保科 勇斗

BACKGROUND: Triplet therapy with darolutamide and docetaxel has reshaped the treatment landscape of metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC). However, real-world evidence regarding its oncological outcomes and toxicity remains limited. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 112 consecutive patients with mCSPC who were treated with triplet therapy. A deep prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response was defined as a PSA level < 0.2 ng/ml or a ≥ 90% decline from baseline. Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC)-free survival was used as the survival endpoint. Clinicopathological factors associated with CRPC-free survival were analysed using a Cox proportional hazards model. Treatment-related adverse events (AEs) were comprehensively documented by type and grade. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 17.1 months, 15 patients developed CRPC and four died of prostate cancer; 1-year CRPC-free survival and overall survival rates were 89.8% (95% confidence interval, 83.9%-96.0%) and 98.8% (96.5%-100%), respectively. A deep PSA response was achieved in 73.2% of patients (PSA nadir <0.2 ng/ml) and in 96.4% (PSA ≥ 90% decline). In both the univariable and multivariable analyses, no baseline factor was significantly associated with CRPC-free survival. Grade ≥ 3 hematologic AEs occurred in 75.0% of patients. Among the 31 patients who discontinued docetaxel, 26 discontinued due to non-hematologic AEs. CONCLUSIONS: Triplet therapy demonstrated substantial clinical activity in real-world patients with mCSPC, with high rates of deep PSA response despite frequent AEs. These findings support the feasibility of triplet therapy in routine practice. Given the substantial toxicity burden, careful patient selection and proactive AE management remain important.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate nerve-sparing status objectively using an artificial intelligence method applied to intraoperative images and to determine whether combining this assessment with preserved urethral length improves prediction of urinary continence recovery after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. METHODS: We analyzed 195 patients with intraoperative still images from robot-assisted radical prostatectomy performed between May 2020 and 2022. Images were evaluated with a deep learning image classification model that determined whether the neurovascular bundle was preserved. Patients were categorized into two groups: those with both preserved urethral length of at least 26 mm and artificial intelligence-assessed neurovascular bundle preservation, and all other patients. The primary endpoint was time to urinary continence recovery. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards models were used. RESULTS: Artificial intelligence reclassified neurovascular bundle preservation in 60 of 195 patients (30.8%), including 48 cases of surgeon overestimation and 12 of underestimation. Patients who met both criteria had significantly better urinary continence recovery than the other patients, with higher continence rates at 30, 60, 90, and 365 days after surgery on log-rank testing. In multivariable Cox models, the combined factor independently predicted continence recovery at 60, 90, and 365 days, with hazard ratios of 1.99, 1.78, and 1.49 and corresponding 95% confidence intervals of 1.07-3.72, 1.07-2.95, and 1.09-2.04 (p values 0.03, 0.03, and 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Objective evaluation of nerve-sparing status using artificial intelligence, when combined with preserved urethral length, improves prediction of early urinary continence recovery after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy and may provide an indicator of surgical quality.

PURPOSE: Preserving neurovascular bundles (NVB) during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) is vital for reducing postoperative complications such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Building on our previous work in ensemble-based NVB classification, we propose the hybrid self-supervised teacher-student model (Hybrid T-S model) that leverages multi-task learning to predict NVB preservation in prostatectomy videos. METHODS: Our approach integrates a self-supervised framework (DINO) as an online self-distillation objective on multi-crop views to learn robust embeddings in a limited data setting, rather than as a stand-alone large-scale pretraining. A teacher encoder, which is an exponential moving average (EMA) of the student encoder, and a reconstruction decoder are trained jointly with a classification head in a single end-to-end framework. This model is evaluated on single frames from patients who underwent RARP surgery. RESULTS: Our experimental evaluation shows that the Hybrid T-S model outperforms previous NVB classification methods. This highlights the benefits of integrating self-supervised learning and multi-task objectives in this surgical context. We achieved an average accuracy of 86.55%, precision of 83.93%, recall of 90.73%, F1-score of 87%, and AUROC of 88.35%, based on fivefold cross-validation. CONCLUSION: Incorporating representation learning through self-distillation, classification, and reconstruction provides complementary signals that enhance the prediction of NVB preservation. Our Hybrid T-S model can assist surgeons in real decision-making and improve patient recovery.

We assessed the efficacy of the lung immune prognostic index (LIPI) in predicting the progression of pathological T3 renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The LIPI scores of patients with pathological T3 RCC were calculated in the pre- and post-operative phases. Patients were divided into zero-point, one-point, and two-point groups according to their LIPI score and into the upstage and non-upstage groups according to the pre- and post-operative increase in LIPI score. Overall survival (OS) was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves stratified by group. Univariate and multivariate analyses of OS were performed via Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. LIPI scores were calculated in 80 patients wherein blood sampling data were available. The upstage and non-upstage groups comprised eight and seventy-two patients, respectively. Kaplan-Meier curves showed a significant difference in the pre- to post-operative LIPI score upstage group. LIPI score change was a poor prognostic factor using univariate analysis (OS: hazard ratio (HR) = 4.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07-15.61, p = 0.038) and multivariate analysis (OS: HR = 4.38, 95% CI = 1.13-16.89, p = 0.031). An increase in the LIPI score in the pre-operative phase was a poor prognostic factor for pathological T3 RCC.

Objective The objective of this study is to assess how the preoperative prognostic nutritional index (PNI) affects the occurrence of postoperative complications in patients undergoing robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC). Methods We retrospectively analyzed data from 103 patients who underwent RARC at Jichi Medical University Hospital between June 2018 and December 2023. The PNI was calculated using the following formula: 10 × serum albumin + 0.005 × total lymphocyte count. Patients were divided into high- and low-PNI groups based on a threshold value of 45. Postoperative complications occurring within 30 days were compared between the two groups, and risk factors were identified using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results Postoperative complications occurred in 50 patients (48.5%), with eight patients (8%) experiencing severe complications (Clavien-Dindo Grade ≥3). The most common complication was postoperative ileus, affecting 26% of patients (n = 28). The low-PNI group had significantly higher rates of overall complications (70% vs. 47%, p< 0.05) and postoperative ileus (48% vs. 18%, p < 0.05) compared to the high-PNI group. Multivariate analysis identified low PNI (ORs: 3.82 for overall complications and 3.90 for ileus) and intestinal urinary diversion (ORs: 3.33 and 5.34, respectively) as independent risk factors. Conclusions The preoperative PNI is a significant predictor of both overall complications and postoperative ileus following RARC. These findings underscore the importance of preoperative immunonutritional assessment for risk stratification and suggest that nutritional screening and immunonutritional interventions may enhance postoperative outcomes in high-risk patients.

BACKGROUND: While the occurrence of immune-related adverse events has been recognized as a prognostic marker in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors, the prognostic significance of treatment-related adverse events (trAEs) in patients undergoing antibody-drug conjugates such as enfortumab vedotin (EV) is controversial. METHODS: We reviewed 106 patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma who were treated with EV therapy at 10 institutions between 2021 and 2023. Associations of clinical parameters with overall survival and progression-free survival were assessed using the Cox proportional hazards model. For the assessment of trAEs, landmark analysis was conducted to minimize immortal time bias. RESULTS: Of 106 patients, 55 (51.9%) experienced disease progression and 44 (41.5%) died during the follow-up period. Any grade and grade ≥3 trAEs occurred in 94 (88.7%) and 44 (41.5%) patients, respectively. Common trAEs included skin disorders (74.5%), gastrointestinal disorders (62.3%), fatigue (50.0%), peripheral neuropathy (36.8%), and hematological disorders (37.7%). One patient died of interstitial pneumonia (grade 5). According to landmark analysis using 88 patients who survived for 2 months or more, trAEs were significantly associated with longer survival. Furthermore, when trAEs were classified into "physical trAEs" such as skin disorders and "laboratory trAEs" such as hematological disorders, the former were associated with longer survival while the latter were associated with shorter survival. CONCLUSIONS: Physical, but not laboratory, trAEs are associated with favorable outcomes of EV therapy for advanced urothelial carcinoma. Both managing trAEs and utilizing them as prognostic markers are key points in the use of antibody-drug conjugates such as EV.

INTRODUCTION: We describe a case in which robot-assisted radical ureterectomy was performed for residual ureteral recurrence in a postoperative patient with renal pelvis cancer. CASE PRESENTATION: A 75-year-old woman underwent laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy for left renal pelvic cancer at another hospital. During follow-up, a papillary tumor was found in the bladder on cystoscopy, and a continuous tumor was found in the residual ureter on computed tomography. Robot-assisted radical ureterectomy was performed in combination with transurethral resection of bladder tumors. To avoid urine spillage, bladder cuff excision was performed using a mechanical suture device while monitoring the interior of the bladder. CONCLUSION: We developed a new technique for remnant ureteral resection using cystoscopy and a vascular stapler to prevent urine dissemination and cancer seeding.

BACKGROUND: Renal artery pseudoaneurysm (RAP) is one of the most stressful and life-threatening complications of partial nephrectomy, the standard treatment for small renal cell carcinoma. The use of a monopolar soft coagulation system for hemostasis during robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) is expected to prevent post-surgical RAP development. In this study, we aimed to investigate how the use of a soft coagulation system in RAPN reduces postoperative pseudoaneurysms and changes renal function over time. METHODS: The incidence of pseudoaneurysms and postoperative renal function were compared in 208 partial nephrectomies performed between May 2016 and March 2023 at a single institution, with propensity score matching to balance patient backgrounds. Outcomes were analyzed using multivariate logistic or linear regression analyses. RESULTS: In total, 80 matched pairs were analyzed. One (1.2%) and eighteen (22.5%) pseudoaneurysms were found in the soft coagulation users and non-users, respectively (P<0.001). Compared to the non-user group, postoperative estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) in the user group were 89% vs. 96% (P<0.001), 87% vs. 93% (P=0.009), and 88% vs. 92% (P=0.15) at 1, 3, and 12 months, respectively. Subsequent multivariate analyses showed a lower incidence of pseudoaneurysms in the user group with an odds ratio of 0.05 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.01 to 0.44; P=0.007], and no significant difference in the rate of change in renal function at 12 months postoperatively (-1.1%, 95% CI: -5.5% to 3.3%; P=0.61). CONCLUSIONS: The use of a soft coagulation system reduces pseudoaneurysm occurrence after partial nephrectomy. Although renal function decreased in the short-term for the use group, no long-term differences were observed.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the correlation between surgical outcomes and postoperative urinary continence recovery in robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). METHODS: Patients who underwent RARP in our institution (n = 195) were included in this study. Preserved urethral length (PUL) was assessed during the procedure. Other outcomes of the surgical procedure were collected from operative records. Kaplan-Meier analysis with log-rank test was used to compare urinary continence recovery rate with the PUL, sparing of the neurovascular bundle (NVB), and other surgical procedures. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazards model, and p-values of <0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: Patients with a PUL ≥26 mm had 10.0%, 24.7%, 36.6%, and 89.0% continence recovery rates at 30, 60, 90, and 365 days after surgery, respectively, while patients with a PUL <26 mm had 0%, 17.8%, 26.1%, and 80.9% recovery rates, respectively. Kaplan-Meier curves showed significantly better postoperative urinary continence recovery at 30 days after RARP in patients with a PUL ≥26 mm than those with a PUL <26 mm (p = 0.0028) and in patients with NVB preservation than those with no NVB preservation (p = 0.014). Urinary continence recovery within 30, 60, and 90 days after surgery was 90.6% for patients with a PUL of ≥26 mm and NVB preservation, while only 82.3% for patients with a PUL of <26 mm or no NVB preservation. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that a PUL ≥26 mm and NVB preservation after RARP correlate with a significantly higher postoperative rate of recovery of urinary continence.

BACKGROUND: Management of a bladder tumor during pregnancy is an uncommon clinical situation. Leiomyosarcoma of the urinary bladder is a rare histological type of bladder tumor and a rare secondary cancer in survivors of retinoblastoma (RB). However, there has been no report of RB-associated bladder leiomyosarcoma during pregnancy. CASE PRESENTATION: A 37-year-old pregnant woman with a medical history of RB in infancy presented with gross hematuria at the 17th week of gestation. Cystoscopy revealed a 40-mm papillary tumor on the left lateral wall of the urinary bladder. At the 25th week of gestation, she underwent transurethral resection of the bladder tumor, and the pathological diagnosis was bladder leiomyosarcoma with loss of RB1 expression. At the 31st week of gestation, she gave birth by caesarean section. One month after the delivery (to allow for involution of the uterus), she underwent partial cystectomy, and the specimen contained no residual leiomyosarcoma tissue. CONCLUSIONS: We have reported a case of RB-associated bladder leiomyosarcoma that was successfully treated during and after pregnancy.

INTRODUCTION: Testicular ectopia refers to abnormal positioning of testis, which includes a wide variety of variants. An ectopic testis is located off the normal path of male gonadal descent, unlike conventional undescended testis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 37-year-old man presented with the complaint of a palpable lesion in the scrotum. Magnetic resonance imaging of the scrotum revealed bilateral testes on the respective opposite sides of the scrotum with bilateral spermatic cords crossing under the base of the penis. Accordingly, he was diagnosed as "left-right reversal of the testes within the scrotum." In retrospect, the "palpable" lesion was thought to be the spermatic cords crossing above the testes. Semen analysis identified deteriorated sperm motility, suggesting possible male infertility. CONCLUSION: This case of left-right reversal of the testes within the scrotum is probably a new variant of testicular ectopia that has never been reported.

A 78-year-old man with a prostate-specific antigen level of 10 ng/mL was referred to our hospital. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System category of 5 in the apex transition zone. Transrectal and transperineal prostate needle biopsies were performed at a total of 20 sites. A well-differentiated adenocarcinoma with a Gleason score of 3+3 was detected on the right peripheral zone of the biopsied specimen. There were no apparent metastases, and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy was performed (Lesion 1: 30 mm lesion with a Gleason score of 4+5, EPE1, RM1, ly0, v0, pn1, sv0 in the bilateral transitional zones; Lesion 2: 4 mm lesion with a Gleason score of 3+3, EPE0, RM0, ly0, v0, pn0, sv0 in the left peripheral zone). Lymph node metastasis was found in the separately submitted anterior prostatic fat tissue. Removal of the anterior prostatic fat tissue is a simple procedure and is considered useful for evaluating the stump, and in this hospital, the tissue is routinely submitted for pathological diagnosis. It is extremely unlikely that lymph nodes will be found in the anterior prostatic fat tissue, and it is even less likely that any lymph node in the tissue will contain lymph node metastases. We therefore report a case of incidental discovery of lymph node metastasis in the anterior prostatic fat tissue at our hospital.

The patient was a 33-year-old female who visited the Department of Gastroenterology of this hospital after experiencing lower abdominal pain and nausea. The patient was referred to this department after suspicions of right kidney hemorrhage revealed by non-contrast computed tomography (CT). We also identified hematuria macroscopically, and contrast-enhanced CT scans revealed uneven deep staining in the upper right kidney during the early phase. Furthermore, by the late phase, we identified a 29-mm solid tumor with no staining. There was no clear pseudomembrane and no clear boundary with the kidney parenchyma. Additionally, there was no metastasis to the lymph nodes and other organs. Based on the above findings, we suspected renal parenchymal infiltration of right renal cell carcinoma (RCC) or right renal pelvic carcinoma. Since the patient was young, we considered the risk of the residual tumor and performed total nephroureterectomy and lymph node dissection with an enlarged view. The inside of the resected tumor specimen showed significant necrosis and hematoma spread, which had infiltrated the renal pelvis. Based on the characteristic histological findings and genetic results obtained using the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) approach, we diagnosed the patient with Xp11.2 translocation RCC. No additional treatments were provided after surgery, and even now the patient is being followed-up through outpatient visits, but there has been no recurrence or new metastasis. There have only been a few reported cases of Xp11.2 translocation RCC; therefore, in many cases, treatments and follow-up duration according to the disease stage and disease prognosis have not been determined. In this study, we report a case of Xp11.2 translocation RCC experienced at our hospital, with additional literature considerations.

The patient was a 53-year-old man who was referred to the department of urology of our hospital after screening results indicated elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. The PSA level was 5.33 ng/ml, and rectal examination revealed that the prostate was elastic and hard with mild prostatic hyperplasia. Because magnetic resonance imaging revealed abnormal signals in the prostatic transition area, prostate cancer was suspected and the patient underwent transrectal prostate needle biopsy. The pathological diagnosis was adenocarcinoma (Gleason score 5+5 = 10). After using thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic computed tomography (CT) and bone scintigraphy to confirm that metastasis had not occurred, robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) was performed. Prostate cancer was not detected during pathologic diagnosis of the surgical specimen, and on the basis of the results of re-examination with immunostaining, a diagnosis of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma was made. In addition, an upper and lower endoscopy examination, positron emission tomography (PET) -CT, and bone marrow biopsy confirmed that generalized tumor lesions and lymph node swelling were not present, and the patient was diagnosed with primary MALT lymphoma of the prostate. Currently, 12 months since surgery, the patient continues to undergo follow-up as an outpatient and no recurrence has been observed. There have been only a few reports of primary MALT lymphoma of the prostate, in English or Japanese, and herein, we present our experience with a patient for whom a definitive diagnosis was difficult, along with a review of the literature.