John E. Musser

Adult Prostate Sarcoma: The Memorial Sloan Kettering Experience

OBJECTIVE To present our institutional experience with adult prostate sarcoma over 30 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS We reviewed 38 cases of adult prostate sarcoma diagnosed and treated at our institution between 1982 and 2012. Univariate Cox proportional hazards regression was used to determine if there was an association between specific disease characteristics (tumor size, histology, American Joint Committee on Cancer stage, and metastasis at diagnosis) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). RESULTS A total of 38 patients were included, with a median age of 50 years (range, 17-73 years). Most men presented with lower urinary tract symptoms (45%), hematuria (24%), or acute urinary retention (21%). Diagnosis was established with prostate needle biopsy (68%) or transurethral resection of the prostate (18%). The predominant histologic subtypes were leiomyosarcoma (13 cases, 34%) and rhabdomyosarcoma (12 cases, 32%). Rhabdomyosarcoma was associated with poorer CSS (hazard ratio, 3.00; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13-7.92; P = .027) compared with leiomyosarcoma. We did not observe a significant relationship between tumor size and CSS. Overall, median CSS was 2.9 years (95% CI, 1.5-5.4), with 7.7 years for clinically localized disease (95% CI 2.5; upper bound not reached) and 1.5 years for metastatic disease (95% CI 1.1, 2.7). CONCLUSION Adult prostate sarcoma has a poor prognosis, especially in cases of metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. Surgery remains the standard of care, but it provides limited benefit to those with metastatic disease or as a consolidation therapy after partial response to systemic therapy.

Impact of Routine Use of Surgical Drains on Incidence of Complications with Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy

PURPOSE To assess the impact of eliminating routine drain placement in patients undergoing robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) and pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) on the risk of postoperative complications. PATIENTS AND METHODS An experienced single surgeon performed RALP on 651 consecutive patients at our institution from 2008 to 2012. Before August 2011, RALP with or without PLND included a routine peritoneal drain placed during surgery. Thereafter, routine intraoperative placement of drains was omitted, except for intraoperatively noted anastomotic leakage. We used multivariable logistic regression to compare complication rates between study periods and the actual drain placement status after adjusting for standard prespecified covariates. RESULTS Most patients (92%) did not have ≥grade 2 complications after surgery and only two patients (0.3%) experienced a grade 4 complication. The absolute adjusted risk of a grade 2-5 complication was 0.9% greater among those treated before August 2011 (95% confidence interval [CI] -3.3%-5.1%; p=0.7), while absolute adjusted risk of a grade 3-5 complication was 2.8% less (-2.8%; 95% CI-5.3%-0.1%; p=0.061). RESULTS based on drain status were similar. CONCLUSIONS Routine peritoneal drain placement following RALP with PLND did not confer a significant advantage in terms of postoperative complications. Further data are necessary to confirm that it is safe to omit drains in most patients.

Bladder Biopsy of Normal-Appearing Mucosa is Not Helpful in Patients with Unexplained Positive Cytology after Nonmuscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

PURPOSE Malignant voided cytology with normal endoscopic evaluation represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge in many patients with a history of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. Bladder biopsy is often advised but its efficacy is unclear. We evaluated the usefulness of bladder biopsy in patients with unexplained positive cytology and describe recurrence patterns in this unique patient subset. MATERIALS AND METHODS From an institutional database we retrospectively identified patients with a history of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer and surveillance cystoscopy from 2008 to 2012 who had malignant voided urine cytology but normal cystoscopy. Patients underwent systematic bladder biopsy or cystoscopic surveillance and were followed for recurrence and progression. RESULTS Of 444 patients 343 were followed with surveillance only and 101 underwent a total of 118 biopsies of normal-appearing bladder mucosa. Three biopsies (2.5%) showed carcinoma in situ and none revealed invasive carcinoma. During the median 32-month followup recurrence developed in the bladder in 194 patients (44%), in the upper tract in 24 (5%) and in the prostatic urethra in 5 (1%) while 219 (49%) had no recurrence. A previous diagnosis of upper tract urothelial carcinoma and a history of bacillus Calmette-Guérin treatment were associated with an increased recurrence risk on multivariate analysis. Recurrence rates and patterns were similar in the biopsy and surveillance groups. CONCLUSIONS Patients with malignant cytology despite normal cystoscopy have a high recurrence rate. Biopsy of normal-appearing bladder mucosa in this setting is rarely positive and does not alter the recurrence pattern.

Upper Urinary Tract Abnormalities: A Case of Bilateral Kidneys Within a Left-sided Omphalocele

Children with omphalocele, exstrophy, imperforate anus, and spinal defects complex present with the most severe form of birth defects in the exstrophy-epispadias spectrum. Prenatal diagnosis is difficult, but improved survival over the past several decades makes understanding the potential anatomic manifestations imperative for expeditious and appropriate surgical care. The upper urinary tract is often normal in children with omphalocele, exstrophy, imperforate anus, and spinal defects complex, but malposition of one of the kidneys has previously been reported. We present the first case of bilateral kidney herniation into the omphalocele sac.

Impact of Race in Using PSA Velocity to Predict for Prostate Cancer

OBJECTIVE To assess whether race is a significant factor in the ability of prostate-specific antigen velocity (PSAV) for predicting high-grade prostate cancer (HGPC). METHODS Records of men who underwent prostate biopsy between January 2003 and December 2007 were retrospectively reviewed to collect demographic data, self-reported race, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) data, and pathology results. PSAV was calculated using linear regression. Subjects were stratified by the presence or absence of HGPC. Median PSA and PSAV values were compared within each racial group using receiver operating characteristic analysis and Student t test. RESULTS Static PSA was significantly higher in Caucasian men with HGPC (4.81 vs. 8.3 ng/mL, p = 0.0000001) while PSAV was also higher in men with HGPC (0.639 vs. 1.15 ng/mL/yr, p = 0.081). Static PSA in Asians did not perform well in predicting HGPC (5.3 vs. 9.42 ng/mL, p = 0.11), but fared much better than PSAV (0.51 vs. 0.93 ng/mL/yr, p = 0.27). PSA in African Americans did not significantly predict HGPC (6.27 vs. 7.7 ng/mL, p = 0.474), but PSAV showed a stronger trend toward significance (0.615 vs. 1.54 ng/mL/yr, p = 0.068). CONCLUSIONS PSAV may complement static PSA in African Americans and help identify early stage aggressive cancers.

Ambulatory Extended Recovery: Safely Transitioning to Overnight Observation for Minimally Invasive Prostatectomy

Introduction: We evaluated the safety and efficacy of a clinical pathway designed and implemented to transition inpatient minimally invasive radical prostatectomy to a procedure with overnight observation. Methods: In April 2011 ambulatory extended recovery was implemented at our institution. This was a multidisciplinary program of preoperative teaching and postoperative care for patients undergoing minimally invasive radical prostatectomy. We compared the risk of requiring a more than 1‐night hospital stay by patients treated with surgery the year before the program vs those treated after the program was initiated, adjusting for age, ASA® status and surgery type. We also examined the rates of readmission and urgent care visits within 48 hours, and 7 and 30 days before and after the program began. Results: The proportion of patients who stayed longer than 1 night was 53% in the year before initiating the ambulatory extended recovery program vs 8% during the program, representing an adjusted absolute risk decrease of 45% (95% CI 39–50, p <0.0001). There was no important predictor of a greater than 1‐night length of stay among ambulatory extended recovery patients. Rates of readmission and urgent care visits were slightly lower during the ambulatory extended recovery phase with no significant difference between the groups. Conclusions: The ambulatory extended recovery program successfully transitioned most patients to a 1‐night hospital stay without resulting in an increased rate of readmission or urgent care visits.

Bladder Tumors: Association with Upper Tract Neoplasms

Following treatment for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB), patients are at risk for urothelial recurrence in the bladder, urethra and upper tracts. This may be due to a field effect in the urothelium or implantation of malignant cells shed from the primary tumor [1]. Conversely, following treatment for upper tract urothelial carcinomas (UTUC) there is a 13–54 % and 6 % risk of recurrence in the bladder and contralateral upper tract, respectively [2]. Theoretical causes for intravesical recurrence following treatment for UTUC include tumor cell shedding during surgery, angiogenic factors released into the bladder as a consequence of the bladder incision, and a compromised immune status due to surgery [3]. Because there is a risk of UTUC after treatment for UCB, and UCB after treatment for UTUC, long-term surveillance of the urothelium is necessary in patients with a history of urothelial carcinoma.