François Gaudez

Urethral Recurrence of Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder

Objective: The management of the male urethra after cystectomy for bladder cancer continues to be a dilemma. Patients who undergo a cystectomy require either urinary diversion or bladder substitution. Therefore, the use of the urethra to ensure voiding is important. On the other hand, the probable risk of urethral carcinoma recurrence is generally estimated at approximately 10%. The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of preoperative urethral biopsies, and of frozen sections during cystoprostatectomy, in patients with invasive bladder cancer. Methods: From 1982 to 1986, 118 male patients underwent a cystoprostatectomy for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. All patients underwent endoscopic latero-montanal biopsies 2 weeks preoperatively and urethral frozen cut section during radical prostatocystectomy. Results: Carcinoma was observed in 12 patients on both examinations. All patients underwent en bloc urethrectomy during cystectomy. In the remaining 106 patients, the frozen cut margin was negative (including 9 with positive latero-montanal biopsies), and these patients had the urethra preserved. After a 10-year minimum follow-up, no recurrence was observed in these patients with negative frozen cut section. No significant risk factors for urethral recurrence were found. Latero-montanal biopsies did not reveal a positive specificity, and this procedure was later abandoned in our institution (in 1986). Conclusions: The urethral frozen section was the only guideline used for simultaneously performing the urethrectomy. All male patients with negative frozen cut sections should be considered candidates for bladder substitution. A prophylactic urethrectomy is only indicated in patients with carcinoma (minimum carcinoma in situ) in the frozen urethral margin section during cystectomy.

Correlation between p53 over expression and response to bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy in a high risk select population of patients with T1G3 bladder cancer.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to determine if p53 status, assessed before intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy, can predict clinical outcome in a high risk population of patients with stage T1, grade G3 bladder cancer and if it can be used to select patients responsive to therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS After complete transurethral resection 35 patients with T1G3 bladder carcinoma received 6 weekly instillations of BCG and nonresponsive patients received a second course. After treatment cystoscopy and randomized biopsies of the bladder mucosa were performed. Pathologists had sufficient material to perform immunomarking in 25 cases using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique with antiprotein monoclonal antibody p53. The results were expressed in percentage of marked nuclei. We established 5% increment thresholds from 0 to 60%. Contingent tables were established, and chi-square and Fishers exact test were performed for each 5% threshold. RESULTS Median followup was 51.3 months (range 25 to 144). Of the 25 patients 8 (32%) did not respond to BCG therapy and 17 (68%) did. Immunomarkings were not statistically different between BCG responsive and nonresponsive patients for 0, 5, 10, 20, 35, 40, 45, 55 and 65 thresholds. Chi-square and Fishers exact test were 0.91 and 0.83, 0.40 and 0.20, 0.58 and 0.29, 0.96 and 0.81, 0.80 and 0.88, 0.67 and 0.73, 0.91 and 0.83, 0.80 and 0.38, 0.69 and 0.32, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that the percentage of p53 immunomarked cell cannot currently be used to predict clinical response to BCG therapy and, therefore, p53 over expression is not a viable indicator of T1G3 recurrence when using this treatment.

Low-Dose BCG Instillations in the Treatment of Stage T1 Grade 3 Bladder Tumours: Recurrence, Progression and Success

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the effects and results of low-dose bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy on a selective high-risk population of stage T1, grade 3 (G3) bladder tumours. Recurrence and progression were also analysed.Thirty-five consecutive patients presenting with T1 G3 tumours were treated with intravesical BCG. All patients underwent complete transurethral tumour resection. A course of BCG 75 mg Pasteur strain was begun 4 weeks after the first resection of the diagnosed tumour and continued for a 6-week period. At the end of treatment, a complete urological evaluation was routinely carried out: urine cytology test, cystoscopy with bladder biopsies randomly performed, and any recurrences were resected. In cases of abnormal cytology and/or recurrence an additional course of BCG was initiated, followed by the same tests. Follow-up examination and cystoscopy or fibroscopy were conducted every 3 months for 1 year, semiannually and annually thereafter.Median follow-up was 45 months (range 10–120); 7 patients (20%) did not respond to BCG instillations. Of these patients, 5 underwent cystectomy and in 2 patients the bladder was left in place in spite of recurrence because of age (+80 years). Twenty-eight patients (80%) responded positively, 24 after one single course of BCG, and 4 patients after two courses. During follow-up, recurrence was observed in 8 cases: stage T1 G3 in 4 patients, T1 CIS (carcinoma in situ) in 2 patients, Ta G2 and Ta G1 in 2 patients. Three of these patients were treated by cystectomy and the remaining patients with transurethral resection alone or combined with additional courses of BCG. Overall, 25 patients (71%) were considered free of tumour occurrence after low-dose BCG therapy. Ten patients underwent cystectomy (29%) or remained in occurrence and 2 patients died of the disease.These results can be closely compared to the results of other trials conducted on stage T1 G3 and BCG treatment, using a different dosage and BCG protocol therapy. BCG is an effective prophylactic and therapeutic agent for T1 G3 carcinoma of the bladder responders. The identification of these responders before beginning instillations still remains a challenge.

Biopsy-confirmed de novo renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in renal grafts: a single-centre management experience in a 2396 recipient cohort

Study Type – Therapy (case series)

Pulsatile perfusion preservation for expanded-criteria donors kidneys: Impact on delayed graft function rate

Purpose Expanded criteria donors (ECD) kidneys are a potential solution to organ shortage, but exhibit more delayed graft function (DGF). We conducted a prospective controlled study aiming to evaluate the impact of Pulsatile Perfusion Preservation (PPP) on DGF rate. Methods Inclusion criteria were: 1) ECD definition (any brain-dead donor aged > 60 years or aged 50-60 years with at least 2 of the following: history of hypertension, terminal serum creatinin level ≥ 1.5 mg/dL, death resulting from a cerebrovascular accident; 2) Donor prolonged circulatory arrest (> 20 mn); 3) previsible cold ischemia time longer than 24 hours. In each pair of kidneys, one organ was preserved with PPP and the other organ was preserved in static cold storage. Results From February 2007 to September 2009, a total of 22 donors (44 recipients) were included. Recipients were comparable in the two groups with respect to demographic and immunological data. The rate of DGF was significantly lower (9% vs. 31.8%, p=0.021) in the PPP group. At 1, 3, and 12 months, renal function was comparable in the two groups. Conclusions Pulsatile Perfusion Preservation significantly reduced DGF rate in ECD kidney transplantation.

A New Prostatic Stent for the Treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in High–Risk Patients

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a new prostatic stent (Trestle®, Boston Scientific Microvasive) for the treatment of BPH in patients with complete urinary retention and considered to be inoperable.Methods: The efficacy of the stent was evaluated in terms of return of micturition, level of patient satisfaction, uroflowmetry and residual urine. Any stents removed were examined by infrared spectrophotometry for the presence of crystalline encrustations.Results: From December 1997 to April 1999, 20 stents were inserted under local anaesthesia in 17 patients aged 54–90 years. Stents remained in place for an average of 3.5 months. Two migrations were reported. The mean maximum flow rate was 13.7 ml/s and the mean residual urine was 110 ml. The infrared spectrophotometry study revealed a glycoprotein film on stents in place for 1–6 months, accompanied by uric acid crystals on stents in place for 9 months.Conclusion: The Trestle prostatic stent is effective and constitutes a good alternative to surgical treatment in patients with a high operative risk.

Kidney allograft fibrosis after transplantation from uncontrolled circulatory death donors.

Background Existing data suggest that increased interstitial fibrosis may occur abnormally in renal transplants from donations after uncontrolled circulatory death (uDCD). Methods To evaluate the factors that are associated with the progression of fibrosis and its functional impact on renal grafts, we compared 76 uDCD recipients with 86 recipients of kidney donations after brain death at 1-year after transplantation. Groups were matched for donor age, rank of transplantation, and absence of human leukocyte antigen sensitization. Histology was performed on sequential biopsies in uDCD recipients. Associations between variables were analyzed using linear mixed models and univariate analyses. Results In the uDCD group, increased fibrosis was detected 3 months after transplantation compared to before implantation. After 1 year, interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy score was significantly greater (1.5 ± 0.7 vs. 1.0 ± 0.9; P = 0.003) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (49.5 ± 17.4 vs. 60.6 ± 19.1 mL/min/1.73 m2; P = 0.0003) was significantly lower in the uDCD group than in the donations after brain death group. No flow duration and donor age were significantly associated with accelerated fibrosis. Interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy score, interstitial inflammation score, and estimated glomerular filtration rate were significantly worse in uDCD patients with no flow longer than 10 min. Conclusion Donations after uncontrolled circulatory death grafts show more fibrosis after transplantation. No flow duration is associated with accelerated fibrosis and should be considered during uDCD graft allocation.