Real-world effects of novel androgen receptor axis-targeted agents on oncological outcomes in non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: A multi-institutional retrospective study.

Background: The benefits of novel androgen receptor axis-targeted agents (ARATs) on oncological outcomes in patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) in real-world settings are unclear.

Methods: This multi-institutional retrospective study included 178 patients with nmCRPC treated between September 2003 and August 2022. Patients were divided into two groups: those who were treated with any novel ARATs, including apalutamide, enzalutamide, darolutamide, and abiraterone acetate, during any line of nmCRPC treatment (novel ARATs group) and those who were not (control group).

Trends of incidence and age in adults with testicular germ cell tumors: a two-decade multicenter retrospective study.

Background: Testicular germ cell tumors (GCTs) are the most common type of cancer in adolescent boys and young adult men, but the age at onset has been increasing. However, little is known regarding the incidence and age of patients with testicular GCTs in Japan because the incidence there is low.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with GCTs in seven hospitals between 2001 and 2021.

Oncological and functional outcomes of female reproductive organ-sparing radical cystectomy and ileal neobladder construction.

Objectives: To examine the oncological and urinary functional outcomes of reproductive organ-sparing radical cystectomy (ROS-RC) and U-shaped ileal neobladder construction in females compared with male patients.

Methods: We retrospectively examined 357 patients (281 male and 76 female) with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who were treated with RC plus U-shaped ileal neobladder construction between May 1996 and July 2021. All female patients were treated with ROS-RC.

Prognostic impact of proton pump inhibitors for immunotherapy in advanced urothelial carcinoma.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of the concomitant use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and/or antibiotics (Abs) on oncological outcomes in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 155 patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma who were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) between August 2015 and April 2021. The concomitant use of PPI or Abs was defined as any PPI or Abs administered within 30 days before ICI initiation and during ICI therapy.

The impact of eligibility for maintenance immunotherapy on prognosis in patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

Objectives: To investigate the eligibility for maintenance immunotherapy and its impact on the prognosis of advanced urothelial carcinoma treated with first-line chemotherapy, as the selection biases of the eligible population in the JAVELIN Bladder 100 trial remain unclear.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 213 patients (median age, 71 years) with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma treated with platinum-based first-line chemotherapy between May 2003 and April 2021. The patients were categorized into the following two groups: progressive disease (PD) within four cycles (trial ineligible group) and non-PD within four cycles (trial eligible group).

Comparison of pembrolizumab with conventional chemotherapy after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy for advanced urothelial carcinoma in real-world practice: A multicenter retrospective study.

Objectives: To assess the clinical benefit of pembrolizumab as second-line therapy for advanced urothelial carcinoma.

Methods: We retrospectively compared the effects of pembrolizumab with those of conventional chemotherapy on the prognosis of patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma at six hospitals between January 2004 and August 2020. We compared the oncological outcomes between the patients treated with pembrolizumab and those treated with conventional chemotherapy using Kaplan-Meier curve analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis with the inverse probability of treatment weighting method.

The effect of number of treatment cycles of platinum-based first-line chemotherapy on maximum radiological response in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma.

Objective: The number of cycles of platinum-based first-line chemotherapy associated with the maximum tumor response in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma is not yet established. We investigated the association between the number of cycles and the maximum radiological response of first-line chemotherapy.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 167 patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma treated with platinum-based first-line chemotherapy between May 2003 and December 2020.

Trends in the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and oncological outcomes for high-risk upper tract urothelial carcinoma: a multicentre retrospective study.

Objective: To evaluate temporal trends in neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) utilisation and outcomes in patients with locally advanced upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).

Patients And Methods: We included 289 patients from seven hospitals who underwent radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for locally advanced UTUC (≥cT3 or cN+) between 2000 and 2020. These patients received RNU alone or two to four courses of NAC with either a cisplatin- or carboplatin-based regimen.

Efficacy and safety of first-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma: A multicenter retrospective study.

Objectives: To investigate the efficacy and safety of first-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab for patients treated with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 52 metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients who were treated with nivolumab plus ipilimumab between August 2015 and January 2020. Data on patient characteristics, treatment parameters and adverse events were obtained.

Validation of the IMDC Prognostic Model in Patients With Metastatic Renal-Cell Carcinoma Treated With First-Line Axitinib: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

Background: The objective of the study was to validate the characteristics of the International Metastatic Renal-Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium (IMDC) prognostic model in patients treated with first-line axitinib in clinical practice.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 143 patients with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma who were treated with axitinib as the first-line therapy between October 2008 and February 2019. Overall survival (OS) was evaluated according to the IMDC prognostic model.

The Impact of Preoperative Severe Renal Insufficiency on Poor Postsurgical Oncological Prognosis in Patients with Urothelial Carcinoma.

Background: The impact of preoperative renal impairment severity on prognosis in urothelial carcinoma remains unelucidated.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of severe preoperative renal insufficiency on oncological outcomes in patients with urothelial carcinoma who underwent radical cystectomy or nephroureterectomy.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A total of 1066 patients with urothelial carcinoma who underwent radical cystectomy or nephroureterectomy at six medical centres from February 1995 to November 2017 were retrospectively examined.

Impact of bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy of upper urinary tract carcinoma in situ: comparison of oncological outcomes with radical nephroureterectomy.

The clinical benefits of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy for the management of upper urinary tract carcinoma in situ (CIS) remain unclear. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of BCG therapy for upper urinary tract CIS with those of radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). Of 490 patients with upper urinary tract carcinoma, we retrospectively reviewed the post-treatment course of 58 patients with upper urinary tract CIS who underwent either RNU (RNU group) or BCG therapy (BCG group).

Longer recurrence-free survival in a patient with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with temsirolimus.

Temsirolimus did not demonstrate an efficacy advantage compared with sorafenib as second-line therapy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Only a few patients achieved complete responses, and the median progression-free survival rate remains short. We report one patient with mRCC who had a continuing response to temsirolimus.

Surgery without Blood Transfusion for Giant Paraganglioma in a Jehovah's Witness Patient.

A retroperitoneal tumor was identified in a 57-year-old female belonging to Jehovah's Witnesses during a health check. Subsequent examination led to the suspicion of a right pheochromocytoma. The patient wished to be treated by bloodless surgery and consulted our hospital after being refused surgery by several hospitals.

A Case of Malignant Pheochromocytoma Detected during Fertility Treatment.

We report a case of malignant pheochromocytoma in a 35-year-old Japanese woman during fertility treatment, successfully treated with surgical excision. The patient recovered without any postoperative problems, and plasma catecholamine levels normalized. At present, 18 months after the operation, there are no signs of relapse.

Extravasation during bladder cancer metastasis requires cortactin‑mediated invadopodia formation.

Invasive cancer cells form the filamentous actin‑based membrane protrusions known as invadopodia. Invadopodia are thought to play a critical role in cancer cell invasion and metastasis due to their ability to degrade the extracellular matrix. The present study assessed whether invadopodia formation is essential in extravasation of circulating bladder cancer cells and lung metastasis.

A case of metastatic cancer with markedly elevated PSA level that was not detected by repeat prostate biopsy.

Background: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a widely used specific tumor marker for prostate cancer. We experienced a case of metastatic prostate cancer that was difficult to detect by repeat prostate biopsy despite a markedly elevated serum PSA level.

Case Presentation: A 64-year-old man was referred to our hospital with lumbar back pain and an elevated serum PSA level of 2036 ng/mL.

Blood group antigen-targeting peptide suppresses anti-blood group antibody binding to antigen in renal glomerular capillaries after ABO-incompatible blood reperfusion.

Background: Antibody-mediated rejection after ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation (ABO-I KTx) is a major barrier to transplantation success. The advent of immunosuppressive therapy has markedly improved graft survival in ABO-I KTx. However, compared with normal KTx, clinical conditions during ABO-I KTx are difficult to control because of overimmunosuppression.

Unexpected outcome after sclerotherapy of simple renal cyst.

Background: Simple renal cysts usually have benign clinical features. We report a rare case of papillary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) associated with a large recurrent simple cyst following sclerotherapy.

Case Presentation: A 47-year-old Japanese woman received minocycline sclerotherapy for a large (9 cm in diameter) simple left renal cyst in May 2005.

[Adrenal pheochromocytoma with multiple neurofibromatosis on the trunk].

We report a case of adrenal pheochromocytoma in a patient with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). A 65-year-old female patient was admitted to our hospital for examination of a right adrenal mass. The adrenal tumor was incidentally discovered by abdominal computed tomography during examination for hypertension in another hospital.

Effect of an Oral Adsorbent, AST-120, on Dialysis Initiation and Survival in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.

The oral adsorbent AST-120 has the potential to delay dialysis initiation and improve survival of patients on dialysis. We evaluated the effect of AST-120 on dialysis initiation and its potential to improve survival in patients with chronic kidney disease. The present retrospective pair-matched study included 560 patients, grouped according to whether or not they received AST-120 before dialysis (AST-120 and non-AST-120 groups).

Carboplatin-gemcitabine combination chemotherapy upregulates AKR1B10 expression in bladder cancer.

Background: AKR1B10 is considered to contribute to cell proliferation and chemoresistance. In the present study, we examined whether AKR1B10 expression is associated with disease-free survival in bladder cancer patients.

Methods: We obtained bladder cancer specimens from 10 patients before and after chemotherapy and measured AKR1B10 mRNA levels using real-time PCR.

Efficacy of SMART Stent Placement for Salvage Angioplasty in Hemodialysis Patients with Recurrent Vascular Access Stenosis.

Vascular access stenosis is a major complication in hemodialysis patients. We prospectively observed 50 patients in whom 50 nitinol shape-memory alloy-recoverable technology (SMART) stents were used as salvage therapy for recurrent peripheral venous stenosis. Twenty-five stents each were deployed in native arteriovenous fistula (AVF) and synthetic arteriovenous polyurethane graft (AVG) cases.