Evaluating the efficacy of secondary transurethral resection of the bladder for high-grade Ta tumors.

PURPOSE: The need for secondary transurethral resection of the bladder (re-TURB) in patients with high-grade Ta tumors has not been assessed. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of patients with high-grade Ta tumors who did and did not undergo re-TURB. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study used data from the Seoul National University Prospectively Enrolled Registry for Urothelial Cancer-Transurethral Bladder Tumor Resection (SUPER-UC-TURB). Patients with high-grade Ta tumors who underwent TURB between March 2016 and December 2019 were included. Following the initial TURB, if the pathology results showed a tumor grade higher than high-grade Ta, re-TURB was performed according to the surgeon's recommendation. The recurrence-free survival rate was assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis between patients who did and did not undergo re-TURB. RESULTS: In total, 187 patients with high-grade Ta who underwent initial TURB were included, of whom 115 underwent re-TURB and 72 did not. Patients in the re-TURB group had a significantly higher 2-year recurrence-free survival rate than did those in the no re-TURB group (81.3% vs. 60.1%; p=0.005). Whether patients underwent re-TURB was a significant predictor of the risk of bladder cancer recurrence in both the univariate (HR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.27-0.98; p=0.044) and multivariate (HR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.19-0.97; p=0.041) analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The risk for bladder cancer recurrence was increased, and the 2-year recurrence-free survival was significantly decreased, in patients with high-grade Ta tumors who did not undergo re-TURB. Thus, re-TURB is beneficial in patients with high-grade Ta bladder cancer.

Late Recurrence of Bladder Cancer following Radical Cystectomy: Characteristics and Outcomes.

PURPOSE: There are only a few studies on characteristics and outcomes of late recurrence (LR) of urothelial carcinoma of bladder (UCB) after radical cystectomy (RC). The objective of this study was to assess characteristics and oncological outcomes of such LR that developed 5 years after RC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 570 patients who underwent RC and bilateral regional lymphadenectomy for UCB at our institution. Comparisons of post-recurrence disease-specific survival (DSS) according to the timing of recurrence and the site of recurrence were performed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and log-rank test. Cox regression model was fitted to assess factors for post-recurrence DSS. RESULTS: Disease recurrence occurred in 214 (37.5%) patients, including 20 (9.3%) who had LRs. Median time from RC to recurrence was 13.0 (interquartile range 6.0-32.0) months. There were no significant differences in clinicopathological factors between early- and late-recurrence groups. Post-recurrence 5-year DSS was not significantly different (21.6 vs. 14.1%, p = 0.344) between early- and late-recurrence groups. However, it was worse in the nonurothelial recurrence group compared to that in the urothelial recurrence group (14.0 vs. 19.4%, p = 0.056). Older age (HR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05, p = 0.001), nonorgan-confined disease at RC (HR 1.73, 95% CI 1.15-2.61, p = 0.008), and lymph node invasion (HR 1.58, 95% CI 1.01-2.45, p = 0.043) were significant predictors for post-recurrence 5-year DSS. CONCLUSIONS: LR after RC with lymphadenectomy is not common. However, it cannot be overlooked. LR had similar characteristics to early recurrence. Interestingly, the time to recurrence did not affect post-recurrence survival.

Intravesical Chemotherapy after Radical Nephroureterectomy for Primary Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.

The aim of this study was to determine the prophylactic effect of intravesical chemotherapy. Furthermore, it aimed to compare the efficacy of regimens on the prevention of bladder recurrence, after nephroureterectomy, for upper tract urothelial carcinoma by systematic review and network meta-analysis. A comprehensive literature search was conducted to search for studies published before 22 December 2016 using PubMed, Embase, and Scopus. All studies comparing nephroureterectomy alone with prophylactic intravesical chemotherapy after nephroureterectomy were included. The primary outcome was intravesical recurrence-free survival rate. In addition, we conducted indirect comparisons among regimens using network meta-analysis, as well as three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on multicenter setting, and one large retrospective study with a total of 532 patients were analyzed. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) of bladder recurrence was 0.54 (95% CI: 0.38-0.76) in intravesical instillation patients. On network meta-analysis, pirarubicin was ranked the most effective regimen, while maintenance therapy of mitomycin C (MMC) with Ara-C and induction therapy of MMC were ranked as the second and third most effective regimens, respectively. Our study demonstrates that intravesical chemotherapy can prevent bladder recurrence in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma after nephroureterectomy. It also suggests that a single instillation of pirarubicin is the most efficacious intravesical regimen.

Association between Alcohol Drinking and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality and All-cause Mortality: Kangwha Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to examine relationships between alcohol drinking and cardiovascular disease mortality and all-cause mortality. METHODS: From March 1985 through December 1999, 2, 696 males and 3, 595 females aged 55 or over as of 1985 were followed up for their mortality until 31 December 1999. We calculated the mortality risk ratios by level of alcohol consumption. Among the drinker, the level of alcohol consumption was calculated by the frequency of alcohol comsumption and the type of alcohol. Cox proportional hazard model was used to adjust for confounding factors. RESULTS: Among males, compared to abstainer, heavy drinker had significantly higher mortality in all cause (Risk ratio=1.35), cardiovascular disease (Risk ratio=1.52) and cerebrovascular disease (Risk ratio =1.66). Although not significant, moderate drinker had lower ischemic heart disease mortality (Risk ratio =0.38). Among females, there was no statistically significant association between alcohol comsumption and mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that alcohol drinking has harmful effect on all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality and cerebrovascular disease mortality among males, especially in heavy drinker among males. Minimal evidence on protective effect for cardiovascular disease mortality in low or moderate drinker is observed.