Nurse‐led one stop hematuria clinic: outcomes from 2,714 patients

Objectives Objective of this study is to report the results of nurse led hematuria clinic service outcome of 2,714 patients. Subjects and methods We conducted a retrospective, single center review of 2714 patients with visible and nonvisible hematuria managed by a well-trained nurse specialist in a rapid access clinic (RAC) between 2014 and 2020. All patients received a full review, flexible cystoscopy performed by a nurse, and ultrasound of urinary tracts. After investigations, patients were reassured and discharged or referred for rigid cystoscopy, TURBT, and CT urography. Results In total, 2714 patients attended the RAC between October 2014 and March 2020. Of these, 1684 (62%) were males and 1030 (38%) females. The median age of patients was 68.3 (IQR 58-79). Of the 1030 females, 500 (48.5%) presented with nonvisible hematuria (NVH), and 530 (51.5%) presented with visible hematuria (VH). The median age was 66 (IQR 56-76). The number of females diagnosed with any form of malignancy was 72 (7% of all females). Of the 1684 males, 288 (17.1%) presented with NVH, and 1396 (82.9%) presented with VH. The median age was 72 (IQR 59-81). The number of males diagnosed with some form of malignancy was 258 (15.3% of all males). Overall, 1926 patients presented with VH and 788 patients presented with NVH. After investigations, 290 patients (15.1%) with VH and 40 (5.1%) patients with NVH had some form of malignancy. The highest number of malignancies found in VH was bladder cancer (n = 222, 11.5%), followed by prostate (n = 28, 1%), renal (n = 23, 0.8%), UT urothelial (n = 17, 0.6%), gynaecological (n = 7, 0.3%), and gastrointestinal (n = 5, 0.2%) cancer. The highest number of pathologies found in NVH was infection (n = 44, 5.6%). Cancer detection rate for symptomatic NVH was more than double that of asymptomatic NVH, 6.5% versus 3.1%, respectively. Conclusion Overall, 15.1% with VH and 5.1% with NVH present with malignancy. Nurse-led rapid access hematuria clinic and flexible cystoscopy investigation by trained nurse is safe and feasible

Systematic Review of the Incidence of and Risk Factors for Urothelial Cancers and Renal Cell Carcinoma Among Patients with Haematuria

Peer reviewedPostprin

Lymphatic drainage in renal tumours and implications for management

Purpose: Lymphatic drainage from renal tumors is unpredictable and in vivo drainage studies ofprimary lymphatic landing sites may reveal the variability and dynamics of lymphatic connections.The purpose of this study was to investigate the lymphatic drainage pattern from renal tumors in vivo with SPECT/CT imaging after intra-tumoral radiotracer injection.Materials and methods: We conducted a phase II prospective single-arm study to investigate thedistribution of SNs from renal tumors on SPECT/CT imaging. Patients with cT1-3 (<10 cm) cN0M0renal tumors of any subtype were enrolled. After intra-tumoral ultrasound guided injection of 0.4 ml99mTc-nanocolloid, preoperative imaging of SNs with lymphoscintigraphy and SPECT/CT wasperformed. SN and locoregional non-SNs were resected using a gamma probe in combination with amobile gamma camera. The primary study endpoint was location of SNs outside the locoregionalretroperitoneal templates (LRT) on SPECT/CT imaging. Using a Simon Minimax two-stage design todetect a 25% extra-LRT location of SNs on imaging with an alpha of 0.05 and a power of 80%, at least40 patients with SN imaging on SPECT/CT were needed.Results: Sixty-eight patients were included. Forty patients had preoperative SPECT/CT imaging ofSNs and were used for primary endpoint analysis. Lymphatic drainage outside the LRT was observedin 14 (35%) patients. Eight patients (20%) had supradiaphragmatic SN.Conclusions: SNs from renal tumors were mainly located in their respective LRT, but simultaneousSNs located outside the suggested LND templates, including supradiaphragmatic SNs were observedin more than one third of the patients

Lymphatic drainage in renal tumours and implications for management

Purpose: Lymphatic drainage from renal tumors is unpredictable and in vivo drainage studies ofprimary lymphatic landing sites may reveal the variability and dynamics of lymphatic connections.The purpose of this study was to investigate the lymphatic drainage pattern from renal tumors in vivo with SPECT/CT imaging after intra-tumoral radiotracer injection.Materials and methods: We conducted a phase II prospective single-arm study to investigate thedistribution of SNs from renal tumors on SPECT/CT imaging. Patients with cT1-3 (<10 cm) cN0M0renal tumors of any subtype were enrolled. After intra-tumoral ultrasound guided injection of 0.4 ml99mTc-nanocolloid, preoperative imaging of SNs with lymphoscintigraphy and SPECT/CT wasperformed. SN and locoregional non-SNs were resected using a gamma probe in combination with amobile gamma camera. The primary study endpoint was location of SNs outside the locoregionalretroperitoneal templates (LRT) on SPECT/CT imaging. Using a Simon Minimax two-stage design todetect a 25% extra-LRT location of SNs on imaging with an alpha of 0.05 and a power of 80%, at least40 patients with SN imaging on SPECT/CT were needed.Results: Sixty-eight patients were included. Forty patients had preoperative SPECT/CT imaging ofSNs and were used for primary endpoint analysis. Lymphatic drainage outside the LRT was observedin 14 (35%) patients. Eight patients (20%) had supradiaphragmatic SN.Conclusions: SNs from renal tumors were mainly located in their respective LRT, but simultaneousSNs located outside the suggested LND templates, including supradiaphragmatic SNs were observedin more than one third of the patients

Treatment of renal angiomyolipoma. Pooled analysis of individual patient data endourology and technology

Background: This study was performed to evaluate the impact of baseline characteristics and treatment methods on the outcome of sporadic renal angiomyolipoma (AML). Methods: This was a pooled analysis of individual data of 441 patients with AML retrieved from 58 studies and 3 institutional series. Results: Ninety-three patients underwent nephrectomy, 163 partial nephrectomy/enucleation, 128 embolisation, 19 cryoablation, 6 radiofrequency ablation, and 32 conservative treatment. Their mean follow-up period was 44.5 months. Patients who experienced major bleeding at presentation had significantly larger tumours than did those without bleeding (mean diameter, 10.1 vs. 5.9 cm, respectively; p < 0.0001). A total of 9.4 % and 26.4 % of bleeding tumours had a diameter of <4 and <6 cm, respectively. A tumour diameter of ≥8.0 cm (hazard ratio, 2.07; 95 % confidence interval, 1.20–4.77) and the treatment method (p = 0.001) were independent predictors of re-intervention. The risk of re-intervention was significantly higher after embolisation, particularly for large tumours (5-year rate of freedom from re-intervention: diameter of ≥8.0 cm, 49.2 %; diameter of <8.0 cm, 74.8 %; p = 0.018). Conservatively treated AMLs had a mean baseline diameter of 3.2 ± 2.7 cm; after 41 months, their mean diameter was 3.7 ± 3.1 cm (p = 0.109). Conclusions: The prevalence of major bleeding is high in sporadic AMLs with a diameter of >6 cm. These results suggest that conservative treatment can be considered in AMLs of <6 cm in diameter. Among current treatment methods, embolisation was associated with a significantly higher risk of re-intervention. Further studies are needed to define risk factors for bleeding and assess the relative benefits of different treatment modalities. Keywords: Angiomyolipoma, Bleeding, Radiofrequency ablation, Surgery, Embolisation, Re-interventio

Local treatment of recurrent renal cell carcinoma may have a significant survival effect across all risk-of-recurrence groups

BACKGROUND: Retrospective comparative studies suggest a survival benefit after complete local treatment of recurrence (LTR) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which may be largely due to an indication bias. OBJECTIVE: To determine the role of LTR in a homogeneous population characterised by limited and potentially resectable recurrence. DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: RECUR is a protocol-based multicentre European registry capturing patient and tumour characteristics, risk of recurrence (RoR), recurrence patterns, and survival of those curatively treated for nonmetastatic RCC from 2006 to 2011. Per-protocol resectable disease (RD) recurrence was defined as (1) solitary metastases, (2) oligometastases, or (3) renal fossa or renal recurrence after radical or partial nephrectomy, respectively. INTERVENTION: Local treatment of recurrence. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival was compared in the RD population that underwent LTR versus no LTR. We constructed a multivariate model to predict risk factors for overall mortality and analysed the effect of LTR across RoR groups. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Of 3039 patients with localised RCC treated with curative intent, 505 presented with recurrence, including 176 with RD. Of these patients, 97 underwent LTR and 79 no LTR. Patients in the LTR group were younger (64.3 [40-80] vs 69.2 [45-87] yr; p = 0.001). The median OS was 70.3 mo (95% confidence interval [CI] 58-82.6) versus 27.4 mo (95% CI 23.6-31.15) in the LTR versus no-LTR group (p &lt; 0.001). After a multivariate analysis, having LTR (hazard ratio [HR] 0.37 [95% CI 0.2-0.6]), having low- versus high-risk RoR (HR 0.42 [95% CI [0.20-0.83]), and not having extra-abdominal/thoracic metastasis (HR 1.96 [95% CI 1.02-3.77]) were prognostic factors of longer OS. The LTR effect on survival was consistent across risk groups. OS HR for high, intermediate, and low risks were 0.36 (0.2-0.64), 0.27 (0.11-0.65), and 0.26 (0.08-0.8), respectively. Limitations include retrospective design. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study assessing the effectiveness of LTR in RCC in a comparable population with RD. This study supports the role of LTR across all RoR groups. PATIENT SUMMARY: We assessed the effectiveness of local treatment of resectable recurrent renal cell carcinoma after surgical treatment of the primary kidney tumour. Local treatment of recurrence was associated with longer survival across groups with a risk of recurrence

A Phase II, single-arm trial of neoadjuvant axitinib plus avelumab in patients with localized renal cell carcinoma who are at high risk of relapse after nephrectomy (NEOAVAX)

Surgery is the standard treatment for nonmetastatic renal cell carcinoma. Despite curative intent, patients with a high risk of relapse have a 5-year metastasis-free survival rate of only 30% and prevention of recurrence is an unmet need. In a Phase III trial (JAVELIN Renal 101), progression-free survival of axitinib + avelumab was superior to sunitinib with a favorable objective response rate and no added toxicity profiles as known for axitinib or avelumab single agent. NEOAVAX is designed as open label, single arm, Phase II trial with a Simon's two-stage design evaluating neoadjuvant axitinib + avelumab followed by complete surgical resection in 40 patients with high-risk nonmetastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma. Primary end point is remission of the primary tumor (RECIST 1.1; Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors) following neoadjuvant therapy. Secondary end points include disease-free survival, overall survival, rate of metastasis and local recurrence, safety, and tolerability. Exploratory end points include investigation of effects on neoangiogenesis, immune infiltrates and myeloid-derived suppressor cell components to support a rationale for the combined use of axitinib and avelumab (NCT03341845)

Clinical experience of using virtual 3D modelling for pre and intraoperative guidance during robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy

Objective: Surgical planning for robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy is widely performed using two-dimensional computed tomography images. It is unclear to what extent two-dimensional images fully simulate surgical anatomy and case complexity. To overcome these limitations, software has been developed to reconstruct three-dimensional models from computed tomography data. We present the results of a feasibility study, to explore the role and practicality of virtual three-dimensional modelling (by Innersight Labs) in the context of surgical utility for preoperative and intraoperative use, as well as improving patient involvement. / Methods: A prospective study was conducted on patients undergoing robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy at our high volume kidney cancer centre. Approval from a research ethics committee was obtained. Patient demographics and tumour characteristics were collected. Surgical outcome measures were recorded. The value of the three-dimensional model to the surgeon and patient was assessed using a survey. The prospective cohort was compared against a retrospective cohort and cases were individually matched using RENAL (radius, exophytic/endophytic, nearness to collecting system or sinus, anterior/posterior, location relative to polar lines) scores. / Results: This study included 22 patients. Three-dimensional modelling was found to be safe for this prospective cohort and resulted in good surgical outcome measures. The mean (standard deviation) console time was 158.6 (35) min and warm ischaemia time was 17.3 (6.3) min. The median (interquartile range) estimated blood loss was 125 (50–237.5) ml. Two procedures were converted to radical nephrectomy due to the risk of positive margins during resection. The median (interquartile range) length of stay was 2 (2–3) days. No postoperative complications were noted and all patients had negative surgical margins. Patients reported improved understanding of their procedure using the three-dimensional model. / Conclusion: This study shows the potential benefit of three-dimensional modelling technology with positive uptake from surgeons and patients. Benefits are improved perception of vascular anatomy and resection approach, and procedure understanding by patients. A randomised controlled trial is needed to evaluate the technology further. / Level of evidence: 2

Topographic distribution of first landing sites of lymphatic metastases from patients with renal cancer

Introduction and Objective: Adjuvant studies with checkpoint inhibitors have attracted new interest in accurate pathological lymph node (LN) staging in renal cell carcinoma. Sentinel lymph node (SN) studies in cN0 patients revealed the pattern of lymphatic radiotracer drainage from renal tumors. The aim of this study was to describe the location of single- or oligometastatic LN and analyze if the topography of these first landing sites matches the drainage pattern observed in SN studies of renal tumors. Materials and Methods: We collected data from 8 referral centers from 1990 to 2018 of all patients with pT1-4 cN0 or cN1 M0 renal cell carcinoma with pathologically confirmed single- or oligometastases in locoregional LN. The location of LN metastases, number, size of metastatic LN, and survival were analyzed using descriptive statistics with SPSS version 22 (IBM, Chicago, IL). Results: From 3,794 patients with histologically confirmed pN1, a total of 76 patients (2%) with single- or oligometastatic pN1 were identified, of whom 24 (31.6%) and 52 (68.4%) were cN0 and cN1, respectively. On the left side, LN metastases were predominantly located in the para-aortal (48.0%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 29.22–63.12%) and hilar (31.42%; 95% CI 17.4–49.4%) area. On the right side, metastases located in retrocaval (26.82%; 95% CI 14.7–43.2%), hilar (26.82%; 95% CI 14.7–43.2%), interaortocaval (26.82%; 95% CI 14.7–43.2%), and paracaval (17.07%; 95% CI 7.6–32.6%) LNs. These landing sites exactly matched the lymphatic drainage pattern of intratumorally injected radiotracer reported in SN studies for both sides. Conclusions: Single- or oligometastatic LNs in renal cancer are mainly located in the hilar, retro-, para, and interaortocaval region on the right side and para-aortal region on the left side. These first landing sites match the drainage pattern reported in SN trials