Long-term results of a prospective randomized trial assessing the impact of re-adaptation of the dorsolateral peritoneal layer after extended pelvic lymph node dissection and cystectomy

Extraperitoneal Versus Intraperitoneal Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to compare perioperative and oncologic outcomes of extraperitoneal radical cystectomy (EPRC) and transperitoneal radical cystectomy (TPRC).

METHODS

A systematical search of multiple scientific databases was performed in September 2022. The systematic review and cumulative meta-analysis of the primary outcomes of interest were performed according to the PRISMA and AMSTAR guidelines and registered in the PROSPERO database (PROSPERO [CRD42022359322]).

RESULTS

The review and analysis included eight studies with 989 participants. No significant differences were found between EPRC and TPRC in terms of operation time, estimated blood loss (EBL), hospital length of stay (LOS), or transfusion. A shorter exhaust time (standardized mean difference [SMD] - 0.59; 95 % confidence interval [CI] - 0.97 to 0.21; p = 0.002) and time to liquid intake (SMD, - 0.56; 95 % CI - 1.07 to 0.04; p = 0.03) were associated with EPRC. No clinically meaningful difference was observed in terms of postoperative infection, wound complications, postoperative genitourinary complications, late postoperative complications, early major complications, or late major complications. However, EPRC was related to lower incidences of early postoperative complications (odds ratio [OR], 0.66; 95 % CI 0.51-0.86; p = 0.002), gastrointestinal complications (OR 0.28; 95 % CI 0 0.17-0.46; p < 0.00001), and postoperative ileus (OR 0.38; 95 % CI 0.25-0.59; p < 0.0001). A higher incidence of postoperative lymphocele was associated with EPRC (OR 3.05; 95 % CI 1.13-8.25; p = 0.03). No clinically meaningful difference was found in terms of positive surgical margin (PSM), local recurrence, distant metastasis, or OS.

CONCLUSIONS

Although EPRC had a higher incidence of lymphoceles than TPRC, it was found to have similar oncologic outcomes and fewer early complications, particularly in terms of postoperative gastrointestinal complications and ileus. These results suggest that EPRC is a safe option both functionally and oncologically.

Initial experience with 161 extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical cystectomy procedures: Comparison with transabdominal laparoscopic radical cystectomy

OBJECTIVES

There is substantial concern about traditional transperitoneal laparoscopic radical cystectomy (TLRC) due to multiple postoperative complications. In contrast, extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical cystectomy (ELRC) appears to cause a lower rate of morbidity. The present study aimed to compare the efficacy of ELRC and TLRC for bladder cancer (BCa).

METHODS

The clinical data of patients undergoing laparoscopic radical cystectomy for BCa from April 2018 to October 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, as ELRC and TLRC groups. The postoperative follow-up data of 275 patients were collected and the incidence of postoperative complications and other perioperative outcomes were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

Surgery was successfully completed in all patients without conversion to open surgery. There was no significant difference in the duration of cystectomy surgery (67.32 ± 23.53 vs 72.17 ± 25.72 min, p = 0.106), intraoperative blood loss (178.06 ± 110.4 vs. 174.56 ± 127.40 ml, p = 0.413), or the number of lymph node dissection (15.1 ± 5.7 vs. 14.5 ± 5.1, p = 0.380) between the two groups. The length of stay (11.6 ± 3.8 vs 14.7 ± 5.6 d, p < 0.001), time to resume food intake after surgery (2.3 ± 0.9 vs 3.0 ± 1.3 d, p < 0.001), and the incidence of ileus (p < 0.001) in the ELRC group were significantly lower than in the TLRC group.

CONCLUSIONS

ELRC is a safe procedure that can reduce the incidence of postoperative complications, shorten postoperative hospital stay, reduce the duration of recovery of patients, and, therefore, should be promoted.

Extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical cystectomy with intracorporeal neobladder: a comparison with transperitoneal approach

Background

Bladder cancer is one of the most common genitourinary cancers. Traditional transperitoneal radical cystectomy is the gold standard treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Our study was to compare the perioperative and oncological outcomes of extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical cystectomy (ELRC) with intracorporeal neobladder versus transperitoneal urinary diversion for bladder cancer.

Method

A total of 113 patients who underwent laparoscopic radical cystectomy performed at our center were included in this retrospective study. The perioperative data of the extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical cystectomy (ELRC) with intracorporeal urinary diversion (ICUD) and transperitoneal laparoscopic radical cystectomy (TLRC) with ICUD groups were compared. The demographic, perioperative, oncological, and complication data were collected and analyzed.

Results

In total, 113 patients were enrolled for the final analysis. The median follow-up period was 22 months. The ELRC group had shorter interval to flatus (p < 0.001), solid food (p < 0.001), shorter length of hospital stay (p < 0.01), and fewer early gastrointestinal complications (p < 0.05). Furthermore, urinary continence, recurrence-free, cancer-specific, and overall survival rates and recurrence patterns did not significantly differ.

Conclusions

Surgical technique of ELRC with ICUD can achieve the established oncologic criteria of TLRC, and such technique can improve perioperative and early postoperative outcomes.

Systematic screening of protein-coding gene expression identified HMMR as a potential independent indicator of unfavorable survival in patients with papillary muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Papillary and non-papillary are two histological patterns of bladder carcinogenesis and are considered as dual-track oncogenic pathways, which have different genetic alterations. The TCGA-bladder cancer (BLCA) database contains clinicopathological, genomic and survival data from over 400 muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients. In this study, using data from this database, we performed a systematic screening of gene expression to identify the protein-coding gene that might have prognostic value in papillary and non-papillary muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). The data of patients with primary MIBC in TCGA-BLCA was acquired from the UCSC Xena project (http://xena.ucsc.edu) for re-analysis. By setting |log2 fold change|≥2 and adjusted p value <0.01 as the screening criteria, we found 751 significantly dysregulated genes, including 183 overexpressed and 568 downregulated genes. HMMR was identified as a potential prognostic marker with unique expression. Multivariate analysis showed that its expression was an independent prognostic indicator of shorter progression-free survival (PFS) (HR: 1.400, 95%CI: 1.021-1.920, p = 0.037) in the papillary subtype. ENST00000393915.8 and ENST00000358715.3, two transcripts that contain all 18 exons and encode the full length of HMMR, were significantly upregulated in cancer tissues compared with normal bladder tissues. None of the 17 CpG sites in its DNA locus was relevant to HMMR expression. 26/403 (6.5%) MIBC cases had HMMR gene-level amplification, which was associated with upregulated HMMR expression compared with the copy-neutral and deletion groups. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) in papillary MIBC found that the high HMMR expression group was associated with upregulated genes enriched in multiple gene sets with well-established role in BC development, including G2M checkpoint, E2 F Targets, Myc Targets V1, Myc Targets V2 and Glycolysis. Based on these findings, we infer that HMMR expression might be a specific prognostic marker in terms of PFS in papillary MIBC. DNA amplification might be an important mechanism of its elevation.

Comparison of 10-year overall survival between patients with G1 and G2 grade Ta bladder tumors

To compare long-term overall survival (OS) in patients with G1 and G2 grade Ta bladder cancer after transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBTs). Secondary aim was to investigate clinical and pathologic prognostic factors for OS of Ta patients, except G3/high grade (HG).A total of 243 patients, retrospectively selected, with Ta nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) underwent TURBT between January 2006 and December 2008 (median follow-up 109 months). Inclusion criteria were: Ta at first manifestation, G1 or G2 grade with no associated carcinoma in situ (CIS). Seventy-nine patients were excluded due to concomitant CIS (1), G3/HG tumors (47), and lost to follow-up (31). Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical Committee of the Mures County Hospital. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA 11.0.Following inclusion criteria, 164 patients with primary G1 or G2 Ta tumors, were enrolled. Recurrence was observed in 26 (15.8%) and progression in 5 (3%) patients. Ten-year survival in G1 patients was 67.8% (CI 54.3-78.1) and in G2 patients 59% (CI 49-67.3) (P = .31). Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis underlined that advanced age at diagnosis (hazard ratio [HR] 1.10) and no Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) treatment (HR 0.24 and 0.29) were independent predictors for death at 10 years after diagnosis.Long-term analysis confirms that patients with well differentiated (G1) and moderately well differentiated (G2) Ta tumors have similar OS. A longer OS was even reported in those who underwent BCG adjuvant therapy.

Lymph node yield in node-negative patients predicts cancer specific survival following radical cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma

Purpose

To determine the oncological implications of increased nodal dissection in node-negative bladder cancer during radical cystectomy in a contemporary Australian series.

Materials and Methods

We performed a multicenter retrospective study, including more than 40 surgeons across 5 sites over a 10-year period. We identified 353 patients with primary bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy. Extent of lymphadenectomy was defined as follows; limited pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) (perivesical, pelvic, and obturator), standard PLND (internal and external iliac) and extended PLND (common iliac). Multivariable cox proportional hazards and logistic regression models were used to determine LNY effect on cancer-specific survival.

Results

Over the study period, the extent of dissection and lymph node yield increased considerably. In node-negative patients, lymph node yield (LNY) conferred a significantly improved cancer-specific survival. Compared to cases where LNY of 1 to 5 nodes were taken, the hazard ratio (HR) for 6 to 15 nodes harvested was 0.78 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.43-1.39) and for greater than 15 nodes the HR was 0.31 (95% CI, 0.17-0.57), adjusted for age, sex, T stage, margin status, and year of surgery. The predicted probability of cancer-specific death within 2 years of cystectomy was 16% (95% CI, 13%-19%) with 10 nodes harvested, falling to 5.5% (95% CI, 0%-12%) with 30 nodes taken. Increasing harvest in all PLND templates conferred a survival benefit.

Conclusions

The findings of the current study highlight the improved oncological outcomes with increased LNY, irrespective of the dissection template. Further prospective research is needed to aid LND data interpretation.

Advances in surgical management of muscle invasive bladder cancer

INTRODUCTION

Bladder cancer remains a disease of the elderly with relatively few advances that have improved survival over the last 20 years. Radical cystectomy (RC) has long remained the principal treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC).

METHODS

A literature search of PubMed was performed. The content was reviewed for continuity with the topic of surgical advances in MIBC. Articles and society guidelines were included in this review.

RESULTS

Despite the associated morbidity, even in the elderly, RC is still a reasonable option. Modifications during RC may have a positive or negative impact on survival and quality of life. The extent of pelvic lymph node dissection is one such factor which may positively impact survival outcomes. In addition, preservation of pelvic organs, robotic surgery and the adoption of enhanced recovery after surgery principles continues to improve the postoperative recovery and quality of life in RC patients.

CONCLUSION

There are some ongoing studies in many of these areas, but overall the new advances in MIBC may improve patient quality and quantity of life. The advances in surgical treatment of MIBC are important and the focus of the review here.