What does all this mean?? HELP!

I'm glad what I posted is helpful.

With regard to "mimic", this comes from a research paper on LVI:
I don't really know beyond that but the quote references two types of staining they can do on the slides. If it doesn't mention that in the pathology report, you may want to ask the doctor about it.

Delighted to hear no distant metasis was found!!!

Having a surgeon that does 100 a year is right on the money. That's what you want. He should also ask his surgeon about doing the nerve sparing surgery. 64 is still young and nerve sparing helps things that I don't talk to children about.

You should also ask the doctor about LVI meaning that it has gone to the lymph nodes. My understanding is that it is into the lymphatic system but not necessarily spread beyond the point it is found. Obviously, the chances are higher that lymph nodes are affected but they will be removing those lymph nodes during the surgery anyway. Depending on how many (if any) lymph nodes it has spread to, it will be a determinant in the his follow up treatment plan.

Many, many people have had what he has now and are doing fine after surgery and chemo. It's going to be a rough road as this surgery is no piece of cake but he can get through it and you can help him.

Mike

Thank you so much for all of the information you provided! You are a blessing to people like me who are lost with all the information out there

My dad is 64 years old and we live in southern CA. He is going to a top surgeon at USC who does 100 a year (or so). We think he is FINALLY in good hands.

After they found the tumor initially, they did a full body scan to make sure the cancer did not spread. They did not find anything - thank goodness.

So, the lymphovascular invasion doesn't necessarily mean it has gone into the lymph nodes?

"There are things that mimic LVI though (namely retraction artifact) so it is important to have the slides of the biopsies sent to a major bladder cancer center to get a 2nd opinion on the results"
- can you elaborate on this? I think UCI did the pathology report - is that a major bladder cancer center? If not, can you recommend one?

Thanks again!

Sorry to hear about your father getting diagnosed with bladder cancer.

In layman's terms it means he has bladder cancer that has invaded the muscle of the bladder. It is high grade, which means it is aggressive. It has also gotten to (invaded) the lymphovascular system.

By "the surgery" I assume you mean cystectomy (bladder removal) as that is certainly the gold standard of treatment in the situation of muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Where is your father being seen? He certainly needs to get to a top bladder cancer hospital if he isn't already being seen at one. Where is he located, how old is he, and is he otherwise in good health?

Due the lymphovascular invasion (LVI) there is a higher risk of recurrence and progression even after the bladder is removed. I can point you to research studies that say that but I'm guessing you aren't really looking for those right now. Let me know if you are.

Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) means that cancer cells were found inside the tumor's blood vessels and inside the lymph channels. Lymph channels connect the lymph nodes, and are like vessels between them. The lymphatic system is one way that cancers can spread to other parts of the body.

Most likely, your father is going to have to have chemo in addition to the surgery. Depending on his specific situation chemo will be before or after the surgery (or both). What other tests have they run on him so far other than the TURBT (TransUrethral Resection of Bladder Tumor) to remove the tumor(s)?

They should be running some tests to see if there is any distant metastasis to other parts of the body. That is where the cancer has spread outside of the bladder to other areas of the body such as bones or lungs. They would be doing these tests prior to doing the surgery.

During the surgery to remove the bladder, they will also be removing a large number of lymph nodes to assess them to see if has spread to any and if so, how many and how far.

There are things that mimic LVI though (namely retraction artifact) so it is important to have the slides of the biopsies sent to a major bladder cancer center to get a 2nd opinion on the results.

Five and ten year recurrence free survival rates are significantly lower in bladder cancer patients with LVI (as compared to bladder cancer patients without LVI) but there are significant numbers of people who do survive beyond the 5 and 10 year monitoring period that most medical research uses as baselines.

Again, it is really important to get him to a top bladder cancer specialist.

Mike

My father was recently diagnosed with cancer and they say at the base of the tumor they found lymphovascular invasion present, muscularis propria present and involved by carcinoma, invasive urothelial carnimoa high grade.

What does all this mean? He is having the surgery. Will he be ok?