Gender and cystectomy for bladder cancer: A high-volume tertiary urologic care center experience

BACKGROUND

Differences have often been reported in the outcomes of bladder cancer (BC) patients according to gender.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to provide data on patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) in a high-volume tertiary urologic center and to assess whether gender discrepancies do exist in terms of surgical options and clinical outcomes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Consecutive BC patients treated between 2016 and 2020 at a single center (Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy) were included in the study. The impact of gender on disease stage at diagnosis, overall survival (OS), and type of surgery was analyzed.

RESULTS

The study series comprised 447 patients (85 females and 362 males). At a median follow-up of 28.3 months (IQR: 33.5), OS was 52.6% and cancer-specific survival was 67.6%. Significant differences in OS emerged for age, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), pT, and pN. OS rates were higher in patients undergoing robot-assisted surgery and in those receiving open orthotopic neobladder (ONB) (p = 0.0001). No statistically significant differences were found between male and female patients regarding surgical offer in any age group, surgical time, early postoperative complications, pathologic stage, and OS.

CONCLUSIONS

After adjustment for pathologic tumor stage and treatment modalities, female and male patients showed similar oncologic outcomes. Further studies should be undertaken to evaluate functional results in women subjected to RC.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor induced nephrotoxicity: An ongoing challenge

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have dramatically revolutionized the field of oncology over the last decade, severe immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are potentially life-threatening. In comparison with toxicities involving the skin, gastrointestinal tract and endocrine system, nephrotoxicity is less common but often underestimated due to difficult diagnosis. Management usually consists of treatment discontinuation and/or corticosteroid use. In this review, we summarize current knowledge of ICI-induced nephrotoxicity, evaluating drawbacks and future perspectives.

Neoadjuvant Treatment in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: From the Beginning to the Latest Developments

Urothelial carcinoma of the bladder is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide, diagnosed as muscle invasive in 25% of cases. Although several studies have demonstrated an overall 5% absolute survival benefit at 5 years with cisplatin-based combination neoadjuvant treatment, administration of chemotherapy prior to radical cystectomy (RC) in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) patients is still a matter of debate. This may be due to the perceived modest survival benefit, cisplatin-based chemotherapy ineligibility, or fear of delaying potentially curative surgery in non-responders. However, immunotherapy and novel targeted therapies have shown to prolong survival in advanced disease and are under investigation in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings to reduce systemic relapse and improve cure rates. Genomic characterization of MIBC could help select the most effective chemotherapeutic regimen for the individual patient. Large cohort studies on neoadjuvant treatments with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and molecular therapies, alone or combined with chemotherapy, are ongoing. In this review, we trace the development of neoadjuvant therapy in MIBC and explore recent advances that may soon change clinical practice.

AR-V7 in Metastatic Prostate Cancer: A Strategy beyond Redemption

Metastatic prostate cancer is the most common cancer in males and the fifth cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Despite the major progress in this field, leading to the approval of novel anti-androgens, the prognosis is still poor. A significant number of patients acquire an androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7), which is constitutively activated and lacks the ligand-binding domain (LBD) while maintaining the nuclear localization signal and DNA-binding domain (DBD). This conformational change, even in the absence of the ligand, allows its retention within the nucleus, where it acts as a transcription factor repressing crucial tumor suppressor genes. AR-V7 is an important oncogenic driver and plays a role as an early diagnostic and prognostic marker, as well as a therapeutic target for antagonists such as niclosamide and TAS3681. Anti-AR-V7 drugs have shown promise in recent clinical investigations on this subset of patients. This mini-review focuses on the relevance of AR-V7 in the clinical manifestations of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and summarizes redemptive therapeutic strategies.

Overview of the clinical use of erdafitinib as a treatment option for the metastatic urothelial carcinoma: where do we stand

INTRODUCTION

Erdafitinib is the first orally administered pan-fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) kinase inhibitor approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

AREAS COVERED

Specifically binding to FGFR family (FGFR-1 to FGFR-4), erdafitinib leads to reduced cell signaling and cellular apoptosis. Coupled with the ability to bind to vascular endothelial growth factor 2 (VEGFR-2), KIT, Fms-related tyrosine kinase 4 (FLT4), platelet-derived growth factor receptor α and β (PDGFR-α and PDGFR-β), RET and colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF-1 R), erdafitinib has further reported antitumor features causing cell killing.

EXPERT OPINION

In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of erdafitinib chemical structure, pharmacologic properties, and current knowledge of clinical efficacy in the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. This treatment, recently approved in the U.S., is available for adult patients harboring FGFR2/FGFR3 genetic alterations who progressed within 12 months of an adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen including platinum or progressed during or after prior a chemotherapy regimen including platinum.

Myointimoma of the penis

Myointimoma is an uncommon, benign soft-tissue tumor derived from the intimal cells of blood vessels. Since little is known about this rare tumor entity, our aim is to describe an additional case and to perform the first literature review on this topic. A 49-year-old Caucasian man presented with a 12-month history of a palpable, firm, solitary lesion involving the glans penis. On physical examination, there was a 1 cm palpable, endophytic well-circumscribed nodule located to the left side of glans penis, close to the coronal sulcus, with disease-free external urethral orifice. The patient was submitted to complete excisional biopsy. A skin rhombus measuring 1.1 × 0.8 × 0.3 cm was removed and the biopsy sample, fixed in 10% formaldehyde, sent to Pathology. At the 18-month follow-up visit, the patient was clinically disease free. Histopathology revealed a multinodular intravascular proliferation of the corpus spongiosum. This myointimal proliferation comprised bland predominantly spindle cells in an abundant fibromyxoid stroma. Immunostains for smooth muscle actin (1A4), cytokeratins (AE1/AE3, CAM5.2), and CD34 were carried out using the avidin-biotin complex (ABC) immunoperoxidase method. Lesional cells displayed positivity for smooth muscle actin and negativity for cytokeratins and CD34. Myointimoma is confirmed to be a penile benign lesion that may be adequately treated with excisional biopsy. Even after incomplete or marginal removal, the penile lesion has been shown to remain stable overtime or regress. Differential diagnosis is essential to exclude similar histologic entities that could be more aggressive or have possible systemic implications.

Inverted urothelial papilloma of the upper urinary tract: description of two cases with systematic literature review

BACKGROUND

Inverted urothelial papilloma (IUP) of the upper urinary tract is an uncommon benign tumour that occasionally presents as a polypoid mass causing urinary obstruction. Histologically, IUP is characterised by a proliferating urothelium arranged in cords and trabeculae, in continuity with overlying intact epithelium, and extending into the lamina propria in a non-invasive, endophytic manner. Cytological atypia is minimal or absent. Top differential diagnoses include urothelial carcinoma with inverted growth pattern and florid ureteritis cystica. Although urothelial carcinomas of the upper urinary tract with prominent inverted growth pattern commonly harbour microsatellite instability, the role of the mutator phenotype pathway in IUP development is still unclear. The aim of this study was to describe two additional cases of IUP of the upper urinary tract, along with an extensive literature review.

CASE PRESENTATION

We observed two polypoid tumours originating in the renal pelvis and the distal ureter, respectively. Both patients, a 76-year-old woman and a 56-year-old man, underwent surgery because of the increased likelihood of malignancy. Histology was consistent with IUP and patients are alive and asymptomatic after long-term follow-up (6 years for the renal pelvis lesion and 5 years for the ureter lesion). The tumours retained the expression of the mismatch-repair protein MLH1, MSH2, and PMS2 whereas loss of MSH6 was found in both cases.

CONCLUSIONS

When completely resected, IUP does not require rigorous surveillance protocols, such as those for urothelial carcinoma and exophytic urothelial papilloma. It is therefore important for the surgical pathologist to be aware of this rare entity in order to ensure correct patient management.

Current Knowledge of the Potential Links between Inflammation and Prostate Cancer

Inflammation is inherent in prostatic diseases and it is now accepted that it may facilitate cellular proliferation in both benign and malignant conditions. The strong relationship between prostatic inflammation and pathogenesis of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is supported by epidemiologic, histopathologic and molecular evidence. Contrariwise, the role of inflammation in prostate carcinogenesis is still controversial, although current data indicate that the inflammatory microenvironment can regulate prostate cancer (PCa) growth and progression. Knowledge of the complex molecular landscape associated with chronic inflammation in the context of PCa may lead to the introduction and optimization of novel targeted therapies. In this perspective, evaluation of the inflammatory component in prostate specimens could be included in routine pathology reports.