Benign ureteroenteric anastomosis strictures (UESs) are one of many critical complications that may cause irreversible disability following robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC). Previous studies have shown that the incidence rates of UES after RARC can reach 25.3%, with RARC having higher UES incidence rates compared to open radical cystectomy. Various known and unknown factors are involved in the occurrence of UES. To minimize the incidence of UES after RARC, our group has standardized the procedure and technique for intracorporeal urinary diversion by applying the following five strategies: (1) wide delicate dissection of the ureter and preservation of the periureteral tissues; (2) gentle handling of the ureter and security of periureteral tissues at the anastomotic site; (3) use of indocyanine green to confirm good blood supply; (4) standardization of the ample ureteral spatulation length for Wallace ureteroenteric anastomosis through objective measurements; and (5) development of an institutional standardized procedure manual. This review focused on the incidence, etiology, prevention, and management of UES after RARC to bring attention to the incidence of this complication while also proposing standardized surgical procedures to minimize its incidence after RARC.

Less evidence is known about the role of early changes in serum biomarker after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC). Here we evaluated the impact of pre-treatment prognostic factors and early changes in serum biomarkers on prostate specific antigen (PSA) progression-free and overall survival rates in mHSPC. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 60 mHSPC patients (median age 72 years) treated with ADT whose laboratory data at baseline and following 12 weeks were available. Forty-four patients (73%) had PSA progression and 27 patients (45.0%) died during a median follow-up of 34 months. The multivariable Cox hazard model demonstrated that a log-transformed baseline PSA level (p = 0.003) and an extent of bone disease (EOD) score of ≥3 (p = 0.004) were statistically associated with an increased risk for PSA progression whereas one unit increase in a log-transformed PSA change (baseline-12 weeks) was associated with a decreased risk for PSA progression (p = 0.004). For overall survival, a high level of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) at 12 weeks was associated with increased risk (p = 0.030) whereas a one-unit increase in the log-transformed PSA change was associated with decreased risk (p = 0.001). An increased level of PSA at baseline, or an EOD score of ≥3 may be a good predictor of PSA progression, and a high level of ALP at 12 weeks may be a risk predictor of death. A larger decline in PSA at 12 weeks from the baseline was associated with both PSA progression-free and overall survival time. Early changes in serum biomarkers may be useful in predicting poor outcomes in patients with mHSPC who are initially treated with ADT.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) reportedly influence the effect of nivolumab in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the clinical outcomes of patients with mRCC and SNPs in programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) protein-coding gene (PDCD1) and explore any potential correlation with patient prognosis and incidence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). In total, 106 patients with mRCC, who were treated with nivolumab alone (n = 59) or nivolumab and ipilimumab (n = 47), were enrolled in the study. Three SNPs in the PDCD1 gene, namely PD-1.3, PD-1.5, and PD-1.6, were assessed. Patients harboring the PD-1.6 G allele experienced more severe (odds ratio, 3.390; 95% confidence interval 1.517–7.756; p = 0.003) and multiple (OR, 2.778; 95% CI, 1.020–6.993 p = 0.031) irAEs than those harboring the AA genotype. Thus, the existence of the PDCD1 PD-1.6 polymorphism (G allele) was associated with the occurrence of severe and multiple irAEs in patients with mRCC. Further evaluation of PDCD1 polymorphisms might help identify patients experiencing irAE by nivolumab treatment.

Lard diet (LD) is a risk factor for prostate cancer (PCa) development and progression. Two immunocompetent mouse models fed with isocaloric specific fat diets (LD) enriched in saturated and monounsaturated fatty acid (SMFA), showed significanftly enhanced PCa progression with weight gain compared with a fish oil diet (FOD). High gut microbial divergency resulted from difference in diets, and the abundance of several bacterial species, such as in the orders Clostridiales and Lactobacillales, was markedly altered in the feces of LD- or FOD-fed mice. The proportion of the order Lactobacillales in the gut was negatively involved in SMFA-induced body weight gain and PCa progression. We found the modulation of lipid metabolism and cholesterol biosynthesis pathways with three and seven commonly up- and downregulated genes in PCa tissues, and some of them correlated with the abundance of the order Lactobacillales in mouse gut. The expression of sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 2, which is associated with the order Lactobacillales and cancer progression in mouse models, was inversely associated with aggressive phenotype and weight gain in patients with PCa using the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus database. Therefore, SMFA may promote PCa progression with the abundance of specific gut microbial species and overexpression of lipogenic genes in PCa. Therapeutics with alteration of gut microbiota and candidate genes involved in diet-induced PCa progression may be attractive in PCa.

506 Background: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) has been recognized as a useful tool for optimizing the dose of many drugs. The effectiveness of TDM for molecular targeted agents, however, has not so far been established. In this study, we examined the associations between pharmacokinetics of axitinib (AXI) and adverse events (AEs) and clinical outcomes in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC). Methods: The pharmacokinetics of AXI was examined in 24 patients (18 males and 6 females) with aRCC. The plasma AXI levels were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography and a pharmacokinetic study was performed on day 7 in the first cycle. Subsequently, the associations between the pharmacokinetics of AXI and the occurrence and grade of AEs, best tumor response, and progression-free survival (PFS) were investigated. Results: All the patients were been treated with 10 mg/day of AXI at the day of pharmacokinetics and the trough levels were ranged between 1.2 and 70.97 ng/mL. The trough levels were significantly associated with the occurrence of hypertension, hyperthyroidism, and grade 1 or higher proteinuria (p=0.037, 0.024, 0.027 by Mann-Whitney test, respectively), and were associated with the best tumor response (by Mann-Whitney test, p=0.043) (Table 1). Patients with 5.0 ng/mL of higher trough levels of AXI showed a tendency toward longer PFS than those with the trough levels less than 5.0 ng/mL (Table 2). Conclusions: TDM of AXI in patients with aRCC may be useful to determine the adequate dose and prevent severe AEs. Further studies are mandatory to conclude the usefulness of TDM of AXI for the long-term clinical efficacy in patients with aRCC. [Table: see text] [Table: see text]

The aim of this study was to develop a limited sampling strategy to estimate the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of a modified-release, once-daily formulation of tacrolimus (Advagraf, Japanese trade name Graceptor) with Japanese renal transplant patients. Among the 43 enrolled patients, 23 patients continued to take Graceptor for 1 year. A total of 66 profiles on day 28 and day 365 from the 43 patients were randomly divided into a training group (N = 33) and a validation group (N = 33) without any overlap. The prediction formula for the AUC 0-24 using the single C 12h time point gave the highest correlation with the observed AUC 0-24 (r2 = 0.9057). When 2 sampling times were used, C 0h-C 12h were the best time points for the estimation of the AUC 0-24 (AUC 0-24 = 26.8 + 8.0C 0h + 17.8C 12h, r2 = 0.9221, P < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in the prediction error for the prediction formulas with the C 0h-C 12h combination between CYP3A5 genotypes. The % mean prediction error, % mean absolute error, and % root mean squared prediction error of the prediction formula using C 0h-C 12h were 0.1%, 7.6%, and 8.8%, respectively. In a hospital setting, a limited sampling strategy using C 0h-C 12h would be applicable to estimating the AUC 0-24 of tacrolimus once daily.