Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: Current Knowledge and Perspectives

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Therapy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 November 2025 | Viewed by 556

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Urology, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10003, USA
Interests: bladder cancer; urothelial cell carcinoma; upper tract cancer; transitional cell carcinoma

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Guest Editor
Division of Urology, Section of Urologic Oncology, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, 195 Albany St., New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
Interests: bladder cancer; urothelial cancer
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are very familiar with urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC), but there has been growing interest in the rarity of UCC that occurs in the upper urinary tract. There have been new guidelines created for this disease space and even growing evidence for treatment regimens. The growth of research and even clinical trials in this disease space continues to enhance the ability of physicians and surgeons to provide the best personalized care for patients. It is important that clinicians are aware of ongoing research and publications within rare disease states such as upper tract urothelial cell carcinoma (UTUC), so we are working on this Special Issue based on just that. We welcome your proposals and research on this topic. 

Dr. Katie S. Murray
Dr. Saum Ghodoussipour
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • upper tract urothelial carcinoma
  • upper tract disease
  • urothelial cell carcinoma

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 2616 KiB  
Article
Preoperative Computed Tomography-Based Prediction and Patterns of Lymph Node Metastasis in Renal Pelvis and Ureteral Urothelial Carcinomas
by Soojung Park, Deuk Jae Sung, Kyung Sook Yang, Yeo Eun Han, Ki Choon Sim, Na Yeon Han, Beom Jin Park and Min Ju Kim
Cancers 2025, 17(7), 1180; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17071180 - 31 Mar 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: The accurate preoperative prediction of lymph node (LN) metastasis is essential to optimizing surgical management in renal pelvis urothelial carcinoma (RPUC) and ureteral urothelial carcinoma (UUC). This study evaluates the predictive value of preoperative computed tomography (CT) findings in detecting LN metastasis [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The accurate preoperative prediction of lymph node (LN) metastasis is essential to optimizing surgical management in renal pelvis urothelial carcinoma (RPUC) and ureteral urothelial carcinoma (UUC). This study evaluates the predictive value of preoperative computed tomography (CT) findings in detecting LN metastasis and determining primary metastatic LN location based on the tumor site. Methods: This retrospective study included 48 RPUC and 97 UUC patients who underwent surgery with lymph node dissection (LND) between 2005 and 2023. Preoperative CT images were assessed for tumor size, location, multifocality, peritumoral fat infiltration, hydronephrosis grade, LN status, and metastatic LN location. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses identified predictive factors for LN metastasis, while Pearson’s chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests determined the association between locations of LN metastasis and primary tumor sites after categorizing UUC into upper and lower UUC. Results: In RPUC, 13 of 48 patients had LN metastasis, with tumor size and peritumoral fat infiltration emerging as significant predictors (p < 0.05). In UUC, 39 of 97 patients had LN metastasis, with tumor size and hydronephrosis grade being significant predictors (p < 0.001). An optimal tumor size threshold of 4 cm was identified for predicting LN metastasis in UUC, and 4.4 cm for RPUC. Additionally, a hydronephrosis grade of 3 or higher was found to be a strong predictor in UUC. ROC analysis showed high accuracy, yielding an AUC of 0.907 in RPUC and 0.904 in UUC. Cross-validation supported the robustness of these findings. Primary LN metastatic sites were predominantly ipsilateral hilar nodes in RPUC and ipsilateral pelvic nodes in lower UUC (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Preoperative CT imaging provides a reliable, noninvasive tool for predicting LN metastasis in RPUC and UUC. Identifying key imaging-based predictors can facilitate risk stratification and surgical decision-making, particularly regarding the necessity and extent of LND. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: Current Knowledge and Perspectives)
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