Conditional Survival and Associated Prognostic Factors in Patients with Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma after Radical Nephroureterectomy: A Retrospective Study at a Single Institution

Adjuvant Chemotherapy after Radical Nephroureterectomy for Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma with Variant Histology: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Survival Outcomes

INTRODUCTION

The objective of this study was to determine effects of adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) on survival outcomes compared to surgery alone without AC for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) patients with variant histology (VH).

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies investigating AC for UTUC in Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library up to January 2023. Population, intervention, comparator, and outcome were UTUC patients with VH, radical nephroureterectomy with AC, radical nephroureterectomy only, and oncological survival, respectively.

RESULTS

Four retrospective studies were included. Regarding overall survival (OS), the pooled hazard ratio was 0.61 (95% confidence interval: 0.42-0.87; p = 0.007) across two studies. Regarding cancer-specific survival (CSS), the pooled hazard ratio was 0.46 (95% confidence interval: 0.25-0.84; p = 0.01) across three studies. All included studies had a high quality based on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Certainty of evidence for OS was low. Certainty of evidence for CSS was moderate due to a strong association (hazard ratio <0.5). Publication bias was not significant for any studies.

CONCLUSION

In UTUC patients with VH, administration of AC after surgery might have better survival outcomes than surgery alone. Our study provides evidence for decision-making of clinicians who treat UTUC patients with VH.

Dynamic estimates of survival in oncocytic cell carcinoma of the thyroid

BACKGROUND

Little is known about death hazard and conditional survival of oncocytic cell carcinoma of the thyroid (OCC).

METHODS

Patients diagnosed with OCC between 2004 to 2019 were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the actuarial disease-specific survival (DSS). The annual hazard rate of death was depicted employing the hazard function. Based on the life-table method, the conditional DSS was calculated.

RESULTS

In terms of DSS rates, there were statistically significant differences among the different stages (P < 0.01). Annual hazard curves for mortality from OCC in the entire study participants demonstrated an overall decreasing tendency with two peaks at 3 and 10 years. In patients with distant disease, the death risk curve was the steepest and decreased quickly and evidently. Conditional DSS tended to increase over time in the entire study population. Patients with distant disease showed more significant alterations than those patients with local or regional disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Prognosis improved over time in patients with OCC. The largest increase in conditional DSS was observed in patients with distant disease. Conditional survival may provide more relevant prognostic information than conventional survival estimates and allow personalized follow-up and counseling.

Factors Predicting Oncological Outcomes of Radical Nephroureterectomy for Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma in Taiwan

Background

Taiwan is one of the endemic regions where upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) accounts for approximately a third of all urothelial tumors. Owing to its high prevalence, extensive experience has been accumulated in minimally invasive radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). Although a variety of predictive factors have been explored in numerous studies, most of them were on a single-center or limited institutional basis and data from a domestic cohort are lacking.

Objective

This study aims to identify significant predicting factors of oncological outcomes, including overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), disease-free survival (DFS), and intravesical recurrence-free survival (IVRFS), following RNU for UTUC in Taiwan.

Methods

A multicenter registry database, Taiwan UTUC Collaboration Group, was utilized to analyze oncological outcomes of 3,333 patients undergoing RNU from 1988 to 2021 among various hospitals in Taiwan. Clinicopathological parameters were recorded according to the principles established by consensus meetings. The Kaplan-Meier estimator was utilized to estimate the survival rates, and the curves were compared using the stratified log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed with the Cox proportional hazard model to explore potential predicting factors.

Results

With a median follow-up of 41.8 months in 1,808 patients with complete information, the 5-year IVRFS, DFS, CSS, and OS probabilities were 66%, 72%, 81%, and 70%, respectively. In total, 482 patients experienced intravesical recurrence, 307 died of UTUC, and 583 died of any cause. Gender predominance was female (57%). A total of 1,531 patients (84.7%) had high-grade tumors; preoperative hydronephrosis presented in 1,094 patients (60.5%). Synchronous bladder UC was identified in 292 patients (16.2%). Minimally invasive procedures accounted for 78.8% of all surgeries, including 768 hand-assisted laparoscopic (42.5%) and 494 laparoscopic (27.3%) approaches. Synchronous bladder UC was the dominant adverse predicting factor for all survival outcomes. Other independent predicting factors for OS, CSS, and DFS included age ≧70, presence of preoperative hydronephrosis, positive surgical margin, LVI, pathological T and N staging, and laparoscopic RNU.

Conclusion

Synchronous UC of the urinary bladder is an independent adverse prognostic factor for survival in UTUC. The presence of preoperative hydronephrosis was also corroborated as a disadvantageous prognostic factor. Our multivariate analysis suggested that laparoscopic RNU might provide better oncological control.

A retrospective multicenter comparison of conditional cancer-specific survival between laparoscopic and open radical nephroureterectomy in locally advanced upper tract urothelial carcinoma

Background

Upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas are relatively rare and have a cancer-specific survival rate of 20%–30%. The current gold standard treatment for nonmetastatic high-grade urinary tract urothelial carcinoma is radical nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff resection.

Objective

This study aimed to compare conditional cancer-specific survival between open radical nephroureterectomy and laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy in patients with nonmetastatic stage pT3-4 or TxN(+) locally advanced urinary tract urothelial carcinoma from five tertiary centers.

Methods

The medical records of 723 patients were retrospectively reviewed. The patients had locally advanced and nodal staged tumors and had undergone open radical nephroureterectomy (n = 388) or laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy (n = 260) at five tertiary Korean institutions from January 2000 and December 2012. To control for heterogenic baseline differences between the two modalities, propensity score matching and subgroup analysis were conducted. Conditional survival analysis was also conducted to determine survival outcome and to overcome differences in follow-up duration between the groups.

Results

During the median 50.8-month follow up, 255 deaths occurred. In univariate analysis, significant factors affecting cancer-specific survival (e.g., age, history of bladder cancer, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, pathological N stage, and presence of lymphovascular invasion and carcinoma in situ) differed in each subsequent year. The cancer-specific survival between patients treated with open radical nephroureterectomy and laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy was not different between patients with and without a history of bladder cancer. After adjusting baseline differences between the two groups by using propensity score matching, both groups still had no significant differences in cancer-specific survival.

Conclusion

The two surgical modalities showed no significant differences in the 5-year cancer-specific survival in patients with locally advanced urinary tract urothelial carcinoma.

Dynamic evaluation of conditional survival in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma after surgical resection: A large-scale prospective study

OBJECTIVE

To dynamically estimate conditional survival (CS) probabilities for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) after surgical resection.

METHOD

A large-scale prospective study was performed involving 1147 eligible OSCC patients from December 2002 to June 2018. Follow-up was completed on January 8, 2019. Cox proportional hazards models were utilized to assess prognostic factors related to overall survival (OS). Three-year CS (CS₃) of patients who had already survived x years was calculated as the formula CS₃ = OS_(x+3)/OS(x).

RESULTS

CS₃ estimates at the time of 0, 1, 3, 5-year survival demonstrated a tendency increase over time, and improved from 78.47% to 82.25%, while the postoperative actuarial OS decreased from 78.47% at 3 years to 57.12% at 8 years. Moreover, the differences between CS₃ and actuarial OS were more obvious among patients with unfavorable tumor characteristics. Disparities in CS₃ across all subgroups of tumor features illustrated more prominent at baseline (d range: 0.24 to 0.40), while the gaps would narrow if those patients have already survived 5 years (d range: -0.01 to 0.18).

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that survival profiles of OSCC patients evolve and increase over time following resection, especially for those with unfavorable tumor features at initial diagnosis. CS estimates may provide more accurate prediction and guide surveillance schedules.

Contemporary conditional cancer-specific survival after radical nephroureterectomy in patients with nonmetastatic urothelial carcinoma of upper urinary tract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

To examine the effect of conditional survival on 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) probability after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) in a contemporary cohort of patients with non-metastatic urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract (UTUC).

METHODS

Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database (2004-2015), 6826 patients were identified. Conditional 5-year CSS estimates were assessed after event-free follow-up duration. Multivariable Cox regression (MCR) models predicted cancer-specific mortality (CSM) according to event-free follow-up length.

RESULTS

Overall, 956 (14.0%) were T₁ low grade(LG)N₀ , 1305 (19.1%) T₁ high grade(HG)N₀ , 1215 (17.8%) T₂ N₀ , 2249 (32.9%) T₃ N₀ and 1101 (16.1%) T₄ N₀ /T_any N_1-3 . From baseline, 93.4% to 94.2% in T₁ LGN₀ provided 5-year CSS and, respectively, 86.2% to 95.3% in T₁ HGN₀ , 77.5% to 87.8% in T₂ N₀ , 63.0% to 91.1% in T₃ N₀ , and 38.8% to 88.2% in T₄ N₀ /T_any N_1-3 . In MCR models, relative to T₁ LGN₀ , T₁ HGN₀ (Hazard ratio [HR] 1.7), T₂ N₀ (HR 3.0), T₃ N₀ (HR: 5.2), and T₄ N₀ /T_any N_1-3 (HR 11.9) were independent predictors of higher CSM. Conditional HRs decreased to levels equivalent to T₁ LGN₀ at 3 years vs 5 years of event-free survival for T₁ HGN₀ and all other groups, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

A direct relationship exists between event-free follow-up and survival probability after RNU. From a clinical perspective, such survival estimates may have particular importance during preoperative counseling.

Gender Is a Significant Prognostic Factor for Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: A Large Hospital-Based Cancer Registry Study in an Endemic Area

Introduction: Our hospital is a tertiary medical center located in southern Taiwan, which is an endemic area for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) cases. Using a large registry-based surgical database, we examined our cohort of patients with UTUC, and evaluated the treatment outcome and gender-specific differences in this population.

Methods: A total of 506 patients with localized UTUC undergoing nephroureterectomy from 2004 to 2013 were enrolled. The patient, tumor, and treatment-related characteristics were prospectively recorded by the registry. Overall (OS) and cancer-specific (CSS) survival outcomes were evaluated as well. Gender differences as related to clinical and pathological factors were examined by chi-square testing. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were applied.

Results: There were more female patients (57.9%) in this population. The median follow-up was 6.9 years for living patients. The actuarial 5-year OS and CSS rates were 69.4 and 84.9%, respectively. Being female, aged <70 years, and early T-stage were statistically significantly associated with better OS and CSS by multivariate analyses. The 5-year CSS rates for females vs. males were 89.6 and 78.5%, respectively (P < 0.005). A subgroup analysis suggested that better survival outcomes for females only existed in the stage 0a/0is/I (non-muscle-invasive), but not in the advanced stage.

Conclusions: In an endemic area, females were more likely diagnosed with UTUC, but had significantly improved OS and CSS compared to their male counterparts, which were mostly driven by the non-muscle-invasive cases. Future research should focus on better understanding the epidemiologic risk-factor profile and pathophysiologic differences based on gender.

Conditional survival in patients with gallbladder cancer

Background

Conditional survival (CS) has been established as a clinically relevant prognostic factor for cancer survivors, and the CS in gallbladder (GB) cancer has not yet been fully evaluated. In this study, we evaluated the cancer-specific CS rate and cancer-specific survival (CSS) rate in patients with GB cancer at multiple time points and investigated prognostic factors which affect cancer-specific CS rate to provide more accurate survival information.

Methods

Between 2004 and 2013, a total of 9760 patients with GB cancer were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data. The 3-year cancer-specific CS rate was calculated using the covariate-adjusted survival function in the Cox model for each year since diagnosis, and the results were analyzed together with the adjusted CSS rates at the same time points. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to ascertain the individual contribution of factors associated with CSS rate at diagnosis and cancer-specific CS rates at 1, 3, and 5 years after diagnosis.

Results

The adjusted 5-year CSS rate was 26.1%. The adjusted 3-year cancer-specific CS rates at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years after diagnosis were 55.5, 72.2, 81.5, 86.8, and 90.5%, respectively. At the time of diagnosis, age, race, histology, grade, T, N, and M categories, surgery, radiotherapy, insurance status, and marriage status were significant prognostic factors of CSS. Five years after diagnosis, however, T and M categories were significant prognostic factors for survivors (P = 0.007 and P = 0.009, respectively), whereas surgery and radiotherapy were not.

Conclusions

T and M categories were significant prognostic factors even 5 years after the initial diagnosis, whereas local treatments at the time of diagnosis were not, suggesting that patients with GB cancer at high risks might need further adjuvant therapy after primary treatments. The combined analysis of CSS and cancer-specific CS rates offered more accurate survival information for patients who have already survived a certain period of time after diagnosis.