Background and objective: It has been suggested that urinary tract infections (UTIs) are associated with delayed diagnosis of bladder cancer (BC). Our aim was to investigate prediagnostic treatments related to UTI and the relation to BC diagnostic delay, reflected by advanced disease at diagnosis. Methods: We used data from the BladderBaSe 2.0 with data of treatments related to UTI up to 3 yr before BC diagnosis (2008-2019) for BC patients in comparison to a matched reference population. We investigated the association between UTI treatments and more advanced disease at diagnosis in the BC cohort. We used generalized ordered logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for more advanced disease as an ordered outcome: non-muscle-invasive BC (NMIBC), muscle-invasive BC (MIBC), and metastatic BC (MBC). Key findings and limitations: The study population included 29 921 BC patients and 149 467 matched reference subjects. The proportions of individuals receiving UTI treatment were higher in the patient groups than in the corresponding reference groups, with the greatest differences observed for the MIBC and MBC subgroups. The OR for the risk of more advanced disease (MIBC or MBC) with at least one UTI treatment versus none was 1.28 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19-1.37) for men and 1.42 (95 % CI 1.27- 1.58) for women. The association to risk of more advanced disease increased with the number of UTI treatments for both sexes. Conclusions and clinical implications: Further studies on the effects of treatments related to UTI in combination with other factors are needed to identify reasons for possible delays in the BC diagnostic pathway. Patient summary: We found that for patients with bladder cancer, previous antibiotic treatment for a urinary tract infection was linked to more advanced disease at diagnosis. Further studies are needed to identify reasons for possible delays in the diagnosis of bladder cancer. (c) 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of European Association of Urology. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.

ObjectivesTo investigate the cumulative incidence proportion of disseminated or local Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) infections after adjuvant BCG instillations in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).Patients and MethodsWe analysed the timing and occurrence of BCG infections and absolute and relative risk in relation to patient characteristics available in the Swedish nationwide database 'BladderBaSe 2.0'. The cumulative incidence proportion of a BCG infection was indicated by a reported diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in the patient registry or filing a prescription for tuberculostatic drugs.ResultsThe cumulative incidence proportion was 1.1% at the 5-year follow-up in 5033 patients exposed to adjuvant BCG instillations. The incidence rate was highest during the first 2 years after start of BCG instillations. Women had a lower risk than men (hazard ratio 0.23, 95% confidence interval 0.07-0.74). Age and calendar time at diagnosis, comorbidity, tumour risk group, previous medication with corticosteroids, immunosuppressive drugs, or time between transurethral resection of the bladder tumour and commencing the adjuvant BCG instillation were not associated with risk.ConclusionsThese data further supports that the overall risk of a BCG infection after BCG-instillation treatment for NMIBC is low. The great majority of infections occur in the first 2 years, calling for an awareness of the diverse symptoms of BCG infection during this period. We provide evidence for male sex as a risk factor; however, the statistical precision is low and with a risk of selection bias, making it difficult to rule out the other suggested risk factors without further studies with different approaches.

Objective: The incidence of urinary bladder cancer (UBC) has increased in Sweden despite decreased smoking, indicating that other factors might be associated. The increased use of statin medication for elevated blood lipids might be one such influencing factor. The aim of the present study was to assess whether statins are afflicted with an increased incidence of UBC. Material and methods: Data from the Swedish National Register of Urinary Bladder Cancer, National Population Register, and Swedish Prescribed Drug Register were extracted. There were 22,936 patients with new diagnosed UBC between 2005 and 2014. Statin prescription was defined as any medication prescribed with the Anatomical Therapeutic Classification code C10A. For each patient, 10 control individuals were matched by age, gender, and living area, comprising 229,326 individuals. The Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test was used to evaluate the hazards ratios. Results: Statins were more frequently used in patients with UBC (33.8%) than in controls (29.8%, pamp;lt;0.0001). The use of statins was afflicted with a 23% increased odds ratio (OR) for UBC (OR 1.23 (1.19-1.27), pamp;lt;0.001). Subgroup analyses showed that an increased OR was found in non-muscle invasive UBC only. There was a tendency that OR was stronger for men and for younger patients. Limitations include its retrospective register-based design and potential risk of bias of confounding factors, such as smoking and body mass index. Conclusion: This nationwide register study suggests an association between the occurrence of UBC and patients using statins. The association was found in patients with non-muscle invasive disease only. Confounding factors, such as smoking, cannot be overruled.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the possibility of detecting sentinel lymph nodes (SNs) in patients with urinary bladder cancer (BCa) intra-operatively and whether the histopathological status of the identified SNs reflected that of the lymphatic field.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 103 patients with BCa pathological stage T1-T4 who were treated with cystectomy and pelvic lymph node (LN) dissection during 2005-2011 at the Department of Urology, Linköping University Hospital. Radioactive tracer Nanocoll 70 MBq and blue dye were injected into the bladder wall around the primary tumour before surgery. SNs were detected ex vivo during the operation with a handheld Geiger probe (Gamma Detection System; Neoprobe Corp., Dublin, OH, USA). All LNs were formalin-fixed, sectioned three times, mounted on slides and stained with haematoxylin and eosin. An experienced uropathologist evaluated the slides.

RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 69 years, and 80 (77%) were male. Pathological staging was T1-12 (12%), T2-20 (19%), T3-48 (47%) and T4-23 (22%). A mean (range) number of 31 (7-68) nodes per patient were examined, totalling 3 253 nodes. LN metastases were found in 41 patients (40%). SNs were detected in 83 of the 103 patients (80%). Sensitivity and specificity for detecting metastatic disease by SN biopsy (SNB) varied between LN stations, with average values of 67% and 90%, respectively. LN metastatic density (LNMD) had a significant prognostic impact; a value of ≥8% was significantly related to shorter survival. Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) occurred in 65% of patients (n = 67) and was significantly associated with shorter cancer-specific survival (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: We conclude that SNB is not a reliable technique for peri-operative localization of LN metastases during cystectomy for BCa; however, LNMD has a significant prognostic value in BCa and may be useful in the clinical context and in BCa oncological and surgical research. LVI was also found to be a prognostic factor.

AbstractObjective: The aim of this investigation was to describe tumour characteristics, treatments and survival in patients with urinary bladder cancer (UBC) in a national population-based cohort, with special reference to gender-related differences. Material and methods: All primary UBC patients with urothelial pathology reported to the Swedish National Registry of Urinary Bladder Cancer (SNRUBC) from 1997 to 2011 were included in the study. Groups were compared regarding tumour, node, metastasis classification, primary treatment and survival. Results: In total, 30,310 patients (74.9% male, 25.1% female) with UBC were analysed. A larger proportion of women than men had stage T2?T4 (p?<?0.001), and women also had more G1 tumours (p?<?0.001). However, compared to women, a larger proportion of men with carcinoma in situ or T1G3 received intravesical treatment with bacillus Calmette?Guérin or intravesical chemotherapy, and a larger proportion of men with stage T2?T4 underwent radical cystectomy (38% men vs 33% women, p?<?0.0001). The cancer-specific survival at 5 years was 77% for men and 72% for women (p?<?0.001), and the relative survival at 5 years was 72% for men and 69% for women (p?<?0.001). Conclusions: In this population-based cohort comprising virtually all patients diagnosed with UBC in Sweden between 1997 and 2011, female gender was associated with inferior cancer-specific and relative survival. Although women had a higher rate of aggressive tumours, a smaller proportion of women than men received optimal treatment.

Objective. The aim of this study was to use the Swedish National Registry of Urinary Bladder Cancer (SNRUBC) to investigate changes in patient and tumour characteristics, management and survival in bladder cancer cases over a period of 15 years. Materials and methods. All patients with newly detected bladder cancer reported to the SNRUBC during 1997-2011 were included in the study. The cohort was divided into three groups, each representing 5 years of the 15 year study period. Results. The study included 31,266 patients (74% men, 26% women) with a mean age of 72 years. Mean age was 71.7 years in the first subperiod (1997-2001) and 72.5 years in the last subperiod (2007-2011). Clinical T categorization changed from the first to the last subperiod: Ta from 45% to 48%, T1 from 21.6% to 22.4%, and T2-T4 from 27% to 25%. Also from the first to the last subperiod, intravesical treatment after transurethral resection for T1G2 and T1G3 tumours increased from 15% to 40% and from 30% to 50%, respectively, and cystectomy for T2-T4 tumours increased from 30% to 40%. No differences between the analysed subperiods were found regarding relative survival in patients with T1 or T2-T4 tumours, or in the whole cohort. Conclusions. This investigation based on a national bladder cancer registry showed that the age of the patients at diagnosis increased, and the proportion of muscle-invasive tumours decreased. The treatment of all tumour stages became more aggressive but relative survival showed no statistically significant change over time.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate tumour growth located around the ureteric orifice (LUO) at primary diagnosis of Ta/T1 urinary bladder cancer in relation to effects on recurrence and progression. Materials and methods: Clinical and pathological characteristics of patients diagnosed with primary Ta/T1 urinary bladder cancer from 1992 to 2007 were recorded prospectively. Location of the primary tumour and growth around the ureteric orifice (within 1 cm) were recorded and correlated with recurrence and progression during further follow-up. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox regression with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in both univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: The study included 768 evaluable patients with a median follow-up of 60 months. Recurrence was observed in 478 patients (62%) and progression in 71 (9%). Growth of a primary tumour adjacent to the ureteric orifice was associated with recurrence (HR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.07-1.54) but not progression (HR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.65-1.67). The most common location of the first recurrence was the posterior bladder wall (29%). Other locations in the bladder did not predict recurrence or progression. Additional factors affecting recurrence were tumour size greater than 15mm, T1 tumour category, multiplicity, malignant or missing/not representative bladder wash cytology and surgery performed by residents. Conclusions: A primary tumour located around the ureteric orifice was predictive of recurrence, which could be taken into account in future follow-up schedules.

Purpose Neoadjuvant chemotherapy before cystectomy is recommended. To our knowledge the subset of patients likely to benefit has not been identified. We validate emmprin and survivin as markers of chemotherapy response. Materials and Methods Tumor specimens were obtained before therapy from a total of 250 patients with T1-T4 bladder cancer enrolled in 2 randomized trials comparing neoadjuvant chemotherapy before cystectomy with a surgery only arm. Protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry. Results Expression was categorized according to predefined cutoffs reported in the literature. Data were analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox models. Patients in the chemotherapy cohort with negative emmprin expression had significantly higher down staging overall survival than those with positive expression (71% vs 38%, p <0.001). The values for cancer specific survival were 76% and 56%, respectively (p <0.027). In the cystectomy only cohort emmprin expression was not associated with overall survival (46% vs 35%, p = 0.23) or cancer specific survival (55% vs 51%, p = 0.64). Emmprin negative patients had an absolute risk reduction of 25% in overall survival (95% CI 11-40) and a number needed to treat of 4 (95% CI 2.5-9.3). Survivin expression was not useful as a biomarker in this study. Limitations were the retrospective design and heterogeneity coupled with the time difference between the trials. Conclusions Patients with emmprin negative tumors have a better response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy before cystectomy than those with positive expression. © 2015 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.

Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate recurrence and progression of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) in a large population-based setting. Materials and methods. Patients with bladder cancer (stage Ta, T1 or carcinoma in situ) diagnosed in 2004-2007 (n = 5839) in Sweden were investigated 5 years after diagnosis using a questionnaire. Differences in time to recurrence and progression were analysed in relation to age, gender, tumour stage and grade, intravesical treatment, healthcare region, and hospital volume of NMIBC patients (stratified in three equally large groups). Results. Local bladder recurrence and progression occurred in 50 and 9% of the patients, respectively. The rate of local recurrence was 56% in the southern healthcare region compared to 37% in the northern region. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards model, adjusting for age, gender, tumour stage and grade, intravesical treatment, healthcare region and hospital volume, showed that recurrence was associated with TaG2 and T1 disease, no intravesical treatment and treatment in the southern healthcare region, but indicated a lower risk of recurrence in the northern healthcare region. Adjusting for the same factors in a multivariate analysis suggested that increased relative risk of progression correlated with older age, higher tumour stage and grade, and diagnosis in the Uppsala/Orebro healthcare region, whereas such risk was decreased by intravesical treatment (relative risk 0.72, 95% confidence interval 0.55-0.93, p = 0.012). Conclusions. The incidence of NMIBC recurrence and progression was found to be high in Sweden, and important disparities in outcome related to care patterns appear to exist between different healthcare regions.