Aarhus, Denmark (UroToday.com) Dr. Charlotte Voskuilen of the Netherlands Cancer Institute presented a multicenter validation study of histopathologic “tumor regression grading” following neoadjuvant therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Tumor response grade (TRG), is a histopathologic score assigned by a pathologist to classify radical cystectomy (RC) specimens as having had complete, strong, or weak/no response. Dr. Voskuilen reported good interobserver validity in using TRG, and noted that when combined with primary node metastasis (TNM) staging, higher TRG was found to be significantly associated with worse overall survival. With additional validation, routine use of TRG in addition to TNM staging may allow for more granular prognostic stratification.
Abstract take-home message:
- The use of a “tumor response grade” system to characterize histology of RC specimens following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) may aid in outcomes prognostication when combined with TNM staging
Written by Dr. Vikram M. Narayan (@VikramNarayan), Urologic Oncology Fellow with Ashish M. Kamat, MD (@UroDocAsh), Professor, Department of Urology, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX at the 17th meeting of the International Bladder Cancer Network, (IBCN, #IBCN2019) October 3rd – 5th, 2019 in Aarhus, Denmark.