Shed urinary ALCAM is an independent prognostic biomarker of three-year overall survival after cystectomy in patients with bladder cancer.

Proteins involved in tumor cell migration can potentially serve as markers of invasive disease. Activated Leukocyte Cell Adhesion Molecule (ALCAM) promotes adhesion, while shedding of its extracellular domain is associated with migration. We hypothesized that shed ALCAM in biofluids could be predictive of progressive disease. ALCAM expression in tumor (n = 198) and shedding in biofluids (n = 120) were measured in two separate VUMC bladder cancer cystectomy cohorts by immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. The primary outcome measure was accuracy of predicting 3-year overall survival (OS) with shed ALCAM compared to standard clinical indicators alone, assessed by multivariable Cox regression and concordance-indices. Validation was performed by internal bootstrap, a cohort from a second institution (n = 64), and treatment of missing data with multiple-imputation. While ALCAM mRNA expression was unchanged, histological detection of ALCAM decreased with increasing stage (P = 0.004). Importantly, urine ALCAM was elevated 17.0-fold (P < 0.0001) above non-cancer controls, correlated positively with tumor stage (P = 0.018), was an independent predictor of OS after adjusting for age, tumor stage, lymph-node status, and hematuria (HR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.03-2.06; P = 0.002), and improved prediction of OS by 3.3% (concordance-index, 78.5% vs. 75.2%). Urine ALCAM remained an independent predictor of OS after accounting for treatment with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, carcinoma in situ, lymph-node dissection, lymphovascular invasion, urine creatinine, and adjuvant chemotherapy (HR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.02-1.19; P = 0.011). In conclusion, shed ALCAM may be a novel prognostic biomarker in bladder cancer, although prospective validation studies are warranted. These findings demonstrate that markers reporting on cell motility can act as prognostic indicators.

Prospective study of the Transurethral Suprapubic endo-Cystostomy (T-SPEC(®)): an 'inside-out' approach to suprapubic catheter insertion.

OBJECTIVES: To prospectively evaluate the new medical device Transurethral Suprapubic endo-Cystostomy (T-SPeC(®)), used for suprapubic catheter (SPC) placement via the transurethral (inside-to-out) approach, and examine the 30-day outcomes in the first US series. METHODS: IRB approval was obtained for this prospective study. We evaluated the first 114 consecutive cases of SPC placement using the T-SPeC(®) device by a single surgeon at in a 20-month period. We excluded patients who underwent alternative approaches to suprapubic catheter placement including open abdominal approach (12) and percutaneous approach (5). Preoperative patient demographics, operative detail, success rate and 30-day complication rate were recorded. RESULTS: We successfully placed an 18 Fr suprapubic catheter using the T-SPeC(®) device in 98.2 % of patients. During the procedure, the capture housing was missed twice. The mean patient age was 56.6, BMI 29.4 kg/m(2), skin to bladder distance 6.7 cm and operative time 3.6 min. There were 12 postoperative complications within 30 days of the procedure including urinary tract infections (6), SPC exit site infection (2), SPC blockage (2) and catheter expulsion (2). There were no Clavien-Dindo grade III-IV complications such as re-operation, small bowel injury, hemorrhage or death. CONCLUSION: The T-SPeC(®) device is a novel, simple, accurate and minimally invasive device for SPC insertion from an inside-to-out approach. Our prospective study demonstrates that the T-SPeC(®) device can be placed safely and efficiently in a variety of patients with a need for urinary drainage.