Preston, Mark A.

Bladder cancer, the sixth most common cancer in the United States, is most commonly of the urothelial carcinoma histologic subtype. The clinical spectrum of bladder cancer is divided into 3 categories that differ in prognosis, management, and therapeutic aims: (1) non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC); (2) muscle invasive, nonmetastatic disease; and (3) metastatic bladder cancer. These NCCN Guidelines Insights detail recent updates to the NCCN Guidelines for Bladder Cancer, including changes in the fifth edition of the WHO Classification of Tumours: Urinary and Male Genital Tumours and how the NCCN Guidelines aligned with these updates; new and emerging treatment options for bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)–unresponsive NMIBC; and updates to systemic therapy recommendations for advanced or metastatic disease.

The NCCN Guidelines for Bladder Cancer provide recommendations for the diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and follow-up of patients with bladder cancer and other urinary tract cancers (upper tract tumors, urothelial carcinoma of the prostate, primary carcinoma of the urethra). These NCCN Guidelines Insights summarize the panel discussion behind recent important updates to the guidelines regarding the treatment of non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer, including how to treat in the event of a bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) shortage; new roles for immune checkpoint inhibitors in non–muscle invasive, muscle-invasive, and metastatic bladder cancer; and the addition of antibody–drug conjugates for metastatic bladder cancer.

This selection from the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Bladder Cancer focuses on the clinical presentation and workup of suspected bladder cancer, treatment of non–muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer, and treatment of metastatic urothelial bladder cancer because important updates have recently been made to these sections. Some important updates include recommendations for optimal treatment of non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer in the event of a bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) shortage and details about biomarker testing for advanced or metastatic disease. The systemic therapy recommendations for second-line or subsequent therapies have also been revised. Treatment and management of muscle-invasive, nonmetastatic disease is covered in the complete version of the NCCN Guidelines for Bladder Cancer available at NCCN.org . Additional topics covered in the complete version include treatment of nonurothelial histologies and recommendations for nonbladder urinary tract cancers such as upper tract urothelial carcinoma, urothelial carcinoma of the prostate, and primary carcinoma of the urethra.

39 Background: The excess risk of high-grade prostate cancer in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) among men randomized to finasteride raised concerns that a chemoprevention benefit would be offset by increased mortality. Two 2019 publications had contrasting results whether 5-ARIs increased prostate cancer mortality. In PCPT, there was no excess prostate cancer mortality. In a VA study, 5-ARI use was associated with later stage at diagnosis and 39% higher prostate cancer mortality risk. We studied men with regular access to health care and screening to address this conflicting evidence. Methods: We performed two parallel analyses in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. 5-ARI use was reported on biennial questionnaires starting in 1996. In line with PCPT, we studied 38,047 men for cancer incidence and mortality through 2016. In line with the VA study, we undertook a case-only study of 4,225 patients with localized/locally advanced cancers followed similarly. We estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals accounting for screening patterns, lifestyle factors, and concomitant medications. Results: 5-ARI ever-users (n = 4,101; 10.7%) were more likely to have had regular PSA screening (74% vs. 57% nonusers) and a negative prostate biopsy before diagnosis. Neither ever 5-ARI use (HR 1.08, 0.73-1.60, 445 events) nor long-term use ( > 4 years, HR 1.03, 1.03-2.02) were associated with lethal prostate cancer. There was no difference in stage. Diagnostic PSA levels were lower in 5-ARIs users (10.0 vs. 16.0 ng/ml in never-users). Among nonmetastatic cases, 278 men died of prostate cancer; there was no association between 5-ARIs and prostate cancer survival (HR 0.85, 0.51-1.43). Conclusions: Our results align with PCPT and show no excess risk of lethal prostate cancer, no higher stage at diagnosis, and no excess mortality after diagnosis associated with 5-ARI. Men on 5-ARIs had more interactions with health care, which may have led to higher quality care. This contrasts with the VA study where men on 5-ARIs were diagnosed later due to suppressed PSA and had worse survival. These results show the importance of real-world data in framing the benefits and risks associated with 5-ARIs.