Michael J. Leveridge

Outcomes of Small Renal Mass Needle Core Biopsy, Nondiagnostic Percutaneous Biopsy, and the Role of Repeat Biopsy

BACKGROUND Percutaneous needle core biopsy has become established in the management of small renal masses ≤ 4 cm (SRMs). Recent series have reported success rates of ≥ 80%. Nondiagnostic results continue to be problematic. OBJECTIVE To determine the results of SRM biopsy and the outcomes of nondiagnostic biopsy and repeat biopsy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Patients undergoing renal tumor biopsy (RTB) for suspected renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were included in a prospectively maintained database. MEASUREMENTS The database was analyzed retrospectively to determine the pathology and outcomes of SRM biopsy. Outcomes of patients with nondiagnostic biopsy were determined. Patients undergoing repeat biopsy were identified and their outcomes analyzed. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS Three hundred forty-five biopsies were performed (mean diameter: 2.5 cm). Biopsy was diagnostic in 278 cases (80.6%) and nondiagnostic in 67 cases (19.4%). Among diagnostic biopsies, 221 (79.4%) were malignant, 94.1% of which were RCC. Histologic subtyping and grading of RCC was possible in 88.0% and 63.5% of cases, respectively. Repeat biopsy was performed in 12 of the 67 nondiagnostic cases, and a diagnosis was possible in 10 (83.3%). Eight lesions were malignant and two were oncocytic neoplasms. Pathology was available for 15 masses after initial nondiagnostic biopsy; 11 (73%) were malignant. Larger tumor size and a solid nature on imaging predicted a successful biopsy on multivariate analysis. Grade 1 complications were experienced in 10.1% of cases, with no major bleeding and no seeding of the biopsy tract. There was one grade 3a complication (0.3%). This is a retrospective study and some data are unavailable on factors that may affect biopsy success rates. Repeat biopsy was not standard practice prior to this analysis. CONCLUSIONS RTB can be performed safely and accurately in the investigation of renal masses ≤ 4 cm. A nondiagnostic biopsy should not be considered a surrogate for the absence of malignancy. Repeat biopsy can be performed with similar accuracy, providing a diagnosis for most patients.

International Urology Journal Club via Twitter: 12-Month Experience

BACKGROUND Online journal clubs have increasingly been utilised to overcome the limitations of the traditional journal club. However, to date, no reported online journal club is available for international participation. OBJECTIVE To present a 12-mo experience from the International Urology Journal Club, the worlds first international journal club using Twitter, an online micro-blogging platform, and to demonstrate the viability and sustainability of such a journal club. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS #urojc is an asynchronous 48-h monthly journal club moderated by the Twitter account @iurojc. The open invitation discussions focussed on papers typically published within the previous 2-4 wk. Data were obtained via third-party Twitter analysis services. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Outcomes analysed included number of total and new users, number of tweets, and qualitative analysis of the relevance of tweets. Analysis was undertaken using GraphPad software, Microsoft Excel, and thematic qualitative analysis. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS The first 12 mo saw a total of 189 unique users representing 19 countries and 6 continents. There was a mean of 39 monthly participants that included 14 first-time participants per month. The mean number of tweets per month was 195 of which 62% represented original tweets directly related to the topic of discussion and 22% represented retweets of original posts. A mean of 130 832 impressions, or reach, were created per month. The @iurojc moderator account has accumulated >1000 followers. The study is limited by potentially incomplete data extracted by third-party Twitter analysers. CONCLUSIONS Social media provides a potential for enormous international communication that has not been possible in the past. We believe the pioneering #urojc is both viable and sustainable. There is unlimited scope for journal clubs in other fields to follow the example of #urojc and utilise online portals to revitalise the traditional journal club while fostering international relationships.

Early adopters or laggards? Attitudes toward and use of social media among urologists

To understand the attitudes and practices of urologists regarding social media use. Social media services have become ubiquitous, but their role in the context of medical practice is underappreciated.

Prostate Cancer Registries: Current Status and Future Directions

CONTEXT Disease-specific registries that enroll a considerable number of patients play a major role in prostate cancer (PCa) research. OBJECTIVE To evaluate available registries, describe their strengths and limitations, and discuss the potential future role of PCa registries in outcomes research. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION We performed a literature review of the Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases. The search strategy included the terms prostate cancer, outcomes, statistical approaches, population-based cohorts, registries of outcomes, and epidemiological studies, alone or in combination. We limited our search to studies published between January 2005 and January 2015. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS Several population-based and prospective disease-specific registries are currently available for prostate cancer. Studies performed using these data sources provide important information on incidence and mortality, disease characteristics at presentation, risk factors, trends in utilization of health care services, disparities in access to treatment, quality of care, long-term oncologic and health-related quality of life outcomes, and costs associated with management of the disease. Although data from these registries have some limitations, statistical methods are available that can address certain biases and increase the internal and external validity of such analyses. In the future, improvements in data quality, collection of tissue samples, and the availability of data feedback to health care providers will increase the relevance of studies built on population-based and disease-specific registries. CONCLUSIONS The strengths and limitations of PCa registries should be carefully considered when planning studies using these databases. Although randomized controlled trials still provide the highest level of evidence, large registries play an important and growing role in advancing PCa research and care. PATIENT SUMMARY Several population-based and prospective disease-specific registries for prostate cancer are currently available. Analyses of data from these registries yield information that is clinically relevant for the management of patients with prostate cancer.

Outcomes of squamous histology in bladder cancer: A population-based study

OBJECTIVES Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the bladder is an uncommon form of bladder cancer. Using a large population-based sample we sought to describe the outcomes of patients with squamous histology and to define the factors that influence prognosis in these patients. METHODS All incident cases of bladder cancer in Ontario undergoing cystectomy from 1994 to 2008 were identified. Electronic treatment records and detailed pathologic information were linked to the study data set. Patients were divided into 3 cohorts: pure SCC, urothelial carcinoma (UC) with squamous differentiation (UCSD), and pure UC. Cox modeling was performed to evaluate factors associated with overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). RESULTS There were identified 178, 325, and 2,884 cases of SCC, UCSD, and UC, respectively. The unadjusted 5-year OS for these groups were 33%, 28%, and 34%, respectively. Patients had higher rates of T3/4 disease with SCC (72%) and UCSD (73%) than those with UC (61%, P<0.001). There was no difference in node positivity among groups (20%, 27%, and 25%, P = 0.519). After adjusting for covariates, SCC did not portend a worse survival, at 5 years. However, SCC did result in a more rapid disease trajectory, with survival curves of SCC and UC crossing at the 5-year mark. Adjusted CSS/OS of UCSD was also not significantly different from UC. Among those patients with SCC, factors associated with CSS included age>70 (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.16-3.30), T category≥3 (HR = 2.09, 95% CI: 1.24-3.50), N positive disease (HR = 2.59, 95% CI: 1.55-4.32), lymphovascular invasion (HR = 1.98, 95% CI: 1.13-3.47), and positive surgical margins (HR = 2.95, 95% CI: 1.47-5.93). CONCLUSIONS After adjusting for patient and disease characteristics, we have found that SCC leads to a more rapid disease course with survival that is equivalent to UC by 5 years.

Surgical management of renal cell carcinoma: Canadian Kidney Cancer Forum Consensus.

The Canadian Cancer Society estimated 5900 new cases of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and 1750 related deaths in Canada in 2012.1 RCC is the sixth and eleventh most common cancer diagnosed in Canadian men and women, respectively, and its incidence has been rising by about 2.3% per year, including the period from 2005 to 2009.2 Much of this rise is attributed to incidental detection via abdominal imaging for other causes. Most of these RCCs have been small renal masses (SRMs), defined as solid-appearing masses less than 4 cm in maximum diameter.3,4 Hereditary RCC syndromes are well-described, but account for a minority of incidental findings. Other wellrecognized risk factors include cigarette smoking, obesity, hypertension and chronic renal failure.5-7

Needle core biopsies provide ample material for genomic and proteomic studies of kidney cancer: observations on DNA, RNA, protein extractions and VHL mutation detection.

The use of needle biopsies in basic research is increasing, and our study provides a comprehensive analysis of their adequacy in genomic and proteomic studies of kidney cancer. Frozen clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) needle core biopsies and sections from core biopsies embedded in optimal cutting temperature (OCT) compound were used to extract DNA, RNA and protein. Their integrity was determined using genomic and proteomic analyses. VHL mutation testing was performed on ccRCC biopsies and corresponding tumors using bulk and laser capture microdissection (LCM) extractions for comparison. Adequate amounts of good quality DNA (5.8-13.3 μg/whole core, 0.6-2.7 μg/20 sections), RNA (2.9-11.9 μg/whole core, 0.5-1.3 μg/20 sections) and protein (137.4-444 μg/whole core, 39.9-74.1 μg/20 sections) were obtained from whole core and frozen sections of ccRCC needle biopsies, respectively. We observed VHL sequence mutations in 75% of ccRCC tumors and, in most cases, the same mutations were detected in both tumors and corresponding biopsies. Mutations observed by bulk extractions from tumors and biopsies were also detected by LCM without significant differences between both methodologies. ccRCC needle biopsies provide ample material for genomic and proteomic studies of kidney cancer. They are good representatives of their corresponding tumors for VHL mutation detection using both bulk and LCM extractions. LCM does not increase sensitivity of VHL mutation detection.

The state and potential of social media in bladder cancer

IntroductionSocial media sites and services have become intimately woven into our interpersonal communications and have begun to stake a visible place in healthcare. Disease-specific Twitter hashtags, online patient groups and participation by patients, practitioners and advocacy groups are emblematic of this new paradigm.MethodsA literature review and summary of resources and publications on bladder cancer and social media.ResultsA majority of Western patients have access to and use the Internet for health information. Urologists and oncologists have used bladder-cancer-specific messaging at international meetings infrequently as compared to prostate and other non-urologic cancers. An active community does participate in online discussion, with differences between medical practitioners and patients/advocates. Advice is given with the aim of unifying this discussion.

Recent developments in kidney cancer.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) diagnosis and management have undergone significant shifts in the recent past. The increasing rate of diagnosis of small renal masses, often in patients at high risk of morbidity with operative treatment, has led to studies, trials and discoveries in renal mass biopsy, active surveillance and minimally invasive thermal ablation. At the other end of the disease spectrum, targeted systemic therapies for metastatic RCC have supplanted cytokine-based treatment, with significant benefits to progression and survival. Recent reviews and trials have also cemented the role of partial nephrectomy as standard surgical management for most low-stage masses, and the roles of regional lymphadenectomy and adrenalectomy concomitant with nephrectomy have been clarified. This review aims to highlight recent evidence that has emerged in the management of this complicated oncologic issue.

Outpatient percutaneous nephrolithotomy in a renal transplant patient: World's first case.

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is an established safe and effective surgical treatment option for renal calculi in renal allografts. The advent of tubeless PCNL has led to reports of ambulatory or outpatient PCNL. This case report describes the successful outpatient management of a 49-year-old female with a symptomatic renal pelvic calculus in her transplanted kidney. Tubeless PCNL successfully removed the stone, free of complication, and the patient was discharged 2 hours and 17 minutes after the procedure in stable condition with minimal pain. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first successful case of outpatient tubeless PCNL in a transplanted kidney.