High carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels indicate poor prognosis in patients with bladder cancer following radical cystectomy.

Introduction: Our team previously reported that elevated carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 levels are associated with a worse prognosis in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). Several studies have reported a correlation between high tumor burden and elevated CA19-9 levels in urothelial carcinomas. However, no studies have specifically examined the association between CA19-9 levels and outcomes of patients with bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy.

The effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on survival outcomes subsequent to radical cystectomy in pathological T0 bladder cancer patients: A multicenter large-scale analysis.

Purpose: After radical cystectomy (RC), the pathologic complete response (pT0) among muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is considered a favorable oncological result. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) among the pT0 patients using a large-scale multicenter study.

Materials And Methods: This study included 3,972 patients who underwent RC at 11 tertiary medical centers.

Risk of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease following androgen deprivation therapy in a real world nationwide cohort.

The association between androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and dementia including Alzheimer's disease remains debatable. Moreover, the evidence regarding the risk of vascular dementia and Parkinson's disease associated with ADT is limited. A population-based cohort study was conducted using the national health insurance data (2012-2022) from South Korea.

Robot-Assisted Open Radical Prostatectomy in the Treatment of Localized Prostate Cancer: 3-Year Results from a Prospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: Radical prostatectomy remains the primary treatment for localized prostate cancer (PCa). Despite its use for over two decades, the benefits of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) remain unclear. We evaluated the surgical, functional, and oncological outcomes between RARP and open radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP).

Real-world Efficacy of Intravesical Gemcitabine for BCG-Unresponsive Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.

Purpose: This study aimed to report the real-world outcomes of intravesical gemcitabine for bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) -unresponsive, high-risk, non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC) in Korean patients who were unable or unwilling to undergo radical cystectomy (RC).

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included 131 patients (median age: 69 years; 89% men) treated with intravesical gemcitabine for BCG-unresponsive HR-NMIBC at nine centers between May 2019 and April 2022. The primary endpoint was 1-year recurrence-free survival (RFS).

Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin, carbohydrate antigen 19-9, cancer antigen 125, and carcinoembryonic antigen as prognostic and predictive biological markers in bladder cancer.

Introduction: We evaluated the prognostic potential of the Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG), Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), Cancer Antigen 125 (CA125), and Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) tumor markers for bladder cancer.

Methods: We analyzed the records of 369 patients who underwent radical cystectomy for urothelial cancer (UC) between October 2012 until December 2019. Levels of CA19-9, CA125, CEA, and β-hCG before radical cystectomy were measured in all patient samples, and serum biomarker cutoff values were used as normal and elevated values.

Anesthetic approaches and 2-year recurrence rates in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: a randomized clinical trial.

Background: The effect of anesthesia methods on non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) recurrence post-resection remains uncertain. We aimed to compare the oncological outcomes of spinal anesthesia (SA) and general anesthesia (GA) in patients with NMIBC.

Methods: This prospective randomized controlled trial recruited 287 patients with clinical NMIBC at Seoul National University Hospital from 2018 to 2020.

Urease-powered nanomotor containing STING agonist for bladder cancer immunotherapy.

Most non-muscle invasive bladder cancers have been treated by transurethral resection and following intravesical injection of immunotherapeutic agents. However, the delivery efficiency of therapeutic agents into bladder wall is low due to frequent urination, which leads to the failure of treatment with side effects. Here, we report a urease-powered nanomotor containing the agonist of stimulator of interferon genes (STING) for the efficient activation of immune cells in the bladder wall.

Polygenic risk score model for renal cell carcinoma in the Korean population and relationship with lifestyle-associated factors.

Background: The polygenic risk score (PRS) is used to predict the risk of developing common complex diseases or cancers using genetic markers. Although PRS is used in clinical practice to predict breast cancer risk, it is more accurate for Europeans than for non-Europeans because of the sample size of training genome-wide association studies (GWAS). To address this disparity, we constructed a PRS model for predicting the risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the Korean population.

Tubular damage marker as a predictive factor for pathologically upstaged renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: To investigate if increased tubular damage biomarker can predict pathologically upstaged renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which may possess sub-radiologic invasive behavior, leading to surrounding tubular damage.

Materials And Methods: We examined 1563 patients with surgically resected RCC between March 2016 and June 2021 from the prospective database SUPER-RCC-Nx. Exclusion criteria were cancer not originating from the kidneys, benign renal tumor, and end-stage renal disease.

A prospective, multicenter study on the clinical effectiveness of abiraterone in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in Korea: Pre- vs. post-chemotherapy.

Purpose: The proper treatment sequence for administering abiraterone acetate plus prednisolone (AAP) and chemotherapeutic agents has not yet been elucidated for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Hence, this study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of AAP in pre- and post-chemotherapy settings using real-world data.

Materials And Methods: This prospective, multicenter, open-label, observational study included 506 patients with mCRPC.

Practical Utility of Liquid Biopsies for Evaluating Genomic Alterations in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

Traditional tissue-based assessments of genomic alterations in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) can be challenging. To evaluate the real-world clinical utility of liquid biopsies for the evaluation of genomic alterations in CRPC, we preemptively collected available plasma samples and archival tissue samples from patients that were being treated for clinically confirmed CRPC. The cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and tumor tissue DNA were analyzed using the AlphaLiquid100-HRR panel.

Clinical features and Surgical Outcome of Clear Cell Papillary Renal Cell Tumor: result from a prospective cohort.

Background: Clear cell papillary renal cell tumor (CCPRCT) was first reported in 2006 a patient with end stage renal disease. After that it was discovered in the kidney without end stage renal disease in the 2010s and started to be mentioned in pathology and urology. The incidence of CCPRCT is low and most of it is discovered incidentally, so there is a lack of reports on clinical characteristics and surgical outcome.

Accuracy of actual stage prediction using Vesical Imaging Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) before radical cystectomy for urothelial carcinoma in SUPER-UC-Cx.

Background: Previous studies using the Vesical Imaging Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) to predict muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) had some limitations. Most studies were performed with transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TUR-BT) specimens with few samples. This study was conducted to address these shortcomings and confirm the accuracy of VI-RADS for bladder cancer.

Increased urinary B2-microglobulin is associated with poor prognosis of upper tract urothelial carcinoma.

Background: Kidney tubular damage markers are biomarkers of acute or chronic kidney injury. Hypothetically, upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC), which induces obstructive uropathy or direct invasion of the renal parenchyma, may also induce increased excretion of urinary tubular damage proteins. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the use of tubular damage biomarker as prognostic markers for UTUC.

Acidic urine is associated with poor prognosis in patients with bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy.

Purpose: To assess the prognostic value of acidic urine (low urine pH) in patients with bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed patients enrolled in the Seoul National University Prospectively Enrolled Registry for Urothelial Cancer-Cystectomy (SUPER-UC-Cx) who underwent radical cystectomy for bladder cancer between March 2016 and December 2020 at the Seoul National University Hospital. During this period, 368 patients were registered in our database.

Clinical determinants of recurrence in pTa bladder cancer following transurethral resection of bladder tumor.

Background: Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer can be controlled by transurethral resection of bladder (TURB), but suffers from frequent recurrences in 60-70% of cases. Although, recurrence interval after TURB influences treatment course and prognosis, its implication and risk factors have not been fully elucidated. We evaluated the risk factors of early (within 1 yr) and late (after 1 yr) recurrence of pTa bladder cancer and clinical significance of recurrence interval on disease progression and overall survival.

Urinary Markers for Bladder Cancer Diagnosis and Monitoring.

Hematuria is a typical symptom of bladder cancer which enables early detection of bladder cancer. However, reliable diagnostic tools for bladder cancer using urine samples or other non-invasive methods are lacking. Tremendous attempts have been tried and revealed fancy works to convey definitive diagnostic power using urine samples.