Objective. To investigate the type of urinary diversion performed after cystectomy in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer in Sweden, using data from a population-based national register. Material and methods. Since 1997, the Swedish Bladder Cancer Register has included more than 90% of all patients with newly diagnosed bladder cancer. The different types of urinary diversion performed in 1997-2003 were analysed, comparing non-continent diversion (ileal conduit) with continent reconstruction (bladder substitution or continent cutaneous diversion). Results. During the study period, 3463 patients were registered with clinical T2-T4 non-metastatic bladder cancer. Cystectomy was performed in 1141 patients with ileal conduit in 732 (64%) and continent reconstruction in 409 (36%). Ileal conduit was used more frequently in females than males (p = 0.019), in patients older than 75 years (p < 0.00001), and in those with less favourable TNM classification. Continent reconstruction was done more often at university hospitals than at county hospitals (p < 0.00001), but rarely in the northern and western healthcare regions compared with other regions (p < 0.00001). Nationwide, the proportion of registered continent reconstructions decreased, although the absolute number was relatively stable (50-60 per year). Conclusions. Continent reconstruction after cystectomy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer is performed more often in some healthcare regions and in patients at university hospitals than in county hospitals, indicating a substantial provider influence on the choice of urinary diversion. Over time, the proportion of these procedures has decreased, while the absolute number has remained low and stable; therefore, concentration in high-volume hospitals specialized in bladder cancer and continent reconstruction seems appropriate.

Background: Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) instillation is regarded as the most effective bladder-sparing treatment for patients with high-grade T1 tumours and carcinoma in situ (CIS). The major problem with this therapy is the side-effects, making maintenance therapy difficult, even impossible, in a proportion of patients. Thus, alternative schedules and drugs have been proposed.Objective: To compare BCG to the combination of epirubicin and interferon-alpha 2b as adjuvant therapy of T1 tumours.Design, setting, and participants: This is a Nordic multicenter, prospective, randomised trial in patients with primary T1 G2-G3 bladder cancer. Initial transurethral resection (TUR) was followed by a second-look resection. Patients were randomised to receive either regimen, given as induction for 6 wk followed by maintenance therapy for 2 yr.Measurements: The drugs were compared with respect to time to recurrence and progression. Also, side-effects were documented.Results and limitations: A total of 250 patients were randomised. At the primary end point, 62% were disease free in the combination arm as opposed to 73% in the BCG arm (p = 0.065). At 24 mo, there was a significant difference in favour of the BCG-treated patients (p = 0.012) regarding recurrence, although there was no difference regarding progression. The subgroup analysis showed that the superiority of BCG was mainly in those with concomitant CIS. In a multivariate analysis of association with recurrence/progression status, significant variables for outcome were type of drug, tumour size, multiplicity, status at second-look resection, and grade. A corresponding analysis was performed separately in the two treatment arms. Tumour size was the only significant variable for BCG-treated patients, while multiplicity, status at second-look resection, and grade were significant for patients treated with the combination.Conclusions: For prophylaxis of recurrence, BCG was more effective than the combination. There were no differences regarding progression and adverse events between the two treatments. (C) 2009 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Objective. To analyse the management of muscle-invasive bladder cancer in a population-based national register, and specifically to investigate the role of curative therapy (i.e. cystectomy or radiotherapy) in relation to patient, tumour and hospital characteristics. Material and methods. The Swedish Bladder Cancer Register covers more than 90% of all patients in the country who have been diagnosed with such disease since 1997. Results from 1997–2003 were analysed regarding curative-intent treatment given within 3–6 months of diagnosis of muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Results. In total, 3463 patients with clinical T2–T4 bladder cancer were included in the analysis. Of those patients, 1426 (41%) received curative-intent treatment in the form of radiotherapy (285, 20%) or cystectomy (1141, 80%). Male gender, age < 76 years, favourable TNM category and registration at a high-volume hospital were associated with such treatment. Curative-intent treatment was given to significantly more patients registered at high-volume hospitals (1003/2227, 45%) than at low-volume hospitals (423/1235, 34%) (χ2=37.7, p<0.00001). Cystectomy was performed more often in those registered at high-volume than at low-volume hospitals (826/2227, 37%, and 316/1235, 26%, respectively, χ2=47.3, p<0.00001). Conclusions. Lower rates of curative-intent treatment were found in patients registered at low-volume than at high-volume facilities, and the same was seen when comparing females with males, and patients aged 76–80 years with younger patients. Since many of these bladder cancer patients were registered at and eventually treated at hospitals handling fewer than 10 such cases annually, it seems desirable to concentrate treatment of this disease at more specialized centres.

T1 tumours of the urinary bladder have a high rate of recurrence and progression. Intravesical BCG substantially improves the outcome but other successful adjuvant treatments are desirable. The aim of the present Nordic randomized study on newly diagnosed T1 tumours with or without CIS was to show that treatment with immunochemotherapy is not inferior to BCG alone.

OBJECTIVE:To analyse the management and outcome of patients with Ta T1 urinary bladder cancer in a population-based national database.MATERIAL AND METHODS:Between 1997 and 2001, 94% of all newly diagnosed cases of urinary bladder cancer were registered in the Swedish National Bladder Cancer Register. Data were analysed regarding gender, healthcare region, stage and grade for patients with Ta T1 tumours. The choice of initial treatment in different regions was reviewed. Survival was analysed by calculating relative survival.RESULTS:Out of 9859 registered patients, there were 4442 Ta tumours and 2139 T1 tumours. The median age at diagnosis was 72 and 73 years for patients with Ta and T1 tumours, respectively. Seventy-six percent of the patients were men. The choice of treatment varied between different healthcare regions. A significant trend towards an increased use of intravesical therapy was seen over time. Significantly fewer older than younger patients received such therapy. There was also a tendency towards more intensive therapy in men. The bladder cancer relative 5-year survival rate was 93% for Ta and 75% for T1 tumours. Survival was similar for men and women.CONCLUSIONS:Our analysis revealed a regional variation in the treatment of bladder cancer. A large group of patients, even those at high risk, were still undertreated. However, the recent publication of guidelines may have contributed to an increased use of intravesical treatment. Urologists tended to treat TaG3 and T1G3 tumours more aggressively than T1G2 tumours. Therapeutic aggressiveness decreased as the age of the patients increased. The survival rate of patients with bladder cancer in Sweden seems to remain at the levels previously reported for the 1980s.

OBJECTIVES:To record the occurrence of well-differentiated bladder carcinoma reported as T1 G1 to the Swedish Urinary Bladder Cancer Registry, to review the staging and grading of the carcinomas and to scrutinize the validity of the data on T1 G1 tumours reported to the registry during the period 1997-2000.MATERIAL AND METHODS:The primary histopathological diagnoses of 98 cases of well-differentiated bladder carcinoma reported to the Registry were compared with the data delivered by the local urologists. Also, the histopathology slides were obtained from the local laboratories and re-examined.RESULTS:Fifty-five cases had been erroneously reported to the Registry as T1 tumours by the urologists, even though they were clearly described as non-infiltrating G1 tumours by the pathologists. The results of the re-examination of the pathology slides were concordant with the judgements of the local pathologists in only 50% of cases (20 stage T and 29 grade G tumours). Most importantly, the re-evaluation did not reveal a single invasive G1 tumour. Simply by providing the urologists with information about this problem, it was possible to reduce the number of errors in the reports from 27 in 1997 to only five in 2000.CONCLUSIONS:Well-differentiated urothelial carcinoma (G1) has no propensity to infiltrate the bladder mucosa. For investigating specific problems the data collected in the Swedish Urinary Bladder Cancer Registry have to be validated.

Objective. To study residual tumours at second-look resection in patients resected 4-8 weeks earlier for T1 tumours of the urinary bladder. Material and methods. All patients randomized in the ongoing Nordic T1G2-G3 Bladder Sparing Study with monitored data available were included in the study. Data on residual tumours at second-look resection were compared to basic patient and tumour characteristics. Results. There were 72 patients (56%) without and 57 with residual exophytic tumours. In the former group, 20 patients (28%) had carcinoma in situ, compared to 19 (33%) in the latter group. Potentially dangerous tumours (either carcinoma in situ, T1 or Ta grade 3) were observed in 55 patients (43%). Multiple tumours at primary resection were more prone to residual tumour at second-look resection than single tumours. No other tumour or patient characteristics could predict the occurrence of a residual tumour. Conclusions. Residual tumours are frequently observed at second-look resection 4-8 weeks after primary resection of T1 tumours. The majority of residual tumours detected at this stage are potentially dangerous; therefore, early second-look resection followed by intravesical instillation therapy is mandatory in patients with T1 tumours of the urinary bladder.

OBJECTIVES:To evaluate whether, in patients with carcinoma in situ (CIS) of the urinary bladder, alternating instillation therapy with mitomycin C (MMC) and bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) was more effective and less toxic than conventional BCG monotherapy. METHODS:Patients were stratified prospectively for primary, secondary, and concomitant CIS and randomized to one of two regimens. Patients in the alternating group received six weekly intravesical instillations of MMC 40 mg, followed by alternating monthly instillations of BCG 120 mg and MMC for one year. In the monotherapy group, only BCG was instilled on the same schedule. RESULTS:Of 323 enrolled patients, 304 were eligible for analysis. After an overall median follow-up of 56 months, the Kaplan-Meier disease-free estimate for BCG monotherapy was significantly better than that for alternating therapy (p=0.03; log rank test). Risk for progression appeared lower in the BCG monotherapy group (p=0.07), but no differences existed in survival. Besides the regimen, CIS category also predicted outcome to some extent. BCG monotherapy caused significantly more local side-effects and premature cessation of instillation treatment than did the alternating therapy. However, no differences were observed in the number of serious side-effects. CONCLUSION:One-year BCG monotherapy was more effective than the alternating therapy for reducing recurrence and compared well with the best regimens reported from substantially smaller series. The alternating therapy was better tolerated.

Objectives: On behalf of the European Association of Urology (EAU), Guidelines for Diagnosis, Therapy and Follow–Up of Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients were established. Criteria for recommendations were evidence based and included aspects of cost–effectiveness and clinical feasibility. Method: A systematic literature research using Medline Services was conducted. References were weighted by a panel of experts on renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Results: RCC is characterised by a constant rise in incidence over the last 50 years, with a predominance of men over women and an incidence peak in the 6th and 7th decade. There is no risk factor established and the current TNM system (UICC, 1997) is endorsed for staging purposes. Clinical signs and symptoms of RCC are becoming less frequent, incidental discovery constitutes already a majority of cases. Diagnosis is established by ultrasound and abdominal CT, extension assessment in routine cases is done by chest X–ray. Additional examinations may be required in select cases. The therapy of choice in organ–confined RCC is surgery. Radical tumour nephrectomy is considered as a standard. Efficacy and side–effects of organ–sparing surgery, lymphadenectomy and inclusion/omission of ipsilateral adrenalectomy in selected cases is a matter of ongoing clinical research. In metastatic cases, tumour nephrectomy should only be considered in the context of modern systemic immunotherapy. A follow–up at regular intervals is recommended because certain cases of recurrences may be candidates for surgery and/or immunomodulating therapy. Conclusion: A rise in incidence, improved diagnostic procedures, and evolving multimodality therapeutic concepts justify the need for rational guidelines on this most challenging urologic malignancy.

The use of bacillus Calmette-Guerin in the treatment of transitional cell cancer of the bladder has caused concern because of its associated adverse effects. We conducted a randomized prospective, double-blind, multicentre study to determine whether isoniazid prophylaxis could reduce BCG-induced toxicity without compromising its immunotherapeutic effects. Patients (n = 160) with histologically documented urothelial cancer (pTa-T1, pTis, G1-3) were treated with 6 weekly instillations of BCG Connaught strain, 81 mg, administered concomitantly with a 3-day course of isoniazid (300 mg o.d.) or placebo. Side-effects were recorded with each treatment and at follow-up. Of the patients treated with isoniazid, 19% remained free from side-effects, compared with 46% of the placebo group. Local side-effects confined to the bladder were significantly lower among those receiving isoniazid (35% vs. 48%, p < 0.01). Local side-effects together with systemic adverse effects such as fever, nausea or skin rash were experienced by 30% of patients in each arm. There were no differences in tumour recurrence between the two patient groups. Concomitant isoniazid reduces the local, but not the systemic side-effects of topically applied BCG without compromising the antitumour effect on superficial, transitional cell cancer of the bladder during a follow-up period that now exceeds 2 years. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The survival of patients with bladder cancer has not improved significantly during the past decades in spite of new diagnostic methods and treatment modalities. This observation underlines the need for improved routines to ensure earlier detection of the disease by patients and doctors and thereby start the treatment sooner. The common finding of treatment failures in patients who have shown no sign of local recurrence but have undergone radical cystectomy indicates that subclinical metastases are primarily responsible for the poor outcome in most cases. This indicates that, in addition to radical surgery, effective chemotherapy is needed to counteract the systemic spread of the disease.

An analysis by the Nordic Cooperative Bladder Cancer Study Group concerned the possible benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy--given before scheduled low-dose irradiation and cystectomy. In the trial, started in 1985, 311 patients with locally advanced bladder cancer, T1 grade 3, T2-T4a NXMO, were randomly allocated to a 'chemotherapy' or a 'no chemotherapy' group. Chemotherapy consisted of two cycles comprising cisplatin 70 mg/m2 and doxorubicin 30 mg/m2, with a 3-week interval between cycles 1 and 2. All patients were locally irradiated with 4 Gy daily for 5 consecutive days. The follow-up included 266 cystectomized patients. In May 1992 the mean observation time was 18 months for all patients and 47 months for those still alive. The results suggest that a significant downstaging in the group randomized to chemotherapy was found only in T1, grade 3 tumours (56 patients, p = 0.002). The overall survival rate in all 311 patients was significantly higher in the chemotherapy group (p = 0.03) and likewise among the 253 patients with T2-T4a tumour (p = 0.018). For the 210 patients who underwent cystectomy for T2-T4a tumour, there was a trend towards longer survival when chemotherapy was given (p = 0.057). Patients with initially muscle-invasive tumour who responded to neoadjuvant treatment survived longer than non responders (p = 0.0005). The results suggest that neoadjuvant chemotherapy improve the outcome of radical surgery for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, though the effect on long-term survival is inconclusive. Further studies on the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is initiated.

Mitomycin C was given intravesically over periods of 2-32 months to 34 patients with carcinoma in situ of the urinary bladder. Initial complete response was obtained in 17 patients, 14 of whom remained without evidence of disease during follow-up averaging 28 months from cessation of mitomycin therapy. In three responding patients malignant cells reappeared in the urine during follow-up, although no recurrence of carcinoma could be proven in bladder biopsy specimens. In eight of the 17 non-responders, muscle invasion and/or metastatic disease developed during or after mitomycin treatment. The prostatic urethra was involved in five cases. Chemotherapy had to be discontinued because of chemical cystitis in three cases. Mitomycin C appears to be effective for intravesical treatment of carcinoma in situ of the urinary bladder. Close surveillance of these patients is mandatory, however, and must include monitoring not only of the bladder, but also of the prostatic urethra and the upper urinary tract.

A prospective study comprised operative specimens from 11 patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis or ureter. DNA analysis of the primary tumor and of multiple biopsy specimens from preselected sites of the surrounding urothelium was performed with flow cytometry. All Grade 3 tumors and 50% of the Grade 2 tumors were aneuploid, and the remainder were Grade 2 and diploid. All invasive tumors were aneuploid. Carcinoma in situ was found in some of the preselected biopsy specimens, all of which were aneuploid, from two patients. Close correlation thus was observed between aneuploidy and tumor invasiveness, whereas diploidy was seen only in noninvasive tumors with lower malignancy grade. Aneuploidy was also associated with increased risk of carcinoma in situ. The study indicated that DNA analysis may be useful for defining the malignant potential of urothelial tumors of the upper urinary tract more fully than conventional grading and staging permit.

We followed 657 primary bladder carcinoma patients for at least 10 years or until death. Subsequent carcinomas of the renal pelvis or ureter were found in 11 patients (1.7 per cent) 10 months to 13 years after the primary bladder tumor. In 3 patients the tumors were diagnosed or suspected by excretory urography, while in 5 the tumors were not found until autopsy. Four patients had undergone cystectomy and 9 had multiple bladder tumors at the initial assessment or during followup. The initial or recurrent bladder tumor involved the ipsilateral ureteral orifice in 6 patients. We conclude that in bladder cancer patients routine excretory urography is not indicated in the absence of upper urinary tract symptoms but it should be performed in selected patients, that is those with multiple and recurrent bladder tumors or tumors involving the ureteral orifices, or those with a previous cystectomy.

No AccessJournal of Urology1 Apr 1987Cardiovascular Complications of Estrogen Therapy for Nondisseminated Prostatic Carcinoma. A Preliminary Report from a Randomized Multicenter Study R. Lundgren, T. Sundin, S. Collen, E. Lindstedt, L. Wadstrom, S. Carlsson, S. Hellsten, R. Pompeius, B. Holmquist, T. Nilsson, S. Rubin, W. Luttrop, and H. Jansen R. LundgrenR. Lundgren More articles by this author , T. SundinT. Sundin More articles by this author , S. CollenS. Collen More articles by this author , E. LindstedtE. Lindstedt More articles by this author , L. WadstromL. Wadstrom More articles by this author , S. CarlssonS. Carlsson More articles by this author , S. HellstenS. Hellsten More articles by this author , R. PompeiusR. Pompeius More articles by this author , B. HolmquistB. Holmquist More articles by this author , T. NilssonT. Nilsson More articles by this author , S. RubinS. Rubin More articles by this author , W. LuttropW. Luttrop More articles by this author , and H. JansenH. Jansen More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5347(17)44225-XAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail "Cardiovascular Complications of Estrogen Therapy for Nondisseminated Prostatic Carcinoma. A Preliminary Report from a Randomized Multicenter Study." The Journal of Urology, 137(4), p. 809 © 1987 by The American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 137Issue 4April 1987Page: 809 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 1987 by The American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information R. Lundgren More articles by this author T. Sundin More articles by this author S. Collen More articles by this author E. Lindstedt More articles by this author L. Wadstrom More articles by this author S. Carlsson More articles by this author S. Hellsten More articles by this author R. Pompeius More articles by this author B. Holmquist More articles by this author T. Nilsson More articles by this author S. Rubin More articles by this author W. Luttrop More articles by this author H. Jansen More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF DownloadLoading ...