Thompson, R. Houston

454 Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based combination therapy has become the standard of care for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). A pathologic complete response (pCR) in the primary tumor may be observed in up to one-third of patients; however, data on the outcomes of these patients remain limited. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients who achieved a pCR following ICI therapy. Methods: Patients with advanced RCC who underwent nephrectomy following ICI therapy were evaluated across five high-volume U.S. academic centers between 2015 and 2023. Clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared between those with and without a pCR in the primary tumor (ypT0N0/Nx). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with pCR. Recurrence-free (RFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier (KM) method. Results: A total of 182 patients were included (Table 1). Among all patients, downstaging to ≤ypT1N0/Nx was observed in 45 patients (25%), of whom 21 (11%) achieved a pCR. In multivariable analysis, the presence of clinical thrombus was marginally associated with a lower likelihood of achieving pCR (odds ratio [95% CI]: 0.39 [0.15–1.00], p=0.06). During a median follow-up of 25 months, 70 patients (38%) experienced recurrence, including 4 (2%) in the pCR group. Median time to recurrence was 7.5 months. KM analysis demonstrated a higher estimated 5-year RFS in the pCR group compared to those with residual disease; however, the difference was not statistically significant (68% vs. 54%, p=0.2). In addition, OS rates were comparable between the two groups. Conclusions: In our cohort, 11% of patients who underwent nephrectomy following ICI therapy for advanced RCC showed pCR, which correlated with improved oncologic outcomes. Despite the lower recurrence rates observed in the pCR group, sustained long-term surveillance remains necessary due to the continued, albeit reduced, risk of disease recurrence. Clinical characteristics of patients who underwent post-ICI nephrectomy, stratified by their pathologic complete response (pCR). Variable pCR (n=21) No pCR (n=161) p-value Median (IQR) age, year 61 (56 – 70) 64 (56 – 71) 0.46 Gender (male), n (%) 15 (71) 118 (73) 0.8 Tumor advancement, n (%) Locally advanced Metastatic 2 (10)19 (90) 36 (22)125 (78) 0.26 Risk group (for metastatic), n (%) Favorable Intermediate Poor 3 (25)6 (50)3 (25) 38 (34)59 (54)13 (12) 0.42 ICI regimen, n (%) ICI monotherapy ICI+ICI ICI+TKI 4 (19)9 (43)8 (38) 46 (28)64 (40)51 (32) 0.64 Immunotherapy cycles (>4), n (%) 8 (50) 49 (37) 0.42 Median (IQR) clinical tumor size, cm 9.3 (6.7 – 11.9) 8.4 (6.6 – 12) 0.68 Clinical nodal involvement, n (%) 8 (38) 53 (33) 0.63 Clinical thrombus, n (%) 12 (57) 60 (37) 0.1 ICI: immune checkpoint inhibitor; TKI: tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

641 Background: Perioperative blood transfusion is associated with an increased risk of adverse events and tranexamic acid (TXA) use has been proposed to decrease the need for perioperative blood transfusion. Herein, we seek to investigate the impact of intraoperative TXA on perioperative risk of VTE in a subset of patients who underwent robotic-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) for bladder cancer. Methods: We queried the prospectively maintained Mayo Clinic Radical Cystectomy registry and identified patients who underwent RARC between 2004-2021 and received TXA intraoperatively. In univariable and multivariable analyses, we investigated factors associated with bleeding and VTE within 30 days post-operatively. Results: Of 2862 patients, we identified 94 patients who received TXA (IV) intraoperatively (Group A) and were propensity score matched 1:1 for age, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, pT stage, pN stage, and preoperative hemoglobin with a group who did not receive TXA; 38 patients (Group B). In univariable and multivariable models, use of TXA has no statistically significant impact on patient’s risk of bleeding or VTE. In a univariable model, number of positive lymph nodes and extent of lymph node dissection were associated with increased risk of VTE (Table 1). Conclusions: In our study, use of TXA in patient’s undergoing RARC was safe and was not associated with increased risk of VTE. [Table: see text]

Robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) has become the leading approach for radical prostatectomy driven by innovations aimed at improving functional and oncological outcomes. The initial advancement in this field was transperitoneal multiport robotics, which has since undergone numerous technical modifications. These enhancements include the development of extraperitoneal, transperineal, and transvesical approaches to radical prostatectomy, greatly facilitated by the advent of the Single Port (SP) robot. This review offers a comprehensive analysis of these evolving techniques and their impact on RARP. Additionally, we explore the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in digitizing robotic prostatectomy. AI advancements, particularly in automated surgical video analysis using computer vision technology, are unprecedented in their scope. These developments hold the potential to revolutionize surgeon feedback and assessment and transform surgical documentation, and they could lay the groundwork for real-time AI decision support during surgical procedures in the future. Furthermore, we discuss future robotic platforms and their potential to further enhance the field of RARP. Overall, the field of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer has been an incubator of innovation over the last two decades. This review focuses on some recent developments in robotic prostatectomy, provides an overview of the next frontier in AI innovation during prostate cancer surgery, and highlights novel robotic platforms that may play an increasing role in prostate cancer surgery in the future.

Significance Statement Glomerular size differs by cortex depth. Larger nephrons are prognostic of progressive kidney disease, but it is unknown whether this risk differs by cortex depth or by glomeruli versus proximal or distal tubule size. We studied the average minor axis diameter in oval proximal and distal tubules separately and by cortex depth in patients who had radical nephrectomy to remove a tumor from 2019 to 2020. In adjusted analyses, larger glomerular volume in the middle and deep cortex predicted progressive kidney disease. Wider proximal tubular diameter did not predict progressive kidney disease independent of glomerular volume. Wider distal tubular diameter showed a gradient of strength of prediction of progressive kidney disease in the more superficial cortex than in the deep cortex. Background Larger nephrons are prognostic of progressive kidney disease, but whether this risk differs by nephron segments or by depth in the cortex is unclear. Methods We studied patients who underwent radical nephrectomy for a tumor between 2000 and 2019. Large wedge kidney sections were scanned into digital images. We estimated the diameters of proximal and distal tubules by the minor axis of oval tubular profiles and estimated glomerular volume with the Weibel–Gomez stereological model. Analyses were performed separately in the superficial, middle, and deep cortex. Cox proportional hazard models assessed the risk of progressive CKD (dialysis, kidney transplantation, sustained eGFR <10 ml/min per 1.73 m 2 , or a sustained 40% decline from the postnephrectomy baseline eGFR) with glomerular volume or tubule diameters. At each cortical depth, models were unadjusted, adjusted for glomerular volume or tubular diameter, and further adjusted for clinical characteristics (age, sex, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, postnephrectomy baseline eGFR, and proteinuria). Results Among 1367 patients were 62 progressive CKD events during a median follow-up of 4.5 years. Glomerular volume predicted CKD outcomes at all depths, but only in the middle and deep cortex after adjusted analyses. Proximal tubular diameter also predicted progressive CKD at any depth but not after adjusted analyses. Distal tubular diameter showed a gradient of more strongly predicting progressive CKD in the superficial than deep cortex, even in adjusted analysis. Conclusions Larger glomeruli are independent predictors of progressive CKD in the deeper cortex, whereas in the superficial cortex, wider distal tubular diameters are an independent predictor of progressive CKD.