Understanding the Use of Prostate Biopsy Among Men with Limited Life Expectancy in a Statewide Quality Improvement Collaborative

BACKGROUND: The potential harms of a prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis may outweigh its benefits in elderly men. OBJECTIVE: To assess the use of prostate biopsy in men with limited life expectancy (LE) within the practices comprising the Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MUSIC). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: MUSIC is a consortium of 42 practices and nearly 85% of the urologists in Michigan. From July 2013 to October 2014, clinical data were collected prospectively for all men undergoing prostate biopsy. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: We calculated comorbidity-adjusted LE in men aged ≥66 yr and identified men with(limited LE) undergoing a first biopsy. Our LE calculator was not designed for men agedyr; thus these men were excluded. Multivariable models estimated the proportion of all biopsies performed for men with limited LE in each MUSIC practice, adjusting for differences in patient characteristics. We also evaluated what treatments, if any, these patients received. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Among 3035 men aged ≥66 yr undergoing initial prostate biopsy, 60% had none of the measured comorbidities. Overall, 547 men (18%) had limited LE. Compared with men with a longer LE, these men had significantly higher prostate-specific antigen levels and abnormal digital rectal examination findings. The adjusted proportion of biopsies performed for men with limited LE ranged from 3.8% to 39% across MUSIC practices (p \u3c 0.001). PCa was diagnosed in 69% of men with limited LE; among this group, 74% received any active treatment. Of these men, 46% had high-grade cancer (Gleason score 8-10). CONCLUSIONS: Among a large and diverse group of urology practices, nearly 20% of prostate biopsies are performed in men with limited LE. These data provide useful context for quality improvement efforts aimed at optimizing patient selection for prostate biopsy. PATIENT SUMMARY: In this report, nearly 2 of every 10 men undergoing prostate biopsy had a life expectancy (LE)biopsy

Solving clinical challenges in prostate cancer using the single-port robot system

Objective: Patients who desire or require surgical management for prostate cancer, but are poor candidates for multi-port robotic surgery, can present a clinical challenge. Use of single port (SP) robotic technology may help overcome these challenges. We present our initial experience with robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) using the da Vinci SP robot for prostate cancer in patients who would otherwise not be good surgical candidates for conventional multi-port transabdominal robotic surgery. Patients and surgical procedure: Fourteen of 41 patients who underwent SP-RARP from November 2020 to February 2022 for biopsy confirmed, organ-confined prostate adenocarcinoma at a single tertiary care institution qualified for inclusion in our study due to specific considerations posing challenges for conventional multiport transperitoneal RARP. Perioperative metrics, pathologic findings and functional outcomes were collected prospectively. The accompanying video shows two cases demonstrating our transvesical and extraperitoneal approaches to SP-RARP. Results: All patients underwent successful procedures without need to convert to multi-port robotic or open approach. Most patients had prior abdominal surgery (13/14, 93%) including aborted multi-port RARP (2), hernia repairs (5), bowel diversions (3), and peritoneal dialysis catheters (2) among others. Most underwent extraperitoneal (9/14, 64%) followed by transvesical (5/14, 36%) approach. There were no intraoperative complications and one Clavien III post-operative complication. Positive margin rate was 29%, most of which were microscopic (≤3 mm, 3/4, 75%). Eighty-five percent of patients had undetectable nadir PSA. Conclusions: Our initial experience using the SP robot suggests that this technology can facilitate surgery for prostate cancer patients who might otherwise not be considered surgical candidates. Operative outcomes are not compromised despite a smaller incision and working space. We have found the SP system to be a valuable tool for carefully selected patients

Impact of Hospital Teaching Status on Healthcare Utilization, Length of Stay (LOS), and Cost of Hospitalization of Radiation Cystitis (RC) in the United States

Background: Limited data exist regarding in-hospital use of resources, LOS, and cost of RC-associated admissions in teaching hospital (TH) versus nonteaching hospital (NTH) settings. The goal of this study was to address the above void in literature. Methods:We focused on 13,272 admissions for RC between 2008-2014 within the National Inpatient Sample. Patients with concurrent diagnosis of other bladder conditions (n=914) were excluded. ICD-9 diagnosis and procedure codes were used to study inpatient procedures performed during admission. Type of admissions, receipt of a procedure, type of procedures performed, LOS, and total inflation-adjusted cost were then compared between TH and NTH. Complex survey chi-squared test and analysis of variance procedures were used to account for the NIS sampling design. Results: Of the 12,358 assessable records, 49% were at THs. Patients were more commonly admitted to emergency department at NTH (85%) compared to TH (80%; p\u3c0.001). Weekend admissions were more common at NTH (24%) compared to TH (21%) (p=0.004). Receipt of a procedure during admission was higher in TH (65%) compared to NTH (60%; p\u3c0.001). Number of procedure codes recorded was higher in TH (\u3e= 2 codes; 28.9% in TH vs 24.5% in NTH; p \u3c0.001. More complex procedures like cystectomy were almost exclusively performed at TH (cystectomy 2.4% in TH vs 0.4% in NTH admissions; p \u3c0.001), whereas there was no difference in procedures like blood transfusion (TH 34%; NTH 33%; p=0.3), suprapubic cystostomy (TH 1.3%; NTH 1.4%; p=0.8), and transurethral procedures (TH 14%; NTH 16%; p=0.06). Despite statistically significant difference in LOS between the two groups (Median days (IQR): TH 5 (3-9); NTH 5 (3-8); p\u3c0.001) the difference was not clinically significant. Cost of admission was higher in TH (10,377$TH; 8504$ NTH; p\u3c0.001). Conclusions: In the United States, patients with RC are more frequently admitted to the emergency department in NTH. Patients admitted to TH receive a procedure more often, receive a higher number of procedures, and more complex procedures, compared to NTH. This explains higher cost of admission in TH. Further research is needed to study the readmission rates and outcomes of patients treated in both types of health systems to know the best practices that can reduce morbidity and readmissions.https://scholarlycommons.henryford.com/merf2019qi/1021/thumbnail.jp

Inpatient morbidity and cost of cytoreductive radical prostatectomy in the United States

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Clinical trials are currently examining the role of local therapy in metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa). While the safety of RP in localized disease is proven, few studies have looked at perioperative complications and cost of cytoreductive RP (cRP). We used the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) to study the inpatient morbidity, and cost of cRP in the United States (US). METHODS: Analyzing the NIS dataset from 2008-2014, we identified 90,662 patients (weighted estimate 449,025 in the US) who underwent RP for non-metastatic disease, and 1,173 patients (weighted estimate 5,835) who underwent cRP for mPCa (see Fig. 1). Outcomes of interest were inpatient complications, individual complications, hospital stay, and total cost. Covariates included age, race, Charlson Comorbidity score, insurance status, rural/semi-urban/urban location, income, hospital location (rural/urban), teaching status, geographical location of hospital, and hospital volume. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of metastatic disease on morbidity after adjusting for covariates. RESULTS: Inpatient complication rates were 14.9% (13,688/91,835) overall, 14.9% (13,464/90,662) in the non-metastatic group, and 19.1% (224/1,173) in the cRP group (p = 0.01). On multivariable analysis, metastasis was an independent predictor of inpatient complications (OR 1.329; 95% CI: 1.077-1.640; p = 0.01). The cRP group also had higher rates of blood transfusion (6.9% [82/1,173] vs 4.3% [3,869/90,662]; p \u3c 0.001), longer hospital stay (median 1.25 vs 0.97 days; p \u3c 0.001), and higher cost (median $14,123 vs$11,591; p \u3c 0.001) compared to the non-metastatic group (see table 1). Majority of cRP was performed in urban teaching hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: cRP is associated with higher inpatient morbidity, longer hospital stay, and higher cost compared to RP for non-metastatic disease. This information may be valuable for informed decision-making in practice and before recruiting patients in clinical trials on this subject. Source of Funding: Nonehttps://scholarlycommons.henryford.com/merf2019hvc/1006/thumbnail.jp

Long-term risk of recurrence in surgically treated intermediate-high risk renal cell carcinoma: a post-hoc analysis of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group - American College of Radiology Imaging Network E2805 Trial cohort

Background: Surgical resection remains the gold standard treatment modality for clinically localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, the optimal follow-up period in these individuals is controversial, and the current recommendations are based on retrospective data, which inevitably contain attrition bias. Our objective was to re-visit the recurrence rate of surgically treated intermediate-high risk RCC patients using randomized clinical trial data. MethodsWe performed a post-hoc analysis of all the patients that were included in the ECOG-ACRIN E2805 Trial. We assessed post-operative recurrence rates using the cumulative incidence method. Conditional estimates of a 36-month recurrence for patients whom did not have recurrence at set intervals following surgery was performed. Assessment of routinely available clinical and pathological features in predicting disease recurrence at time 0-months after surgery was compared it to that of the same features at 60-months after surgery.ResultsThe original cohort consisted of 1943 patients . Median follow-up for the 1508 patients whom were alive at the end of the study was 67.9 months (IQR 56.7 – 82.0). 730 patients developed disease recurrence. The 36-month cumulative incidence of recurrence was found to be 31.1% (IQR 29.3 – 33.6) for the entire cohort at 0-months from surgery. The rate changed to 26.0% (IQR 23.7 – 28.2), 18.8% (IQR 16.5 – 21.1), 16.1% (IQR 13.6 – 18.8), 18.9% (IQR 15.0 – 23.1) and 20.3% (IQR 12.5 – 28.1) for patients whom did not have recurrence at 12-, 24-, 36-, 48- and 60-months from surgery, respectively. At time 0-month from surgery, age (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.00-1.02), pathologic T3/4 stage (HR: 1.557, 95%CI: 1.17 - 2.07), pathologic N1/2 stage (HR: 2.38, 95%CI: 1.85 - 3.07), Fuhrman grade 3 (HR: 1.36, 95%CI: 1.14 - 1.62) and Fuhrman grade 4 (HR: 2.41, 95%CI: 1.96 - 2.96) were independent predictors of recurrence. Conversely, none of the aforementioned covariates were predictors of disease recurrence at 60-months following surgery. Conclusions: Long-term follow-up, beyond 5-years, is supported by the findings within the present study. Also, the usual independent predictors that are frequently used to guide patient follow-up demonstrated validity immediately following surgery however lose their predictive power at 5 years from surgery.https://scholarlycommons.henryford.com/merf2019clinres/1028/thumbnail.jp

Impact of treatment modality on overall survival in localized ductal prostate adenocarcinoma: A National Cancer Database analysis

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Ductal adenocarcinoma is considered a rare histological variant of prostate adenocarcinoma (PCa). Given the rarity of this subtype, optimal treatment strategies for men with nonmetastatic ductal PCa is largely unknown. We aimed to describe the impact of surgery, radiotherapy, and systemic therapy on overall survival (OS) in men with nonmetastatic ductal PCa. METHODS: We retrospectively selected 2209 cases of ductal PCa, diagnosed between 2004 and 2015, within the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Exclusion of metastatic patients yielded a total sample of 1993 individuals. Cox regression analysis tested the impact of treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, systemic therapy and no treatment) on OS. Covariates included age, race, Charlson comorbidity score (CCI), clinical T stage, biopsy Gleason score, serum prostate specific antigen (PSA), and income. Adjusted Kaplan-Meier estimates were used to visualize the impact of treatment modality on OS. RESULTS: In men with nonmetastatic ductal PCa, median (IQR) age and PSA were 67 (61-74) years and 6.3 (4.3-10.8) ng/mL, respectively. Further, 9.8% (n=195) of patients presented with cT3 disease or higher, 3.4% (n=68) presented a CCI score ≥ 4, and 40.6% (808) presented with a Gleason biopsy score ≥ 4. Further, 1212 (60.8%) patients were treated surgically, 406 (20.4%) with radiotherapy, 102 (5.1%) with systemic therapies, and 273 (13.7%) received no treatment. Multivariable analysis showed that in comparison to men treated surgically, OS was significantly lower for patients receiving radiotherapy (HR 2.6; 95% CI 1.7-4.0) and systemic therapies (HR 9.1; 95% CI 5.0-16.5). Adjusted Kaplan-Meier curves are shown in the associated figure. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that in the rare ductal PCa variant, starting treatment with surgery offers more favorable long-term OS outcomes than radiotherapy and systemic therapies. While residual selection bias might persist after adjustment, the rarity of this disease precludes the possibility of a future trial, and the presented data represents the best available level of evidence on this topic

Admission Rates, Healthcare Utilization, and Economic Burden of Radiation Cystitis (RC) in the United States

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Radiation cystitis (RC) is a major cause of morbidity after radiotherapy for pelvic cancers. In the absence of a definite cure, patients may require repeated admissions, undergoing multiple - often morbid - urological procedures. Our aim was to study the inpatient economic burden and healthcare utilization associated with RC in the United States (US). METHODS: We focused on 13,272 records of adult (age \u3e= 18) patients with a diagnosis of RC within the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2008- 2014. Patients with a concurrent diagnosis of other bladder conditions (n=914) were excluded. Due to a change in NIS sampling methodology in 2012, trend of RC-associated admissions was analyzed for 2012-2014. ICD-9 diagnosis and procedure codes were used to study inpatient procedures performed during admission. Complex survey procedures were used to study the descriptive characteristics of RC patients and the procedures received during admission. Inflation- adjusted cost for each admission and cumulative annual cost of RC-associated admissions were calculated for the study period. RESULTS: The 12,358 assessable patients represented 61,346 admissions for RC nationally per NIS survey weights. The number of admissions increased gradually from 1681 (weighted 8405) in 2012 to 1803 (weighted 9015) in 2014. Overall 84% of all RC-associated admissions were non-elective. 74% of the patients were males. A vast majority (82%) of the patients had Medicare/Medicaid insurance. The admissions were equally distributed between teaching (49%) and non-teaching (51%) hospitals, however, 90% of the admissions were in hospitals located in urban areas. Any RC-directed procedure code was recorded in 62% admissions. Of these, 3,331 (43%) admissions recorded more than one procedure code. Blood transfusion was the most frequently recorded code (33%), followed by transurethral procedures (28%) and cystoscopy (12.6%). Radical cystectomy was done in 1.3% of the admissions. The median length of stay was 4.4 days (IQR 2.2-8.4).The inflation-adjusted cost per admission was 9207 US dollars (IQR 5275 -17,573) overall, being higher in teaching hospitals (median 9802 vs 8463 US dollars in non-teaching hospitals. The cumulative cost of inpatient treatment of radiation cystitis was 63.5 million US dollars per year, amounting to a total of 952.2 million over the study period. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of RC-associated admissions is rising in the US. This disease is a major burden to US healthcare. The awareness of the inpatient economic burden and healthcare utilization associated with RC may have funding implications.https://scholarlycommons.henryford.com/merf2019qi/1020/thumbnail.jp

Radical Surgery in the Treatment of Localized Carcinoma of the Prostate

New methods of early detection combined with recent advances in surgical techniques have resulted in more patients undergoing radical surgery for treatment of localized carcinoma of the prostate. Over 350 radical prostatectomies have been performed by our group since January 1987. We review the role of radical prostatectomy in the treatment of prostate cancer and our experience with 100 patients undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy since the advent of nerve-sparing techniques to preserve potency

Preservation of endopelvic fascia, puboprostatic ligaments, dorsal venous complex and hydrodissection of the neurovascular bundles during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: a video demonstration and propensity score matched outcomes

Introduction: We sought to report the oncologic and functional outcomes of endopelvic fascia (EPF), puboprostatic ligaments (PPL), and dorsal venous complex (DVC) preservation with hydrodissection of the neurovascular bundles (NVB) during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of our prospectively maintained prostate cancer database was performed. Patients who underwent bilateral or unilateral nerve sparing were identified. Propensity score matching was performed in a ratio of 1:1.6 between new technique (Group 1) and a historical group (Group 2). Data were reviewed for perioperative, oncologic, and functional outcomes. Cumulative incidence curves were used to depict perfect continence (0 pads), social continence (0-1 pads), and potency (SHIM≥17 with or without erectile aids). Multivariate models were used to elicit variables associated with continence and potency. Results: 76 patients in Group 1 and 126 patients in Group 2 were included. Median follow up was 17 months. Group 1 showed higher perfect continence rates at 1 month (9% vs 3%), 3 months (24% vs 19%), and 6 months (54% vs 34%) compared to Group 2 respectively (log rank p\u3c0.01). Group 1 also showed higher social continence rates at 1 month (15% vs 3%), 3 months (77% vs 32%), and 6 months (87% vs 53%) compared to Group 2 respectively (log rank p\u3c0.01). Group 1 had a similar potency rate compared to Group 2 (log rank p=0.25). Multivariate analysis showed that Group 1 was associated with improved perfect (Possibility ratio (PR) 1.82, 95% CI 1.29–2.58, p\u3c0.01) and social continence (PR 2.54, 95% CI 1.83 – 3.52, p\u3c0.01), but not potency. Conclusions: EPF, PPL, and DVC preservation with hydrodissection of the NVB offered similar oncological outcomes, but earlier and improved urinary continence rates compared to standard dissection