Perioperative chemotherapy for urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Design and rationale of a single-arm phase II study of neoadjuvant Durvalumab and Gemcitabine associated with Cisplatin or Carboplatin for upper urinary tract urothelial cancer: the iNDUCT trial (NCT04617756)

BACKGROUND

Upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is often locally advanced at initial diagnosis and is associated with high recurrence and mortality rates after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). Adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy has shown a recurrence-free survival benefit in a randomised phase III trial, while neoadjuvant treatment seems promising in retrospective series. On the contrary, little is known about the role of perioperative immunotherapy and its combination with chemotherapy for UTUC patients, although initial positive results have been published for muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

STUDY DESIGN AND ENDPOINTS

Against this backdrop, we are running a multi-centre single-arm phase 2 trial of neoadjuvant Durvalumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting programmed cell death ligand 1, combined with Gemcitabine and Cisplatin or Carboplatin for high-risk UTUC patients. The primary outcome is pathological complete response rate at RNU. Secondary endpoints include the partial pathological response rate, safety, as well as disease-free and overall survival. A biomarker analysis is also planned.

PATIENTS AND INTERVENTIONS

Included patients must have a good performance status and harbour a non-metastatic UTUC, considered at high risk of progression, defined as either biopsy-proven high-grade disease or invasive features at imaging with or, more recently, without high-grade cytology at the multidisciplinary team discretion, as specified in the latest amendment. Enrolled patients receive 3 cycles of neoadjuvant immuno-chemotherapy before RNU, and the standard of care thereafter. The trial is registered as NCT04617756 and is supervised by an independent data monitoring committee.

Risk factors for extraurothelial recurrence in upper tract urothelial carcinoma after radical nephroureterectomy: a retrospective study based on a Chinese population

Objectives

The risk factors for extraurothelial recurrence (EUR) after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) in patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) are currently inconsistent and unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify these risk factors and develop a grading system for EUR.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 220 patients who underwent RNU for UTUC in our center from January 2009 to December 2020. Overall survival (OS) and extraurothelial recurrence-free survival (EURFS) were compared using the Kaplan-Meier curve with a log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were applied to identify the independent risk factors related to EUR.

Results

The median follow-up period was 42 (range: 2-143) months. Of the 220 patients, 61 patients developed EUR in our cohort, which had worse survival outcome. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed pathologic stage, lymph node (LN) status, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), Ki-67, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were independent risk factors for EUR. The Kaplan-Meier curves revealed a significant difference in EUR among the three risk groups.

Conclusion

Our study suggests that pathologic stage, LN status, LVI, Ki-67, NLR, and PLR are independent risk factors for EUR in UTUC patients after RNU. The development of a grading system for EUR risk stratification may assist urologists in making clinical decisions regarding the management of UTUC.

Adjuvant Radiotherapy for Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

PURPOSE

Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is a rare form of malignancy comprising only 5% of urothelial cancers. The mainstay of treatment is radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) with bladder cuff excision. Neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy is often used in locally advanced disease. The role of adjuvant radiotherapy (RT), however, remains controversial. To further explore the potential role of adjuvant RT, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature from 1990 to present.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

We identified 810 candidate articles from database searches, of which 67 studies underwent full-text review, with final inclusion of 20 eligible studies. Among the included studies, there were no randomized controlled trials and a single prospective trial, with the remainder being retrospective series. We performed quantitative synthesis of the results by calculating the pooled odds ratios (OR) for the primary outcome of locoregional recurrence (LRR) and secondary outcomes of overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and distant recurrence (DR).

RESULTS

Adjuvant RT, which was mostly prescribed for locally advanced or margin-positive disease following RNU, significantly reduced locoregional recurrence risk OR 0.43 (95% CI: 0.23-0.70), and the effect remained significant even following subgroup analysis to account for adjuvant systemic therapy. The effect of adjuvant RT on 3-year OS, 5-year CSS and DR was non-significant. However, 5-year OS was unfavourable in the adjuvant RT arm, but study heterogeneity was high, and analysis of small-study effects and subgroups suggested bias in reporting of outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Adjuvant RT in the setting of locally advanced UTUC improves locoregional control following definitive surgery, but does not appear to improve OS. Higher-quality studies, ideally randomized controlled trials, are needed to further quantify its benefit in this setting, and to explore multi-modal treatments that include systemic agents given concomitantly or sequentially with RT, which may offer an OS benefit in addition to the locoregional control benefit of RT.

Clinical features and prognostic indicators in upper-tract urothelial carcinoma with bone metastasis

Purpose

With the gradual increase in the incidence of upper-tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), its metastatic disease has attracted much attention. The prognosis of UTUC patients with bone metastasis is worse than that of UTUC patients with other metastases. Therefore, the current study is performed to analyze the clinicopathologic features and survival predictors among UTUC patients with bone metastasis.

Patients and methods

We reviewed the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to select cases diagnosed with UTUC and bone metastasis at present from 2010 to 2016. Overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were first performed by applying univariate Cox regression analysis. Then we performed multivariate Cox analysis to determine independent predictors of survival. Forest plots were drawn by GraphPad 8.0.1 and used to visually display the results of multivariate analysis. Kaplan-Meier method was applied to intuitively show the prognosis difference of each independent risk factor.

Results

We finally identified 380 UTUC patients with bone metastasis for survival analysis, of which 230 males (60.5%) and 150 females (39.5%). The mean and median age at diagnosis were 71 and 72 years, respectively. Simultaneous lung metastasis (33.4%) and liver metastasis (31.1%) were more common in UTUC patients with bone metastasis. The 1-year OS and CSS rates of this research population were 23.8% and 26.6%, respectively. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards modeling controlling for surgery, chemotherapy, brain metastasis, liver metastasis, lung metastasis, and marital status, revealed that surgery, chemotherapy, no liver metastasis, no lung metastasis, and married status predicted for better OS and CSS.

Conclusion

Surgery and chemotherapy are optimal management of UTUC patients with bone metastasis. Active treatments on lung and liver metastases should be performed. The prognosis of patients with unmarried status or others should be further improved.

Intravesical recurrence factors and outcome after radical nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma: Multivariate analysis with propensity score matching

Objective

The risk factors for intravesical recurrence (IVR) after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) remain inconsistent and unclear. Thus, the risk factors of IVR after RNU and the prognostic significance of the risk indicators were explored herein.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed UTUC patients upon RNU in our center from January 2009 to December 2019. After propensity score matching, 139 patients were included in this study. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regressions were used to estimate the hazard ratio and 95% confidence intervals. Overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were measured using the Kaplan–Meier curve with a log-rank test. A P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

We included 139 patients with a median follow-up of 42 months, of which 48 patients had an intravesical recurrence. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed cytological abnormalities in urine (HR=3.101, P=0.002), hydronephrosis (HR=1.852, P=0.042), adjuvant chemotherapy (HR=0.242, P<0.001), and previous history of bladder cancer (HR=5.51, P<0.001) were independent risk factors for IVR. As for clinical outcomes, OS and CSS suggested disadvantages in patients with IVR compared with patients without recurrence (P=0.042 for OS, P<0.0001 for CSS), OS of patients with abnormal urine cytology and OS and CSS of patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy did not present clinical significance, and other risk factors all affected the clinical outcome.

Conclusion

In this propensity-score matching study, cytological abnormality of urine, hydronephrosis, adjuvant chemotherapy and previous history of bladder cancer were shown to be independent risk factors for IVR. Moreover, risk factors also influence clinical outcomes, thereby rendering it necessary to adopt more active postoperative surveillance and treatment strategies for these patients, which may help improve treatment outcomes.

Platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma: a change of paradigm? A meta-analysis of aggregate data

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the role of platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) in upper tract urothelial carcinoma. Eligible studies were identified using Pubmed/Medline, Cochrane library, Embase and meeting abstracts. Outcomes of interest included: overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Platinum-based AC was associated with improved DFS, while the benefit in OS and CSS was not statistically significant compared to observation. Conversely, platinum-based AC showed a modest OS benefit in an analysis combing multivariable HRs with estimated HRs from Kaplan-Meier curves. Our results suggest that platinum-based AC is associated with improved DFS and a modest OS benefit in patients with locally advanced urothelial carcinomas.

Evaluation of Pre-operative Biopsy, Surgical Procedures and Oncologic Outcomes in Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma (UTUC)

Purpose: Discordance between pre-operative biopsy and final pathology for Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma (UTUC) is high and optimal management remains controversial. The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of pre-operative biopsy, to identify prognostic factors and to evaluate the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy on survival and oncologic outcome in UTUC. Methods: We analyzed records of patients receiving surgical treatment for UTUC. Pathology of pre-operative biopsy was compared to surgical specimen. We used Kaplan-Meier method to estimate survival probabilities and Cox's proportional hazards models to estimate the association between covariates and event times. Primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). A matched-pair analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy. Results: 151 patients underwent surgical treatment (28% open, 36% laparoscopic, 17% robotic radical nephroureterectomy; 14% segmental ureteral resections and 5% palliative nephrectomy) for UTUC and were included in the analysis. Upstaging from <pT1 in endoscopic biopsy to ≥pT1 in final pathology occurred in 61% of patients and upgrading from low-grade to high-grade occurred in 30% of patients. Five-year OS was 59.5%. In the univariate Cox-regression model pathological stage, grade, lymphovascular invasion and positive surgical margins were associated with OS. Matched pair analysis for stage (<pT3; ≥pT3; pN+) and age revealed a significant survival benefit for adjuvant chemotherapy (HR 0.40, 0.14-0.77, p < 0.018) in this cohort. Conclusion: UTUC is often underestimated in pre-operative biopsy, and it is associated with significant mortality. Pathological stage and grade, lymphovascular invasion and lymph node metastases are predictors of oncologic outcome and survival.

The nephroureterectomy: a review of technique and current controversies

The nephroureterectomy (NU) is the standard of care for invasive upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) and has been around for well over one hundred years. Since then new operative techniques have emerged, new technologies have developed, and the surgery continues to evolve and grow. In this article, we review the various surgical techniques, as well as present the literature surrounding current areas of debate surrounding the NU, including the lymphatic drainage of the upper urinary tract, management of UTUC involvement with the adrenals and caval thrombi, surgical management of the distal ureter, the use of intravesical chemotherapy as well as perioperative systemic chemotherapy, as well as various outcome measures. Although much has been studied about the NU, there still is a dearth of level 1 evidence and the field would benefit from further studies.

Effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on locally advanced upper tract urothelial carcinoma: a pooled analysis

Background

The outcome of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has been established in bladder cancer but remains controversial in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). In this work, we explored the therapeutic effect of NAC in patients with locally advanced UTUC.

Methods

We conducted a literature search on articles published from 1995 up to April 2020 in PubMed/Medline, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Google Scholar. A total of 19 eligible studies with 6,283 patients were identified, from which the overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), progression-free survival (PFS), disease-free survival (DFS), pathological complete response (pCR) rate and pathological partial response (pPR) rate were extracted. All analyses were conducted using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata statistical software (version 15).

Results

In total, 6,283 UTUC patients were included from 19 eligible studies out of which 1,474 patients received NAC and subsequent radical nephroureterectomy (RNU), whereas 4,809 patients received RNU only. Compared with single RNU, patients with NAC and subsequent RNU exhibited longer OS, CSS, PFS, DFS by hazard ratio (HR) 2.14 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.75–2.63; P<0.001], HR 2.07 (95% CI: 1.49–2.87; P<0.001), HR 2.00 (95% CI: 1.42–2.83; P<0.001), and HR 3.76 (95% CI: 2.16–6.56; P<0.001). pCR rate and pPR rate of NAC are 0.10 (0.07–0.13) and 0.40 (95% CI: 0.32–0.49, P <0.001) respectively.

Conclusions

This work revealed that NAC and subsequent RNU provided better survival outcomes in patients with locally advanced UTUC when compared with single RNU.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma

Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is a very uncommon disease that occupies for <5% of all urothelial cancers. Radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) remains the standard-of-care for UTUC; however, when patients with locally advanced UTUC are treated with RNU only, the recurrence rate is high. Therefore, perioperative chemotherapy has been proposed given the high systemic recurrence rate. Moreover, there is growing evidence that neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) plays an important role in the treatment of UTUC. Several studies and meta-analyses have reported the beneficial effect of NAC on survival outcomes and pathologic downstaging of patients with UTUC. However, the recommendation of NAC for UTUC is primarily based on level 1 evidence that demonstrated a beneficial effect on survival outcomes in patients with bladder cancer. The chemotherapy regimen for patients with UTUC is also based on that used for patients with bladder cancer. Nevertheless, the use of NAC for UTUC has some limitations, including the possibility of overtreatment. Therefore, selection criteria for NAC are needed, as are further trials to identify the most suitable patients and validate its use in daily clinical practice.

Complete Pathological Response to Neoadjuvant Pembrolizumab in a Patient With Chemoresistant Upper Urinary Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: A Case Report

Treatment options as second-line therapy for advanced ureteral carcinoma are limited, and patients experiencing recurrence after first-line cisplatin-based chemotherapy have a poor prognosis. Recently, the programmed death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor pembrolizumab provided a better survival benefit with a complete response rate (9.2%) for chemoresistatant urothelial carcinoma. However, the dynamic changes of the cancer microenvironment about the cases of complete response are still unknown. We herein report a case of a 57-year-old man who had been diagnosed with localized, non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (pT1N0M0, high grade), for which he underwent transurethral resection of the bladder cancer twice. Given that gemcitabine plus carboplatin as first-line neoadjuvant chemotherapy was unable to control left vesico-ureteral junction recurrence with muscle invasion (T3N0M0, high grade), the patient received the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab as second-line neoadjuvant therapy in an attempt to stop tumor growth, which promoted dramatic tumor shrinkage without serious adverse effects and allowed subsequent nephroureterectomy and lymphadenectomy. To the best of our knowledge, this has been the first study to report that pembrolizumab administration before surgery for chemotherapy-resistant ureteral carcinoma promoted a pathological complete response, providing a better understanding of the cancer microenvironment after immunotherapy.

Perioperative therapies for urological cancers

Although surgery with curative intent is critical for management of many localized cancers, multimodal therapy including neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy has been introduced to increase the effectiveness of local control of surgery and prolong survival. However, strong evidence supporting the utility of such multimodal therapy is limited. The utility of perioperative chemotherapy has been extensively investigated in bladder cancer, and several randomized controlled trials have indicated the benefit of neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy in muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Regrettably, perioperative therapy for other urological cancers is controversial; therefore, no definitive conclusions have been drawn. Recently, the number of trials has rapidly increased due to the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors, used alone or in combination with other modalities. In this review, we summarize the current status and supporting evidence for perioperative therapies such as neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies for urological cancers, including prostate cancer, urothelial cancer and renal cell carcinoma.

Impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on survival prognosis and pathological downstaging in patients presenting with high-risk upper tract urothelial carcinoma: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis

PURPOSE

Controversy remains with using neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). Thus, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the peer-reviewed literature to assess the role of NAC in high-risk UTUC patients.

METHODS

PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were the main sources of relevant studies. The search terms included: "Upper urothelial carcinoma"; "UTUC"; "Urinary tract cancer"; and "Transitional cell carcinoma" combined with "Neoadjuvant chemotherapy" and "adjuvant chemotherapy". We studied the relationship of UTUC and NAC. Overall survival, recurrent-free survival, cancer-specific survival and pathological response rate in patients treated with/without NAC before radical surgery were evaluated.

RESULTS

Five trials were selected, and included 532 participants. Each of the included studies was retrospective. The combined analysis showed that when compared to controls, the pooled hazard ratios of overall survival, recurrence-free survival and cancer-specific survival were 0.47 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.34-0.64; P < .00001); 0.50 (95% CI, 0.37-0.66; P < .00001); and 0.37 (95% CI, 0.25-0.54; P < .00001), respectively. It indicates the beneficial effects of NAC for the prognosis of survival in UTUC. Additionally, NAC was significantly associated with T-stage down-grading (T3/4 to ≤T2; OR=7.58 [4.66, 12.33]; P < .0001) and pathological lymph node status (N+ to N0; OR = 6.24 [2.57,15.15]; P < .00001).

CONCLUSIONS

NAC treatment before radical nephron-ureterectomy significantly improves survival prognosis in patients with high-risk upper tract urothelial carcinoma. However, considerable prospective and randomized studies are needed to confirm this perspective.

Perioperative Chemotherapy on Survival in Patients With Upper Urinary Tract Urothelial Carcinoma Undergoing Nephroureterectomy: A Population-Based Study

Objectives: To estimate the stage-specific impact of perioperative chemotherapy on survival for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) patients treated with nephroureterectomy (NU).

Methods: Overall, 7,278 UTUC patients treated with NU from 2004 to 2015 were identified within the SEER database. Kaplan–Meier plots were used to elucidate overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were used to test the impact of chemotherapy on survival rates, after stratifying according to pathological stage.

Results: Chemotherapy was performed in 17.3% of patients and in 5.7, 11.5, 25.4, and 51.3% of patients with, respectively, pT1, pT2, pT3, and pT4 disease (P < 0.001). In multivariable analyses, perioperative chemotherapy was associated with a lower OS in pT2 patients and a lower CSS in pT1 disease (both P < 0.05), while predisposed to a higher OS in pT3 and pT4 patients (both P < 0.01). Moreover, perioperative chemotherapy was prone to a higher OS or CSS in pN+ disease compared to no chemotherapy (both P < 0.01).

Conclusion: Perioperative chemotherapy was more frequently performed in locally advanced UTUC patients. The beneficial effect of chemotherapy on OS was evident in pT3/pT4 and pN+ patients. In addition, a clear CSS benefit was observed in patients who received chemotherapy for pN+ UTUC, while perioperative chemotherapy may reduce CSS for pT1 and OS for pT2 patients following NU.

Complex surgery and perioperative systemic therapy for genitourinary cancer of the retroperitoneum

Objective

The purpose of the present guideline is to recommend surgical or systemic treatment for metastatic testicular cancer; T3b or T4, or node-positive, and metastatic renal cell cancer (rcc); and T3, T4, or node-positive upper tract urothelial (utuc) cancer.

Methods

Draft recommendations were formulated based on evidence obtained through a systematic review of randomized controlled trials, comparative retrospective studies, and guideline endorsement. The draft recommendations underwent an internal review by clinical and methodology experts, and an external review by clinical practitioners.

Results

The primary literature search yielded eight guidelines, five systematic reviews, and twenty-seven primary studies that met the eligibility criteria.

Conclusions

Cytoreductive nephrectomy should no longer be considered the standard of care in patients with T3b or T4, or node-positive, and metastatic rcc. Eligible patients should be treated with systemic therapy and have their primary tumour removed only after review at a multidisciplinary case conference (mcc). Adjuvant sunitinib after surgery is not recommended. Patients with venous tumour thrombus should be considered for surgical intervention. Patients with T3, T4, or node-positive utuc should have their tumour removed without delay. Decisions concerning lymph node dissection should be done at a mcc and be based on stage, expertise, and imaging. Adjuvant systemic treatment is recommended for resected high-risk utuc. Patients with metastasis-positive testicular cancer with residual tumour after systemic treatment should be treated at specialized centres. For all complex retroperitoneal surgeries, the evidence shows that higher-volume centres are associated with lower rates of procedure-related mortality, and patients should be referred to higher-volume centres for surgical resection.

Down-Grading of Ipsilateral Hydronephrosis by Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Correlates with Favorable Oncological Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Radical Nephroureterectomy for Ureteral Carcinoma

Few studies have analyzed the details of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC)-induced changes in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma. This study aimed to describe the impact of down-grading ipsilateral hydronephrosis by NAC for ureteral carcinoma. An observational study was conducted in 32 patients with cT1-3N0M0 ureteral carcinoma treated with NAC and radical nephroureterectomy. Hydronephrosis was classified into five grades based on computed tomography findings. We focused on the differences between the baseline and post-NAC status of ipsilateral hydronephrosis, radiographic tumor response, and blood markers. Down-grading, no change, and up-grading was observed in 10 (31%), 21 (66%), and 1 (3%) patients, respectively. In univariate analysis, locally advanced disease (cT3), severe hydronephrosis (grade 3/4) at baseline, no change/up-grading of hydronephrosis after NAC, and pathological lymphovascular involvement were identified as potential prognostic factors of progression-free and cancer-specific survival after radical nephroureterectomy. Locally advanced disease (cT3) at baseline and no change/up-grading of hydronephrosis by NAC were independently associated with poor progression-free survival. Notably, none of the patients with NAC-induced down-grading of hydronephrosis died of ureteral carcinoma during the follow-up. We reported the prognostic impact of down-grading of ipsilateral hydronephrosis, which could serve as a useful aid or clinical marker for decision-making.

Pathological downstaging as a novel endpoint for the development of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate whether pathological downstaging (pDS) was more informative in predicting overall survival (OS) than pathological complete response (pCR) in patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The National Cancer Database was queried for patients with high-grade cN0M0 disease who had received NAC. pDS was defined as a decrease of at least one stage from cT to pT stage along with pN0, including pCR. A multivariable Cox model predicting OS was generated by fitting alternatively either pDS or pCR, and adjusted for potential confounders. The discrimination of the Cox models for predicting OS was evaluated using Harrell's C-index. The analyses were repeated in patients diagnosed as having cT2-4N0M0 disease.

RESULTS

Among 264 patients meeting the inclusion criteria, 72 (27%) and 39 (15%) achieved pDS and pCR, respectively. On multivariable analysis, both pDS (hazard ratio [HR] 0.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.13, 0.45; P < 0.001) and pCR (HR 0.37, 95% CI 0.18, 0.79; P = 0.01) were associated with OS. The model including pDS achieved better discrimination with respect to the model including pCR: C-index 76.4 vs 72.7, respectively. In the 128 patients diagnosed with cT2-4 disease, both pDS (HR 0.19, 95% CI 0.09, 0.40; P < 0.001) and pCR (HR 0.31, 95% CI 0.11, 0.85; P = 0.023) were confirmed as predictors of OS. The model including pDS was confirmed to discriminate better than the model including pCR: C-index 75 vs 68.9, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The study showed that pDS after NAC for UTUC was more informative than pCR when predicting OS. These findings, although requiring prospective validation, can aid in the design of clinical trials seeking to refine the use of chemotherapy and other systemic therapies in this setting.

Propensity-Matched Survival Analysis of Upper Urinary Tract Urothelial Carcinomas between End-Stage Renal Disease with and without Kidney Transplantation

Urothelial carcinoma is the most common cancer following kidney transplantation (KT) in Taiwan. Unusual presentation of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is noted in Taiwan and China. As the post-KT-UTUC oncological course is not fully understood, the aim of this study is to identify postulated significant differences for the clinical cancer course of UTUC among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with and without KT. From 2005 January to 2016 March, 194 ESRD patients underwent radical nephroureterectomy due to UTUC in our hospital. The parameters were obtained from the chart record and pathology report. SPSS version 21 software was used for all statistical analyses. Unequal matching created study groups wherein a 0.2 caliper width was performed for adjusting these confounding pathological factors. Propensity score-matching cohort was performed for each population first, and then for all the study patients. We observed that the average age of UTUC in ESRD patients after KT was younger than in those without KT. The pathological factors such as stage, bladder cancer history, papillary structure, lymphovascular invasion, and variant histology were equal in these two groups. However, younger onset (p<0.001), more multifocal tumors, and carcinomas in situ were observed in post-KT UTUC (p<0.001 and 0.006, respectively). After adjustment of pathological factors by propensity score-matched analysis, the 5-year systemic UTUC recurrence was significantly more in ESRD after KT compared with ESRD without KT (p=0.03). No obvious difference in 5-year cancer related death could be observed between these two groups (p=0.314). Post-kidney transplantation upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma in Taiwan is relatively common, has younger onset, and is associated with aggressive pathological features. The oncologic outcome of UTUC after KT is poor in our observation, even after propensity scored-matched analysis. It indicates the immunosuppression status is still associated with more malignant UTUC behavior.