Xylinas, Évanguelos

Objectives To develop an internationally validated, structured robot‐assisted radical nephroureterectomy (RARNU) training programme through expert consensus. Materials and Methods A RARNU‐specific questionnaire was developed/adapted from previously published, validated questionnaires for robot‐assisted urological procedures. This included five key domains and 11 surgical steps. In all, 30 upper tract urothelial carcinoma experts were invited to participate. A two‐stage modified Delphi approach was employed. Consensus was defined as ≥80% agreement. Modifications and additional statements were proposed during the second round following qualitative/quantitative feedback from the initial round. Results Response rates for the first and second Delphi rounds were 80% (24/30) and 92% (22/24), respectively. All agreed that adoption of a standardised training curriculum can improve clinical outcomes during the RARNU learning curve. There was ≥92% agreement on all proposed RARNU steps. Five RARNU clinical modules of increasing complexity were defined using individual step difficulty and number of prior RARNU cases required, with ≥96% agreement among respondents. Respondents unanimously agreed that the final assessment should be based on a procedure‐specific scale focusing on the hilar dissection, ureteric dissection, and bladder cuff excision steps. No consensus was reached for the annual minimum RARNU volume required for eligibility as a RARNU curriculum host centre. Conclusion This is the first structured training curriculum for RARNU using international expert consensus. This will help guide surgical educators and trainees toward independent completion of a full RARNU.

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 determine if a re‐transurethral resection (TUR), in the presence or absence of muscle at the first TUR in patients with T1‐high grade (HG)/Grade 3 (G3) bladder cancer, makes a difference in recurrence, progression, cancer specific (CSS) and overall survival (OS). Patients and methods In a large retrospective multicentre cohort of 2451 patients with T1‐HG/G3 initially treated with bacille Calmette–Guérin, 935 (38%) had a re‐TUR. According to the presence or absence of muscle in the specimen of the primary TUR, patients were divided in four groups: group 1 (no muscle, no re‐TUR), group 2 (no muscle, re‐TUR), group 3 (muscle, no re‐TUR) and group 4 (muscle, re‐TUR). Clinical outcomes were compared across the four groups. Results Re‐TUR had a positive impact on recurrence, progression, CSS and OS only if muscle was not present in the primary TUR specimen. Adjusting for the most important prognostic factors, re‐TUR in the absence of muscle had a borderline significant effect on time to recurrence [hazard ratio (HR) 0.67, P = 0.08], progression (HR 0.46, P = 0.06), CSS (HR 0.31, P = 0.07) and OS (HR 0.48, P = 0.05). Re‐TUR in the presence of muscle in the primary TUR specimen did not improve the outcome for any of the endpoints. Conclusions Our retrospective analysis suggests that re‐TUR may not be necessary in patients with T1‐HG/G3, if muscle is present in the specimen of the primary TUR.

Objective To determine the association between peri‐operative blood transfusion ( PBT ) and oncological outcomes in a large multi‐institutional cohort of patients undergoing radical cystectomy ( RC ) for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder ( UCB ). Patients and Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of 2895 patients treated with RC for UCB . Univariable and multivariable C ox regression models were used to analyse the effect of PBT administration on disease recurrence, cancer‐specific mortality, and any‐cause mortality. Results Patients' median (interquartile range [ IQR ]) age was 67 (60, 73) years and the median ( IQR ) follow‐up was 36.1 (15, 84) months. Patients who received PBT were more likely to have advanced disease ( P < 0.001), high grade tumours ( P = 0.047) and nodal metastasis ( P = 0.004). PBT was associated with a higher risk of disease recurrence ( P = 0.003), cancer‐specific mortality ( P = 0.017), and any‐cause mortality ( P = 0.010) in univariable, but not multivariable, analyses ( P > 0.05). In multivariable analyses, pathological tumour stage, pathological nodal stage, soft tissue surgical margin, lymphovascular invasion and administration of adjuvant chemotherapy were independent predictors of disease recurrence, cancer‐specific mortality and any‐cause mortality (all P values <0.002). Conclusions Patients with UCB who underwent RC and received PBT had a greater risk of disease recurrence, cancer‐specific mortality and any‐cause mortality in univariable, but not multivariable, analysis. Although the greater need for PBT with more advanced disease is probably caused by a number of factors, including surgical and cancer‐related factors, the present analysis showed that the disease characteristics rather than need for PBT led to worse outcomes.