Clinical and surgical assistance in prostate cancer during the COVID-19 Pandemic: implementation of assistance protocols

ABSTRACT Purpose: Propose an approach of prostate cancer (PCa) patients during COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: We conducted a review of current literature related to surgical and clinical management of patients during COVID-19 crisis paying special attention to oncological ones and especially those suffering from PCa. Based on these publications and current urological guidelines, a manual to manage PCa patients is suggested. Results: Patients suffering from cancer are likely to develop serious complications from COVID-19 disease together with an increased risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the management of oncological patients should be taken into special consideration and most of the treatments postponed. In case the procedure is not deferrable, it should be adapted to the current situation. While the shortest radiotherapy (RT) regimens should be applied, surgical procedures must undergo the following recommendations proposed by main surgical associations. PCa prognosis is generally favourable and therefore one can safely delay most of the biopsies up to 6 months without interfering with survival outcomes in the vast majority of cases. In the same way, most of the localised PCa patients are suitable for active surveillance (AS) or hormonal therapy until local definitive treatment could be reconsidered. In metastatic as well as castration resistant PCa stages, adding androgen receptor targeted agents (abiraterone, apalutamide, darolutamide or enzalutamide) to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) could be considered in high risk patients. On the contrary, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and Radium-223 must be avoided with regard to the consequence of hematologic toxicity and risk of COVID-19 infection because of immunodepression. Conclusions: Most of the biopsies should be delayed while AS is advised in those patients with low risk PCa. ADT allows us to defer definitive local treatment in many cases of intermediate and high risk PCa. In regard to metastatic and castration resistant PCa, combination therapies with abiraterone, apalutamide, darolutamide or enzalutamide could be considered. Chemotherapy, Radium-223 and immunotherapy are discouraged.

Risk groups in bladder cancer patients treated with radical cystectomy

Objective To stratify patients with bladder cancer into homogeneous risk groups according to statistically significant differences found in PFS (progression-free survival). To identify those patients at increased risk of progression and to provide oncological follow-up according to patient risk group. Materials and Methods A retrospective study of 563 patients treated with radical cystectomy (RC). In order to determine which factors might predict bladder tumour progression and death, uni- and multivariate analyses were performed. The risk groups were identified according to “inter-category” differences found in PFS and lack of differences, thus revealing intra-category homogeneity. Results Median follow up time was 37.8 months. Recurrence occurred in a total of 219 patients (38, 9%). In 63% of cases this was distant recurrence. Only two variables retained independent prognostic value in the multivariate analysis for PFS: pathological organ confinement and lymph node involvement. By combining these two variables, we created a new “risk group” variable. In this second model it was found that the new variable behaved as an independent predictor associated with PFS. Four risk groups were identified: very low, low, intermediate and high risk: • Very low risk: pT0 N0 • Low risk: pTa, pTis, pT1, pT2 and pN0 • Intermediate risk: pT3 and pN0 • High risk: pT4 N0 or pN1-3. Conclusions We retrospectively identified 4 risk groups with an independent prognostic value for progression-free survival following RC. Differences in recurrence patterns after RC between risk groups have led us to set different intervals in monitoring for cancer. .