Published papers

To stratify the heterogeneity of prostate cancer (PCa) with seminal vesicle invasion (SVI) immunologically after radical prostatectomy focusing on the tumor microenvironment. We retrospectively reviewed the clinicopathological data of 71 PCa patients with SVI, which is known as a factor of very high-risk PCa. Preoperative clinical variables and postoperative pathological variables were evaluated as predictors of biochemical recurrence (BCR) with a multivariate logistic regression. Immune cell infiltration including the CD8-positive cell (CD8+ cell) and CD204-positive M2-like macrophage (CD204+ cell) was investigated by immunohistochemistry. The cumulative incidence and risk of BCR were assessed with a Kaplan–Meier analysis and competing risks regression. A higher CD8+ cell count in the SVI area significantly indicated a favorable prognosis for cancers with SVI (p = 0.004). A lower CD204+ cell count in the SVI area also significantly indicated a favorable prognosis for cancers with SVI (p = 0.004). Furthermore, the combination of the CD8+ and CD204+ cell infiltration ratio of the SVI area to the main tumor area was a significant factor for BCR in the patients with the PCa with SVI (p = 0.001). In PCa patients with SVI, the combination of CD8+ and CD204+ cell infiltration is useful to predict the prognosis.

Background: Prostate cancer harboring cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) abnormalities is a hot topic due to its distinctive clinical features, such as sensitivity to immune checkpoint inhibitors. In the last few years, precision medicine using comprehensive genome sequencing has become familiar, and the era of precision oncology has arrived in the field of prostate cancer. This study aimed to present the demographic characteristics of patients with CDK12 alterations. Methods: In 12 patients with detected CDK12 alterations in our hospital between 2015 and 2021, we evaluated their genomic features and clinical course. CDK12 allelic status was classified into three groups: monoallelic loss, potentially biallelic loss, and biallelic loss based on the genome analyses. Results: Seven patients already had metastatic cancer at the time of diagnosis, and all 12 patients had Gleason grade ≥ 4. Most cases of biallelic loss or potentially biallelic loss were metastatic cancers at the initial staging, and all these cases were categorized into Gleason grade 5. Two of the 12 patients had BRCA2/RB1 co-loss, and the other two had whole genome duplication. Five patients had a long-term survival of > 6 years, but two patients died within 4 years of diagnosis. Conclusion: This is the first Japanese prostate cancer case series with CDK12 alterations. CDK12-altered prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease, and accumulating cases with detailed information leads to precision oncology.

Objective: The indications of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for lymph node-positive upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) have not been investigated regarding improved survival outcomes. Our specific aim was to compare the clinical outcomes of clinically node-positive UTUC patients who were treated by NAC followed by radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) or upfront RNU followed by adjuvant chemotherapy (AC). Materials and methods: Among 966 UTUC patients, we identified 89 with clinical nodal involvement who received either NAC before RNU nor AC after upfront RNU. Cox proportional hazard models were employed to evaluate the impact of chemotherapy modality on the oncological outcomes. Results: Of the patient cohort, 36 (40.4%) received NAC followed by RNU, whereas 53 (59.6%) underwent RNU followed by AC. Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor size ≥3 cm, clinical T4, and gemcitabine and cisplatin regimen were independent risk factors for disease recurrence, whereas NAC followed by RNU was an independent factor for favorable RFS. Furthermore, regarding cancer-specific survival (CSS), NAC followed by RNU remained an independent factor for favorable CSS. According to Kaplan-Meier analysis, the 1-year and 2-year RFS were 67.9% and 47.0%, respectively, in the NAC+RNU group, which were significantly higher than those in the RNU+AC group (43.9% and 24.6%, respectively, P = 0.006). Moreover, the 1-year and 2-year CSS were 80.5% and 64.2%, respectively, in the NAC+RNU group, which were higher than those in the RNU+AC group (68.6% and 48.2%, respectively, P = 0.016). Conclusion: For node-positive UTUC patients, NAC followed by RNU was more clinically beneficial than RNU followed by AC.

Introduction: To prospectively clarify whether endoscopic contact laser vaporization of the prostate (CVP) can be safely performed even in patients undergoing antithrombotic therapy. Methods: Fifty-five patients treated with CVP were enrolled. Patients were assigned to: (i) the antithrombotic therapy group (n = 21, 38%); or (ii) control group without antithrombotic therapy (n = 34, 62%). All patients in the antithrombotic therapy group continued all antithrombotic agents during the perioperative period and thereafter. Results: No difference was noted in patient background between the two groups. In primary endpoints, decreases in the postoperative hemoglobin level were remarkable in the antithrombotic therapy group, while no serious effects were noted in either group. The control and antithrombotic therapy groups did not show a significant difference in the occurrence of catheter obstruction due to blood clots or serious hematuria following catheter removal. During follow-up, transurethral coagulation for hemostasis was needed only in the antithrombotic therapy group, with a frequency of transurethral coagulation of up to 14%. In secondary endpoints, no difference in the occurrence of perioperative or late-onset complications after surgery was noted between the two groups. Finally, no difference was noted in improvements in the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), IPSS quality of life score, overactive bladder symptom score, maximum flow rate, or post-voiding residual urine volume between the two groups throughout the follow-up period. Conclusions: CVP can be performed safely and effectively in patients undergoing continuous antithrombotic therapy. However, the possibility of secondary bleeding after discharge in a subset of patients, such as those undergoing antithrombotic therapy, may be noted.

Background: Primary renal angiosarcoma (PRA) is an extremely rare and aggressive neoplasm. Indeed, due to its rarity, established clinical guidelines for PRA have not yet been established. In this study, we attempted to investigate its prognostic factors and treatment options. Methods: We systematically searched for articles describing PRA that had been published up until December 2021. The final cohort included 113 patients in 103 articles. The starting point of this study was the time of diagnosis and the end point was the time of recurrence and disease-specific mortality. Results: Metastasis at diagnosis was associated with poorer disease-specific survival (DSS) (p = 0.001). Tumors of more than 5 cm had poorer DSS than tumors of 5 cm or less (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that primary metastatic status, and tumor size were independent prognostic factors. In cases of localized PRA, tumor sizes exceeding 5 cm had also prognostic significance for recurrence-free survival (RFS) and DSS. Surgical margins, postoperative radiation, and postoperative systemic therapy were not associated with prognoses. However, in a subgroup analysis of tumors exceeding 5 cm, postoperative radiation therapy improved RFS and DSS (p = 0.022 and p = 0.031, respectively). In cases of metastatic PRA, systemic therapy improved DSS (p < 0.001). Conclusion: We identified several prognostic factors for PRA. Among them, primary metastatic status and tumor size exceeding 5 cm were selected as independent prognostic factors. Postoperative radiation therapy for large, localized PRA and systemic therapy for recurrent and metastatic PRA might be a treatment option.

Purpose: Focal therapy (FT) is a treatment modality for prostate cancer that aims to reduce side effects. However, it remains difficult to select eligible candidates. We herein examined eligibility factors for hemi-ablative FT for prostate cancer. Methods: We identified 412 patients who were diagnosed with unilateral prostate cancer by biopsy and had undergone radical prostatectomy between 2009 and 2018. Among these patients, 111 underwent MRI before biopsy, had 10–20 core biopsies performed, and did not receive other treatments before surgery. Fifty-seven patients with prostate-specific antigen ≥ 15 ng/mL and biopsy Gleason score (GS) ≥ 4 + 3 were excluded. The remaining 54 patients were evaluated. Both lobes of the prostate were scored using Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System version 2 on MRI. Ineligible patients for FT were defined as those with ≥ 0.5 mL GS6 or GS ≥ 3 + 4 in the biopsy-negative lobe, ≥ pT3, or lymph node involvement. Selected predictors of eligibility for hemi-ablative FT were analyzed. Results: Among our cohort of 54 patients, 29 (53.7%) were eligible for hemi-ablative FT. A multivariate analysis identified a PI-RADS score < 3 in the biopsy-negative lobe (p = 0.016) as an independent predictor of eligibility for FT. Thirteen out of 25 ineligible patients had GS ≥ 3 + 4 tumors in the biopsy-negative lobe, half of whom (6/13) also had a PI-RADS score < 3 in the biopsy-negative lobe. Conclusion: The PI-RADS score in the biopsy-negative lobe may be important in the selection of eligible candidates for FT. The findings of this study will help reduce missed significant prostate cancers and improve FT outcomes.

Purpose:In general, the index lesion of prostate cancer has the largest tumor volume, the highest Grade Group (GG), and the highest stage (concordant cases). However, these factors sometimes do not coincide within one lesion (discordant cases). In such discordant cases, the largest tumor may not be of biological significance and the secondary tumor may more greatly impact the prognosis.Materials and Methods:We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent radical prostatectomy, and we identified 580 (85.3%) concordant cases and 100 (14.7%) discordant cases. The end point of this study was biochemical recurrence, and median followup was 4.2 years.Results:Among discordant cases in which GGs of the largest tumor and the highest GG tumor differed, the majority (67 patients) had the largest tumor of GG 2, and we set them as the study cohort. On the other hand, we regarded 212 concordant cases with an index tumor of GG 2 as the control cohort. The study cohort comprised 48 (71.6%) patients with a secondary tumor of GG 3 and 19 (28.4%) with a secondary tumor of GG 4/5. Kaplan-Meier curves revealed that the 5-year biochemical recurrence-free survival rates were 76%, and 67%, respectively. The 5-year biochemical recurrence-free survival rate of the control cohort was 91%, which was significantly better than that of the study cohort (p=0.013 and p=0.014, respectively).Conclusions:Our study suggests that the prognosis of discordant cases is better determined by the secondary cancer lesion with the highest GG instead of the largest lesion.

Background: Analysis of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) localisation at both the tissue and subcellular levels can provide important insights into the cell types that are important for their function. Methods: By applying new fluorescent in situ hybridisation technique called hybridisation chain reaction (HCR), we achieved a high-throughput lncRNA visualisation and evaluation of clinical samples. Results: Assessing 1728 pairs of 16 lncRNAs and clear-cell renal-cell carcinoma (ccRCC) specimens, three lncRNAs (TUG1, HOTAIR and CDKN2B-AS1) were associated with ccRCC prognosis. Furthermore, we derived a new lncRNA risk group of ccRCC prognosis by combining the expression levels of these three lncRNAs. Examining genomic alterations underlying this classification revealed prominent features of tumours that could serve as potential biomarkers for targeting lncRNAs. We then derived combination of HCR with expansion microscopy and visualised nanoscale-resolution HCR signals in cell nuclei, uncovering intracellular colocalization of three lncRNA (TUG1, HOTAIR and CDKN2B-AS1) signals such as those located intra- or out of the nucleus or nucleolus in cancer cells. Conclusion: LncRNAs are expected to be desirable noncoding targets for cancer diagnosis or treatments. HCR involves plural probes consisting of small DNA oligonucleotides, clinically enabling us to detect cancerous lncRNA signals simply and rapidly at a lower cost.

Drug resistance contributes to poor therapeutic response in urothelial carcinoma (UC). Metabolomic analysis suggested metabolic reprogramming in gemcitabine-resistant urothelial carcinoma cells, whereby increased aerobic glycolysis and metabolic stimulation of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) promoted pyrimidine biosynthesis to increase the production of the gemcitabine competitor deoxycytidine triphosphate (dCTP) that diminishes its therapeutic effect. Furthermore, we observed that gain-of-function of isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2) induced reductive glutamine metabolism to stabilize Hif-1α expression and consequently stimulate aerobic glycolysis and PPP bypass in gemcitabine-resistant UC cells. Interestingly, IDH2-mediated metabolic reprogramming also caused cross resistance to CDDP, by elevating the antioxidant defense via increased NADPH and glutathione production. Downregulation or pharmacological suppression of IDH2 restored chemosensitivity. Since the expression of key metabolic enzymes, such as TIGAR, TKT, and CTPS1, were affected by IDH2-mediated metabolic reprogramming and related to poor prognosis in patients, IDH2 might become a new therapeutic target for restoring chemosensitivity in chemo-resistant urothelial carcinoma.

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors predicting the sensitivity to cabazitaxel therapy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients with phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted from chromosome 10 (PTEN) alterations. This single-institution, retrospective study included 12 mCRPC patients with PTEN alterations who had received cabazitaxel therapy. Five patients (41%) responded to cabazitaxel therapy with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level decline of ≥30% from baseline, and all of them had responded to prior docetaxel therapy with a PSA decline of ≥30%. None of the patients with a poor response to prior docetaxel therapy responded well to cabazitaxel therapy. Of the seven patients who did not respond to cabazitaxel and whose PSA declined from baseline was <30%, five (71%) were also refractory to prior docetaxel therapy. The PSA responses to docetaxel and cabazitaxel were significantly correlated (p = 0.027). Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that progression-free survival (PFS) for cabazitaxel was significantly shorter for prior docetaxel nonresponders (3.3 versus 9.1 months, p = 0.028). Multivariate analysis revealed that a poor response to prior docetaxel (PSA decline < 30%) (hazard ratio [HR] = 6.382, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.172–34.750, p = 0.032) and baseline PSA of ≥20 ng/ml (HR = 33.584, 95% CI 2.332–483.671, p = 0.010) were independent prognostic factors for PFS with cabazitaxel therapy. These results demonstrate cross-resistance between docetaxel and cabazitaxel. The response to prior docetaxel therapy can influence the sensitivity to cabazitaxel therapy in mCRPC patients with PTEN alterations.

Background: The salvage treatments for biochemical recurrence (BCR) include local external beam radiation therapy (RT) and systemic androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT). Methods: We reviewed patients who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) and developed BCR at three institutions. After excluding patients whose nadir prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was higher than 0.2 ng/mL, those who received neoadjuvant/adjuvant therapy, and those whose BCR was not treated until their PSA exceeded 4.0 ng/mL, the remaining 335 patients comprised the cohort of this study. Salvage RT and ADT were performed for 154 and 181 patients, respectively. After the failure of salvage RT, all patients received subsequent ADT. The starting point of this study was the timing of BCR and the endpoint was the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Results: During the mean follow-up period of 8.5 years after BCR, CRPC was observed in 13 patients administered RT and 24 patients administered ADT. Kaplan–Meier curves demonstrated no significant difference in CRPC-free survival between the RT and ADT groups (10-year CRPC-free survival 89.9 vs. 86.3%, p = 0.199). On the other hand, we found a significant difference in CRPC-free survival between the RT and ADT groups in 50 high-risk patients with two risk factors of Grade Group ≥ 4 and PSA-doubling time < 6 months (10-year CRPC-free survival 73.4 vs. 40.3%, p = 0.040). Conclusion: This study revealed that salvage RT increases the CRPC-free survival rate compared with salvage ADT in high-risk patients with Grade Group ≥ 4 and PSA-doubling time < 6 months.

Purpose: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is thought to be undetectable (< 0.1 ng/mL) after radical prostatectomy (RP), and persistent PSA (≥ 0.1 ng/mL) is considered a failure of curative treatment. Materials and Methods: The study population consisted of 135 patients, all of whom underwent RP for localized prostate cancer, and developed persistent PSA. We set the starting point at the timing of RP, and the endpoints were the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and cancer-specific survival. Results: Salvage radiation therapy (RT) and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) were performed in 53 (39.3%) and 64 (47.4%) patients, respectively. Eighteen (13.3%) patients didn't receive any salvage treatment. During the median follow-up of 10.1 years, CRPC was observed in 23 patients, and 6 patients died due to prostate cancer. Kaplan-Meier curves demonstrated the 15-year CRPC-free and cancer-specific survivals were 79.5% and 92.7%, respectively. Cox multivariate analysis demonstrated that seminal vesicle invasion (SVI) (p = 0.007) and nadir PSA ≥1.0 ng/mL (p = 0.002) were independent risk factors for CRPC. Salvage RT demonstrated better cancer control (the 10-and 15-year CRPC-free survival was 94.1% and 94.1%) compared to ADT (75.9% and 58.5%, p = 0.017) after 1:1 propensity score matching. Conclusions: SVI and nadir PSA ≥1.0 ng/mL are independent risk factors for CRPC in patients with persistent PSA after RP. Salvage RT is considered to be the optimal treatment for this condition.

Hydronephrosis in extramammary Paget’s disease (EMPD) with distant metastasis (metastatic EMPD) has been observed in medical practice; however, its prognosis remains unclear. Retrospective analyses were performed to assess the management and outcomes of hydronephrosis in metastatic EMPD. During a follow-up of 44 patients with metastatic EMPD, 13 (30%) developed hydronephrosis. Ten (77%) of the 13 patients with hydronephrosis had impaired renal function (estimated glomerular filtration rate: <60 ml/min/1.73 m2), and ureteral stents were placed in every patient with impaired renal function. The stent was placed successfully in all 10 patients, and their renal function recovered within a median period of 7 days. Importantly, each of these patients continued chemotherapy, and none of them experienced stent failure. The median overall survival time (OS) in patients with metastatic EMPD and hydronephrosis (n = 13) was 7.8 months. Treatment for hydronephrosis was not a significant factor for OS, and median OS in patients who underwent ureteral stent replacement (n = 10) was 14.7 months. Collectively, our results indicate that hydronephrosis is relatively common, and ureteral stent placement should be considered in cases of metastatic EMPD with hydronephrosis to maintain renal function and continue chemotherapy toward a better prognosis.

Background: Routine use of neoadjuvant hormonal therapy (NHT) before radical prostatectomy (RP) is not recommended, but it is sometimes performed to reduce the prostate size and tumor volume or to prevent tumor progression during the wait times for surgery in clinical practice. On the other hand, the impact of NHT on the pattern of biochemical recurrence (BCR) is unknown. Methods: We retrospectively examined 1749 consecutive patients who underwent RP between 1996 and 2017. Among the patients who met the inclusion criteria, BCR developed in 240 of non-NHT patients and in 120 of NHT patients during the mean follow-up period of 6.9 years. We examined the impact of NHT on the PSA-doubling time (DT) following BCR at different times after RP. Results: The median PSA-DTs in non-NHT patients who experienced BCR in the first year after surgery, between 1 and 2 years, between 2 and 3 years, between 3 and 4 years, between 4 and 5 years, and at > 5 years were 5.5, 8.8, 11.3, 17.7, 18.2, and 18.4 months, respectively. On the other hand, those in NHT patients were 1.4, 4.1, 9.1, 13.4, 27.2, and 19.3 months, respectively. The differences of PSA-DTs in the first year after surgery (p < 0.001) and between 1 and 2 years (p = 0.005) were significant between non-NHT and NHT patients. Conclusion: Patients who received NHT had a higher risk of a rapid PSA increase when they experienced BCR, especially within 2 years after RP. In order to not miss the optimal timing of salvage treatment for BCR, intensive PSA follow-up is necessary.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of the on-treatment C-reactive protein (CRP) status during systemic treatment as the predictive marker for the response of subsequent nivolumab monotherapy in patients with refractory metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Patients and methods: A total of 73 mRCC patients treated with nivolumab were retrospectively reviewed. We evaluated the serum CRP levels before and after molecular-targeted treatments. Patients whose CRP did not exceed baseline value were defined as the CRP-control group and the others were defined as the CRP-progression group. The clinical impact of CRP-control on the efficacy of nivolumab was assessed. Results: Twenty-four patients (33%) were categorized into the CRP-control group. The CRP-control group patients (median PFS not reached) had significantly longer PFS than the CRP-progression group (median PFS 11.9 months, 95% confidence interval, CI 4.1–19.8, p = 0.038). The CRP-control group had a tendency of longer OS from nivolumab initiation than the CRP-progression group (p = 0.071). By multivariate analysis, the on-treatment CRP-control was the independent predictive factor for PFS (hazard ratio HR 0.37, 95% CI 0.14–0.99, p = 0.047). Conclusion: The on-treatment CRP-control could be the predictive factor for the efficacy of nivolumab in refractory mRCC patients.

Background: Paratesticular leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a rare tumor. Conventionally, tumor resection by high inguinal orchiectomy is performed as the preferred treatment approach for paratesticular sarcoma. On the other hand, testis-sparing surgery has recently attracted attention as a less-invasive treatment option for paratesticular sarcoma. However, the prognostic predictors and optimal treatment strategy for paratesticular LMS remain unclear because of its rarity. In this study, we systematically reviewed previously reported cases of paratesticular LMS to evaluate the prognostic factors and establish the optimal treatment strategy. Methods: A systematic search of Medline, Web of Science, Embase, and Google was performed to find articles describing localized paratesticular LMS published between 1971 and 2020 in English. The final cohort included 217 patients in 167 articles. The starting point of this study was the time of definitive surgical treatment, and the end point was the time of local recurrence (LR), distant metastasis (DM), and disease-specific mortality. Results: Patients with cutaneous LMS had a slightly better LR-free survival, DM-free survival, and disease-specific survival than those with subcutaneous LMS (p = 0.745, p = 0.033, and p = 0.126, respectively). Patients with higher grade tumors had a significantly higher risk of DM and disease-specific mortality (Grade 3 vs Grade 1 p < 0.001, and Grade 3 vs Grade 1 p < 0.001, respectively). In addition, those with a microscopic positive margin had a significantly higher risk of LR and DM than those with a negative margin (p < 0.001, and p = 0.018, respectively). Patients who underwent simple tumorectomy had a slightly higher risk of LR than those who underwent high inguinal orchiectomy (p = 0.067). Subgroup analysis of cutaneous LMS demonstrated that the difference in LR between simple tumorectomy and high inguinal orchiectomy was limited (p = 0.212). On the other hand, subgroup analysis of subcutaneous LMS revealed a significant difference in LR (p = 0.039). Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that subcutaneous LMS and high-grade tumors are prognostic factors for paratesticular LMS. For subcutaneous LMS, tumorectomy with high inguinal orchiectomy should be the optimal treatment strategy to achieve a negative surgical margin.

© 2019, Springer Nature America, Inc. Background: Tumor contact length (TCL) is defined as the extent of contact between prostate cancer and the prostatic capsule, and its predictive value for microscopic extraprostatic extension (EPE) has been reported. However, the impact of the zonal origin (anterior or posterior tumor) of the tumor on the diagnosis of EPE is controversial. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the records of 233 consecutive patients who underwent preoperative MRI and radical prostatectomy. We designated their tumors as anterior or posterior, and evaluated the correlation between the TCL measured by MRI and microscopic EPE in the radical prostatectomy specimen. Then, we created the predicted probability curves for EPE versus TCL for anterior and posterior prostate cancer. Results: There were 109 patients (47%) with an anterior tumor and 124 patients (53%) with a posterior tumor. Postoperative pathological analysis confirmed pT3 in 18 patients (17%) with an anterior tumor and in 53 patients (43%) with a posterior tumor. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the zonal origin of the tumor was an independent predictive factor for EPE. We developed separate probability curves of EPE versus TCL for anterior and posterior prostate cancer, which revealed that anterior tumors were less likely to invade the extraprostatic tissues. Among patients whose TCL was 10–20 mm, 9/32 patients (28%) with an anterior tumor had EPE compared with 24/45 patients (53%) with a posterior tumor (p = 0.036). The decision curve of this EPE predictive model had high clinical efficacy. Conclusions: Our results indicate that anterior tumors have more favorable pathological characteristics than posterior tumors with the same TCL measured by MRI. We constructed two separate predicted probability curves for EPE after discriminating anterior and posterior tumors, which will be useful for decision making in clinical practice.

© 2019 Elsevier Inc. Objective: To investigate the influence of the zonal origin of prostate cancer and extraprostatic extension on biochemical recurrence (BCR). Patients and methods: We included 638 consecutive patients undergoing radical prostatectomy between 2005 and 2015 who did not receive neoadjuvant/adjuvant therapy. The largest lesion was defined as the index tumor. We categorized each patient into the transition zone (TZ) or peripheral zone (PZ) group based on the lesion where the index tumor existed. Differences in the BCR defined as increasing prostate-specific antigen rate between groups were examined by Kaplan-Meier analysis and the Cox proportional hazards model. Results: There were 293 (46%) patients with TZ cancer and 345 (54%) with PZ cancer. TZ cancer was significantly associated with a higher prostate-specific antigen (P = 0.012), lower biopsy positive core rate (P = 0.020), lower pathological Gleason score (P = 0.017), lower pathological stage (P = 0.002), and lower rate of seminal vesicle invasion (P = 0.002). During a median follow-up period of 59 months, 79 patients (12%) developed BCR. In the entire cohort, the PZ origin (hazard ratio: 1.68, P = 0.033) and extraprostatic extension were independent risk factors for BCR. The 3-, 5-, and 7-year BCR-free survival rates of patients with pT3a TZ cancer were 89%, 88%, and 86%, respectively, which were significantly better than those of patients with pT3a PZ cancer (80%, 74%, and 62%, P = 0.012), but were similar to those of the pT2 cancer cohort (92%, 91%, and 90%, P = 0.376). Conclusion: TZ cancer had more favorable pathological characteristics and oncological outcome than PZ cancer especially in pT3a cases.

© 2018 Japan Society for Endoscopic Surgery, Asia Endosurgery Task Force and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. INTRODUCTION: Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy is the gold standard for treatment of renal cell carcinoma. However, previous abdominal surgery is generally regarded as a contraindication to the laparoscopic approach because it causes intraperitoneal adhesions, which are thought to interfere with subsequent laparoscopic procedures inside the abdominal cavity. Few studies have examined the influence of prior surgery on laparoscopic nephrectomy. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of previous laparotomy on laparoscopic nephrectomy. METHODS: The records of 251 consecutive patients who had undergone laparoscopic nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma at our hospital between 2005 and 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Of the 251 laparoscopic nephrectomy patients, 76 patients (30%) had undergone prior abdominal surgery (surgery group), whereas the remaining 175 patients (70%) had not previously had abdominal surgery (control group). There were no significant differences between the control group and the surgery group with regard to pneumoperitoneum time (143 vs 135 min, P = 0.241) or blood loss (39 vs 36 mL, P = 0.763). Next, we divided the patients into two cohorts based on surgeon experience: 98 patients had been treated by an expert (i.e. someone who performs more than 50 laparoscopic procedures per year) and 153 patients had been treated by a non-expert. There was no significant difference in pneumoperitoneum time between the control and surgery groups in each cohort (treated by experts, 108 vs 103 min; treated by non-experts: 162 vs 166 min). CONCLUSION: We conclude that laparoscopic nephrectomy may be feasible after previous abdominal surgery and could be one of the surgical options.