Gallina, Andrea

Background: To assess the differential effect of robotic assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) versus open radical cystectomy (ORC) on survival outcomes in matched analyses performed on a large multicentric cohort. Methods: The study included 9757 patients with urothelial bladder cancer (BCa) treated in a consecutive manner at each of 25 institutions. All patients underwent radical cystectomy with bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy. To adjust for potential selection bias, propensity score matching 2:1 was performed with two ORC patients matched to one RARC patient. The propensity-matched cohort included 1374 patients. Multivariable competing risk analyses accounting for death of other causes, tested association of surgical technique with recurrence and cancer specific mortality (CSM), before and after propensity score matching. Results: Overall, 767 (7.8%) patients underwent RARC and 8990 (92.2%) ORC. The median follow-up before and after propensity matching was 81 and 102 months, respectively. In the overall population, the 3-year recurrence rates and CSM were 37% vs. 26% and 34% vs. 24% for ORC vs. RARC (all p values > 0.1), respectively. On multivariable Cox regression analyses, RARC and ORC had similar recurrence and CSM rates before and after matching (all p values > 0.1). Conclusions: Patients treated with RARC and ORC have similar survival outcomes. This data is helpful in consulting patients until long term survival outcomes of level one evidence is available.

Objectives: To evaluate the ability of 18F-labeled fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) to predict survivorship of patients with bladder cancer (BC) and/or upper urinary tract carcinoma (UUTC). Materials: Data from patients who underwent FDG PET/CT for suspicion of recurrent urothelial carcinoma (UC) between 2007 and 2015 were retrospectively collected in a multicenter study. Disease management after the introduction of FDG PET/CT in the diagnostic algorithm was assessed in all patients. Kaplan-Meier and log-rank analysis were computed for survival assessment. A Cox regression analysis was used to identify predictors of recurrence and death, for BC, UUTC, and concomitant BC and UUTC. Results: Data from 286 patients were collected. Of these, 212 had a history of BC, 38 of UUTC and 36 of concomitant BC and UUTC. Patient management was changed in 114/286 (40%) UC patients with the inclusion of FDG PET/CT, particularly in those with BC, reaching 74% (n = 90/122). After a mean follow-up period of 21 months (Interquartile range: 4–28 mo.), 136 patients (47.4%) had recurrence/progression of disease. Moreover, 131 subjects (45.6%) died. At Kaplan-Meier analyses, patients with BC and positive PET/CT had a worse overall survival than those with a negative scan (log-rank < 0.001). Furthermore, a negative PET/CT scan was associated with a lower recurrence rate than a positive examination, independently from the primary tumor site. At multivariate analysis, in patients with BC and UUTC, a positive FDG PET/CT resulted an independent predictor of disease-free and overall survival (p < 0,01). Conclusions: FDG PET/CT has the potential to change patient management, particularly for patients with BC. Furthermore, it can be considered a valid survival prediction tool after primary treatment in patients with recurrent UC. However, a firm recommendation cannot be made yet. Further prospective studies are necessary to confirm our findings.