Objective

Beginning with the 2002 AJCC staging system, renal sinus muscular venous branch invasion has prognostic equivalence with renal vein invasion (RVI) in renal cell carcinoma. To validate this presumed equivalence, we compared patients with isolated MVBI to those with RVI and to those without any confirmed vascular invasion.

Methods

From routine cataloging at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, we identified 500 patients who underwent partial or radical nephrectomy from 2003 to 2008. After excluding patients with metastasis or non-cortical RCC pathology, 85 patients with MVBI (+) were identified. Patients with pT1-2 MVBI (−) (n = 259) or RVI (+) (n = 71) disease served as comparison groups. A multivariable Cox model was used to control for tumor characteristics, using the Kattan RCC nomogram.

Results

In multivariable analysis, the risk of recurrence in the pT1-2 MVBI (−) group was lower than in the MVBI (+) group (HR 0.06, 95% CI 0.02–0.18; p <0.001). Patients with RVI (+) had similar recurrence rates to those with MVBI (+) (HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.39–1.65; p = 0.6). Overall survival rates were higher in the MVBI (−) group than in the other groups.

Conclusion

Patients with MVBI have inferior outcomes compared to those with pT1-2 disease. This confirms the adverse prognosis of MVBI and supports pathologic upstaging. The prognosis of MVBI is similar to that of RVI, although we can’t exclude the possibility of a difference. Our findings underscore the importance of close patient follow-up and careful pathologic assessment of the nephrectomy specimen.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to assess the characteristics of publications by members of the Canadian Urological Association (CUA) over a 10-year period.

Methods:

All publications by active CUA members during the periods January 1993-December 1994 and January 2003-December 2004 were reviewed.

Results:

Of the 487 active members in 1993–1994, 130 (26.7%) were authors a total of 649 times in 641 publications. External funding was acknowledged in 195 (30.4%). There were 131 observational studies (20.4%), 127 review articles (19.8%), 58 case reports (9.0%), 37 case series (5.8%), and 21 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (3.3%). Of the 454 active member in 2003–2004, 139 (30.6%) were authors a total of 748 times in 705 publications. External funding was acknowledged in 237 (33.6%). There were 153 observational studies (21.7%), 124 review articles (17.6%), 52 case reports (7.4%), 49 case series (7.0%), and 46 RCTs (6.5%). There were significantly more RCTs and clinical trials in 2003–2004. The most common journal was The Journal of Urology in both eras. There were significantly more publications in The Canadian Journal of Urology, the British Journal of Urology International and the Journal of Endourology in 2003–2004. There were significantly more publications acknowledging industry funding and more publications citing more than 1 CUA member in 2003–2004. Publication intensity increased significantly from 0.67 to 0.82 publications per member, per year for the CUA as a whole.

Interpretation:

Scholarly activity has remained robust over the last decade with over 30% of active CUA members contributing to peer-reviewed literature. Higher levels of evidence are now observed with a greater number of RCTs. CUA members should be proud of their academic productivity.

Recognition of the therapeutic role of retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) in the setting of testicular germ cell tumors (GCTs) is of utmost importance. Although the histologic findings of RPLND provide diagnostic and prognostic information, the adequacy of initial RPLND is an independent predictor of clinical outcome. Despite the advent of effective cisplatin-based chemotherapy for testicular GCTs, patients who have undergone suboptimal surgery at the time of initial RPLND are compromised. Despite the initial enthusiasm surrounding anatomic mapping studies, the use of modified RPLND templates has the potential to leave a significant number of patients with unresected retroperitoneal disease. Teratomatous elements are particularly common. Patients with retroperitoneal relapse following initial RPLND should be treated with reoperative RPLND and chemotherapy and can expect long term survival rates nearing 70% when treated in tertiary centers by experienced surgeons.