Leonard G. Gomella, MD, presented “PT0 after NAC: Implications for Bladder Sparing and Prognosis” during the 3rd Annual International Bladder Cancer Update on January 23, 2019 in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

How to cite: Gomella, Leonard G. “PT0 after NAC: Implications for Bladder Sparing and Prognosis” January 23, 2019. Accessed Jul 2024. https://grandroundsinurology.com/pt0-after-nac-implications-for-bladder-sparing-and-prognosis/

PT0 after NAC: Implications for Bladder Sparing and Prognosis 

Leonard G. Gomella, MD, FACS, reviews treatment options for patients with bladder cancer, including new research that could lead to bladder sparing. 

Summary:

Leonard G. Gomella, MD, FACS, reviews research about neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical cystectomy for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Traditional bladder preservation protocol combines a maximum transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) with induction chemotherapy and radiation. 

Dr. Gomella explains that as bladder cancer advances, survival rates decrease in patients treated with radical cystectomy for urothelial carcinoma.

Further research into dose-dense methotrexate, vinblastine, adriamycin, and cisplatin (MVAC) regimens attempts to provide options for treating advanced bladder cancer. Then, Dr. Gomella explores the possibility of bladder preservation with potential new treatment options.

Dr. Gomella presents the rationale for NAC and addresses possible reasons for the underutilization of NAC. He also introduces the new dose-dense or accelerated bladder cancer protocols, focusing mainly on data collected by the Columbia study

Additionally, he summarizes ongoing research about the newer concepts of immuno-oncology and molecular biomarkers, specifically the ABACUS and PURE-01 trials. Lastly, he gives future predictions on the role NAC will play in helping physicians manage MIBC in their patients.

About the International Bladder Cancer Update 

The International Bladder Cancer Update (IBCU) is an annual one-day CME conference focused on bladder cancer treatment updates. IBCU takes place during its sister conference, the International Prostate Cancer Update (IPCU). The conference’s faculty consists of international experts, and the event caters to urologists, urologic oncologists, and other healthcare professionals. In addition to didactic lectures, IBCU features interactive discussions, a panel roundtable, debates, and case presentations. Dr. Gomella presented this lecture during the 3rd IBCU in 2019. Please visit this page in order to learn more about future IBCU meetings.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leonard G. Gomella, MD, FACS, is the Bernard W. Godwin, Jr. Professor of Prostate Cancer and chair of the department of urology at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he also serves as senior director for clinical affairs. Originally from New York, Dr. Gomella completed medical school and general surgery and urology training at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. After a urologic oncology fellowship in the surgery branch of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, he joined Thomas Jefferson University in 1988 and was appointed chair of the urology department in 2002. From 1998 until 2020 he was urology chair for the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) (now NRG Oncology) and from 2008 until 2019 he was clinical director of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Network.

Dr. Gomella is involved in translational basic science and clinical research developing new diagnostic tests and treatments for prostate, bladder, and kidney cancer through the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center where he has co-led the Biology of Prostate Cancer Program. Dr. Gomella's team was first to use molecular techniques (RT-PCR) in 1992 to detect circulating prostate cancer micrometastases, the first report of “liquid biopsy,” a discovery that led to a new field of investigation in this disease. Dr. Gomella is also recognized for developing the multidisciplinary clinic approach to prostate cancer and was an early contributor to urologic laparoscopy. He led the urology effort in the 2017 and 2019 Philadelphia Prostate Cancer International Consensus that provided the first multidisciplinary guidance on genetic testing for prostate cancer.

Dr. Gomella has given over 600 presentations nationally and internationally and written over 600 papers, chapters and monographs in urology. He has authored and edited 63 editions of 17 different books for medical students, residents, and practicing physicians, many of which have been translated into foreign languages. Dr. Gomella has consistently earned recognition for urologic oncology and prostate cancer, including a 2015 national recognition in Newsweek. In 2007, Men’s Health Magazine listed Dr. Gomella as one of the 20 top urologists in the US. Among other awards, in 2018 the Society of Urologic Oncology presented him with a “Distinguished Service Award.” In 2019, Dr. Gomella was named Enterprise Urology Vice President for Jefferson Health. Additionally, the American Urological Association (AUA) awarded him “Honorary Membership” status in 2023 in recognition for his contributions and leadership in urologic oncology. Dr. Gomella has been president of the Mid-Atlantic section of the AUA and elected to the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons and the prestigious Clinical Society of Genitourinary Surgeons.