p < 0.01) in T1a RCC, but no significant difference was noted for overall survival. For localised ≥ T1b RCC, there were insufficient data for meta-analysis and the results from the individual reports were contradictory. For metastatic RCC, upfront TT followed by deferred CN was associated with better overall survival when compared to upfront CN followed by deferred TT (HR 0.61, 95% CI 0.43-0.86, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Noting potential selection bias, there is insufficient evidence to support the notion that delayed surgery is safe in localised RCC. For metastatic RCC, upfront TT followed by deferred CN should be considered.

BACKGROUND:With the advancement of imaging technology, focal therapy (FT) has been gaining acceptance for the treatment of select patients with localized prostate cancer (CaP). We aim to provide details of a formal physician consensus on the utilization of FT for patients with CaP who are discontinuing active surveillance (AS). METHODS:A 3-stage Delphi consensus on CaP and FT was conducted. Consensus was defined as agreement by ≥80% of physicians. An in-person meeting was attended by 17 panelists to formulate the consensus statement. RESULTS:Fifty-six respondents participated in this interdisciplinary consensus study (82% urologist, 16% radiologist, 2% radiation oncology). The participants confirmed that there is a role for FT in men discontinuing AS (48% strongly agree, 39% agree). The benefit of FT over radical therapy for men coming off AS is: less invasive (91%), has a greater likelihood to preserve erectile function (91%), has a greater likelihood to preserve urinary continence (91%), has fewer side effects (86%), and has early recovery post-treatment (80%). Patients will need to undergo mpMRI of the prostate and/or a saturation biopsy to determine if they are potential candidates for FT. Our limitations include respondent's biases and that the participants of this consensus may not represent the larger medical community. CONCLUSIONS:FT can be offered to men coming off AS between the age of 60 to 80 with grade group 2 localized cancer. This consensus from a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, international expert panel provides a contemporary insight utilizing FT for CaP in select patients who are discontinuing AS.