Survival Effect of Chemotherapy in Metastatic Upper Urinary Tract Urothelial Carcinoma

Recent trends in incidence, mortality, survival, and treatment of upper tract urothelial carcinoma

BACKGROUND

To examine the recent trends in incidence, incidence-based mortality, survival, and treatment of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) from 2004 to 2019 and investigate whether patients would benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.

METHODS

Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, we identified 18,422 patients diagnosed with UTUC from 2004 to 2019. Joinpoint regression analyses were used to test the trends in annual percentage change (APC) for statistical significance.

RESULTS

From 2004 to 2019, the incidence of all UTUC decreased from 1.46 to 1.27 per 100,000 person-years [APC: -1.11, P<0.001]. In subgroup analysis, the incidence decreased for localized, regional and stage I-II, but increased for distant. Over the study period, changes in trend for 5-year cancer specific survival [APC: -0.21, P=0.676] and 5-year overall survival [APC: 0.18, P=0.751] of all UTUC were not significant. The 5-year cancer specific survival and 5-year overall survival for regional and stage III cancer improved significantly from 2004 to 2014. Since 2004, rates of treatment with nephroureterectomy combined with chemotherapy increased significantly [APC: 7.38, P<0.001], while rates of treatment with nephroureterectomy alone decreased significantly [APC: -1.89, P<0.001].

CONCLUSION

The overall incidence of UTUC is reduced, with a significant reduction in the incidence of early stage UTUC but an increase in the incidence of late stage UTUC. No significant change in IBM was observed over the study period. No significant improvement in survival for early stage UTUC. Significant improvements in regional and stage III survival were observed with active adjuvant chemotherapy. There is also an excess of combination therapy.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

8.

Prognostic Significance of Organ-Specific Metastases in Patients with Metastatic Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma

Background: Existing data on metastatic upper tract urothelial carcinoma (mUTUC) are limited. In this study, we investigated the prognostic value of site-specific metastases in patients with mUTUC and its association with survival outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively collected data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database between 2004 and 2016. Kaplan−Meier analysis with a log-rank test was used for survival comparisons. Multivariate Cox regression was employed to predict overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). Results: 633 patients were selected in this study cohort. The median follow-up was 6 months (IQR 2−13) and a total of 584 (92.3%) deaths were recorded. Within the population presenting with a single metastatic organ site, the most common metastatic sites were distant lymph nodes, accounting for 36%, followed by lung, bone and liver metastases, accounting for 26%, 22.8% and 16.2%, respectively. In patients with a single metastatic organ site, the Kaplan−Meier curves showed significantly worse OS for patients with liver metastases vs. patients presenting with metastases in a distant lymph node (p < 0.001), bone (p = 0.023) or lung (p = 0.026). When analyzing CSS, statistically significant differences were detectable only between patients presenting with liver metastases vs. distant lymph node metastases (p < 0.001). Multivariate analyses showed that the presence of liver (OS: HR = 1.732, 95% CI = 1.234−2.430, p < 0.001; CSS: HR = 1.531, 95% CI = 1.062−2.207, p = 0.022) or multiple metastatic organ sites (OS: HR = 1.425, 95% CI = 1.159−1.753, p < 0.001; CSS: HR = 1.417, 95% CI = 1.141−1.760, p = 0.002) was an independent predictor of poor survival. Additionally, survival benefits were found in patients undergoing radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) (OS: HR = 0.675, 95% CI = 0.514−0.886, p = 0.005; CSS: HR = 0.671, 95% CI = 0.505−0.891, p = 0.006) and chemotherapy (CHT) (OS: HR = 0.405, 95% CI = 0.313−0.523, p < 0.001; CSS: HR = 0.435, 95% CI = 0.333−0.570, p < 0.001). Conclusions: A distant lymph node was the most common site of single-organ metastases for mUTUC. Patients with liver metastases and patients with multiple organ metastases exhibited worse survival outcomes. Lastly, CHT administration and RNU were revealed to be predictors of better survival outcomes in the mUTUC cohort.

Urinary Tract Tumor Organoids Reveal Eminent Differences in Drug Sensitivities When Compared to 2-Dimensional Culture Systems

Generation of organoids from urinary tract tumor samples was pioneered a few years ago. We generated organoids from two upper tract urothelial carcinomas and from one bladder cancer sample, and confirmed the expression of cytokeratins as urothelial antigens, vimentin as a mesenchymal marker, and fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 by immunohistochemistry. We investigated the dose response curves of two novel components, venetoclax versus S63845, in comparison to the clinical standard cisplatin in organoids in comparison to the corresponding two-dimensional cultures. Normal urothelial cells and tumor lines RT4 and HT1197 served as controls. We report that upper tract urothelial carcinoma cells and bladder cancer cells in two-dimensional cultures yielded clearly different sensitivities towards venetoclax, S63845, and cisplatin. Two-dimensional cultures were more sensitive at low drug concentrations, while organoids yielded higher drug efficacies at higher doses. In some two-dimensional cell viability experiments, colorimetric assays yielded different IC₅₀ toxicity levels when compared to chemiluminescence assays. Organoids exhibited distinct sensitivities towards cisplatin and to a somewhat lesser extent towards venetoclax or S63845, respectively, and significantly different sensitivities towards the three drugs investigated when compared to the corresponding two-dimensional cultures. We conclude that organoids maintained inter-individual sensitivities towards venetoclax, S63845, and cisplatin. The preclinical models and test systems employed may bias the results of cytotoxicity studies.

Prognostic Value of Site-Specific Metastases and Therapeutic Roles of Surgery and Chemotherapy for Patients With Metastatic Renal Pelvis Cancer: A SEER Based Study

Background and Aims:

There is a lack of research on metastatic renal pelvis cell carcinoma in the current literature. In this study, we aimed to detect distant metastatic patterns in renal pelvis cell carcinoma, and illustrated the affection of different metastatic sites, surgery to primary site and chemotherapy on prognosis outcomes in patients with diverse conditions.

Methods:

We collected data between 2010 and 2015 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database. Kaplan–Meier analysis with log-rank test was used for survival comparisons. Multivariate Cox regression model was employed to analyze the effect of distant metastatic sites on overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS).

Results:

A total of 424 patients were included in the analysis, the median follow-up time was 5 months (interquartile range (IQR): 2-12) and 391 deaths (92.2%) in all patients were recorded. Among them, 192 (45.3%), 153 (36.1%), 137 (32.3%) and 127 (30.0%) patients were diagnosed with lung, bone, liver and brain metastases, respectively, while only 12 (2.8%) patients had brain metastases. The bi-organ, tri-organ and tetra-organ metastatic pattern was found in 135 (31.8%), 32 (7.5%) and 11 (2.6%) patients, respectively. The multivariate Cox analyses showed that distant lymph nodes (DL) metastases was not an independent prognostic factor for both OS and CSS (OS: Hazard ratios (HR) = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.8-1.4, P = 0.622; CSS: HR = 1.0, 95% CI = 0.8-1.3, P = 0.906). Besides, there was no significant difference of survival in patients with T3-T4 stage (OS: HR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.5–1.2, P = 0.296; CSS: HR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.5–1.2, P = 0.224), N2-3 stage (OS: HR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.5–1.3, P = 0.351; CSS: HR = 0.7, 95% CI = 0.4–1.2, P = 0.259) and multi-organ metastases (OS: HR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.5–1.3, P = 0.359; CSS: HR = 0.7, 95% CI = 0.4–1.2, P = 0.179) between surgery to primary site group and no-surgery to primary site group.

Conclusion:

we described the metastatic patterns of mRPCC and the prognosis outcomes of DL metastases, surgery to primary site and chemotherapy. Our findings provide more information for clinical therapeutic intervention and translational study designs.

Incidence and Survival Rates of Contemporary Patients with Invasive Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Contemporary incidence and mortality rates of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) are unavailable.

OBJECTIVE

To describe contemporary UTUC incidence and mortality rates in the USA.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database (2004-2016), we identified 13 075 UTUC patients. Of all, 9208 (70.4%) harbored nonmetastatic UTUC and were treated with radical nephroureterectomy versus 1174 (9.0%) who harbored metastatic UTUC.

OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Age-standardized incidence rates per 100 000 person years were calculated. Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariable Cox regression models addressed cancer-specific and overall mortality.

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS

Overall UTUC age-standardized incidence rates decreased from 1.3 to 1.1 cases per 100 000 person years (average annual percentage change: -1.32%, p = 0.002). Moreover, age-standardized incidence rates decreased for T_1-2N₀M₀ (average annual percentage change: -2.77%, p < 0.001) but increased for T_1-4N_0-2M₁ stage (average annual percentage change: +2.87%, p < 0.01). In nonmetastatic UTUC treated with radical nephroureterectomy, stage, grade, age, and sex (p < 0.001) were independent predictors in multivariable Cox regression models focusing on cancer-specific mortality. In metastatic UTUC, chemotherapy administration, radical nephroureterectomy treatment, and ureteral primary were independent predictors of lower overall mortality in multivariable Cox regression models.

CONCLUSIONS

Although overall incidence of UTUC decreased, the incidence of metastatic UTUC increased over the study period. The majority of nonmetastatic UTUC harbored T₁N₀M₀ stage. However, T₃N₀M₀, T₄N₀M₀, and T_1-4N_1-2M₀ stages, respectively, affected 28.9%, 4.6%, and 10.0% of all incident cases. In metastatic UTUC, both chemotherapy and radical nephroureterectomy use exerted an important protective effect on overall mortality, and ureteral primaries exhibited more favorable survival.

PATIENT SUMMARY

From 2004 to 2016, the incidence of upper tract urothelial carcinoma decreased in the USA. However, more advanced stages are on the rise.