The biologic landscape and therapeutic implications of upper tract urothelial cancer.

Purpose Of Review: Management of upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC) has been largely extrapolated from bladder cancer due to its rarity; however, unique biological and clinical differences between UTUC and bladder cancer have been uncovered. The purpose of this review is to present the current therapeutic landscape of UTUC with an emphasis on biologically driven rationale.

Recent Findings: Prospective trials for patients with high-risk localized UTUC have shown improved outcomes with adjuvant and neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy.

Adjuvant Pembrolizumab versus Observation in Muscle-Invasive Urothelial Carcinoma.

Background: Muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma is an aggressive disease with high rates of relapse. Whether pembrolizumab as adjuvant therapy would be effective in patients with high-risk muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma after radical surgery is unknown.

Methods: In this phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned patients, in a 1:1 ratio, to receive pembrolizumab at a dose of 200 mg every 3 weeks for 1 year or to undergo observation.

Identification of Lineage-specific Transcriptional Factor-defined Molecular Subtypes in Small Cell Bladder Cancer.

Small cell/neuroendocrine bladder cancers (SCBCs) are rare and highly aggressive tumors that are associated with poor clinical outcomes. We discovered that lineage-specific transcription factors (ASCL1, NEUROD1, and POU2F3) defined three SCBC molecular subtypes that resemble well-characterized subtypes in small cell lung cancer. The subtypes expressed various levels of neuroendocrine (NE) markers and distinct downstream transcriptional targets.

Clinicopathologic and Survival After Cystectomy Outcomes in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder.

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder (SqCC) is a rare disease with limited management data. Thus, we sought to characterize the clinicopathologic and survival outcomes amongst patients with SqCC and explore the association of squamous differentiation within urothelial carcinoma (UC w/Squam), as compared to muscle invasive pure UC.

Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study of patients, stratified by histology, who underwent cystectomy for MIBC.

Penile sarcomatoid urothelial carcinoma: A case report.

A 74-year-old man with a penile mass was diagnosed with sarcomatoid urothelial carcinoma. Further workup did not show any other lesions or metastases. He was treated with a total penectomy, bilateral inguinal lymph node dissection, and pelvic lymphadenectomy.

Breaking Barriers: Addressing Issues of Inequality in Trial Enrollment and Clinical Outcomes for Patients With Kidney and Bladder Cancer.

Despite recent treatment advances, kidney and bladder cancer cases have continued to rise in both incidence and mortality over the last few decades. Not every demographic subgroup of patients diagnosed with these cancers has an equivalent outcome. Women diagnosed with bladder cancer have worse overall survival than men diagnosed with bladder cancer.

First Report of NRG Oncology/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 0622: A Phase 2 Trial of Samarium-153 Followed by Salvage Prostatic Fossa Irradiation in High-Risk Clinically Nonmetastatic Prostate Cancer After Radical Prostatectomy.

Purpose: To investigate the utility of Sm lexidronam (Quadramet) in the setting of men with prostate cancer status post radical prostatectomy who develop biochemical failure with no clinical evidence of osseous metastases.

Patients And Methods: Trial NRG Oncology RTOG 0622 is a single-arm phase 2 trial that enrolled men with pT2-T4, N0-1, M0 prostate cancer status post radical prostatectomy, who meet at least 1 of these biochemical failure criteria: (1) prostate-specific antigen (PSA) > 1.0 ng/mL; (2) PSA > 0.