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Purpose: We analyzed all available studies assessing the management of node only recurrence after primary local treatment of prostate cancer., Materials and Methods: We systematically reviewed the literature in January 2015 using the PubMed, Web of Sciences and Embase databases according to PRISMA guidelines. Studies exclusively reporting visceral or bone metastatic disease were excluded from analysis. Eight radiotherapy and 12 salvage lymph node dissection series were included in our qualitative study., Results: All 248 radiotherapy and 480 salvage lymph node dissection studies were single arm case series including a total of 728 patients. Choline positron emission tomography/computerized tomography was the reference imaging technique for nodal recurrence detection. Globally 50% of patients remained disease-free after short-term followup. Nevertheless, approximately two-thirds of patients received adjuvant hormone therapy, leading an overestimation of prostate specific antigen-free survival rates obtained after salvage treatment. Combining radiotherapy with salvage lymph node dissection may improve oncologic control in the treated region without improving the outfield relapse risk or the prostate specific antigen response. Great heterogeneity among series in adjuvant treatments, endpoints, progression definitions and study populations made it difficult to assess the precise impact of salvage treatment on the prostate specific antigen response and compare outcomes between radiotherapy and salvage lymph node dissection series. Toxicity after radiotherapy or salvage lymph node dissection was acceptable without frequent high grade complications. The benefit of early hormone therapy as the only salvage treatment remains unknown., Conclusions: Although a high level of evidence is currently missing to draw any strong conclusion, published clinical series show that in select patients salvage treatment directed to nodal recurrence could lead to good oncologic outcomes. Although the optimal timing of androgen deprivation therapy in this setting is still unknown, such an approach could delay time to systemic treatment with an acceptable safety profile. Future prospective trials are awaited to better clarify this potential impact on well-defined endpoints., (Copyright © 2015 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: We prospectively assessed the diagnostic accuracy of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging for detecting significant prostate cancer., Materials and Methods: We performed a prospective study of 111 consecutive men with prostate and/or bladder cancer who underwent 3 Tesla diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvis without an endorectal coil before radical prostatectomy (78) or cystoprostatectomy (33). Three independent readers blinded to clinical and pathological data assigned a prostate cancer suspicion grade based on qualitative imaging analysis. Final pathology results of prostates with and without cancer served as the reference standard. Primary outcomes were the sensitivity and specificity of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging for detecting significant prostate cancer with significance defined as a largest diameter of the index lesion of 1 cm or greater, extraprostatic extension, or Gleason score 7 or greater on final pathology assessment. Secondary outcomes were interreader agreement assessed by the Fleiss κ coefficient and image reading time., Results: Of the 111 patients 93 had prostate cancer, which was significant in 80 and insignificant in 13, and 18 had no prostate cancer on final pathology results. The sensitivity and specificity of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging for detecting significant PCa was 89% to 91% and 77% to 81%, respectively, for the 3 readers. Interreader agreement was good (Fleiss κ 0.65 to 0.74). Median reading time was between 13 and 18 minutes., Conclusions: Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (3 Tesla) is a noninvasive technique that allows for the detection of significant prostate cancer with high probability without contrast medium or an endorectal coil, and with good interreader agreement and a short reading time. This technique should be further evaluated as a tool to stratify patients with prostate cancer for individualized treatment options., (Copyright © 2014 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Little data are available on noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging based assessment of renal function during upper urinary tract obstruction. We determined whether functional multiparametric kidney magnetic resonance imaging could monitor the treatment response in cases of acute unilateral upper urinary tract obstruction., Material and Methods: Between January 2008 and January 2010, 18 patients with acute unilateral upper urinary tract obstruction due to calculi were prospectively enrolled to undergo kidney magnetic resonance imaging with conventional, blood oxygen level dependent and diffusion-weighted sequences upon emergency hospital admission and after release of obstruction. We assessed functional imaging parameters of obstructed and contralateral unobstructed kidneys derived from blood oxygen level dependent (apparent spin relaxation rate) and diffusion-weighted (total apparent diffusion coefficient, pure diffusion coefficient and perfusion fraction) sequences during acute upper urinary tract obstruction and after its release., Results: During acute obstruction the apparent spin relaxation rate and perfusion fraction were lower in the cortex (p=0.020 and 0.031) and medulla (p=0.012 and 0.190, respectively) of obstructed kidneys compared to contralateral unobstructed kidneys. After obstruction release the apparent spin relaxation rate and perfusion fraction increased in the cortex (p=0.016 and 0.004) and medulla (p=0.071 and 0.044, respectively) of formerly obstructed kidneys to values similar to those in contralateral kidneys. Total apparent diffusion coefficient and pure diffusion coefficient values did not significantly differ between obstructed and contralateral unobstructed kidneys during or after obstruction., Conclusions: In our patients with acute unilateral upper urinary tract obstruction due to calculi functional kidney magnetic resonance imaging using blood oxygen level dependent and diffusion-weighted sequences enabled us to monitor pathophysiological changes in obstructed kidneys during obstruction and after its release., (Copyright © 2014 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: We compared the long-term results of minimally invasive endourological intervention and open surgical revision in patients with a nonmalignant ureteroileal stricture., Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the records of 74 patients (85 renal units) treated for unilateral or bilateral nonmalignant ureteroileal strictures. Overall, 96 endourological and 35 open surgical procedures were performed. Balloon dilatation and Acucise® or Ho:YAG laser endoureterotomy were used as minimally invasive endourological interventions. Open surgical revision with stricture resection and open ureteroileal end-to-side-reanastomosis was the alternate therapy. Treatment success was defined as radiological normalization or improvement of upper urinary tract morphology combined with absent flank pain, infection, ureteral stents or percutaneous nephrostomies., Results: Median followup was 29 months (range 2 to 177). The overall success rate was 26% (25 of 96 cases) for endourological intervention vs 91% (32 of 35) for open surgical revision (p <0.001). Subgroup analysis showed a significant difference in the success rate of minimally invasive endourological interventions vs open surgical revision for strictures greater than 1 cm (3 of 52 cases or 6% vs 19 of 22 or 86%, p <0.001). The success rate of endourological and open surgical procedures for strictures 1 cm or less was 50% (22 of 44 cases) and 100% (13 of 13), respectively. After adjusting for multiple preoperative stricture characteristics, only stricture length was strongly and inversely associated with a successful outcome (p <0.001)., Conclusions: Open surgical revision produces better results than minimally invasive endourological intervention for ureteroileal strictures, particularly those greater than 1 cm. The success rate of endourological intervention is acceptable only for ureteroileal strictures 1 cm or less. Therefore, ureteroileal strictures greater than 1 cm should be primarily managed by open surgical revision., (Copyright © 2013 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To our knowledge the optimal analgesia during prostate biopsy remains undetermined. We tested the efficacy and safety of combined perianal-intrarectal lidocaine-prilocaine cream and periprostatic nerve block during transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy., Materials and Methods: A total of 280 patients were randomized to receive combined perianal-intrarectal lidocaine-prilocaine cream and periprostatic nerve block (group 1), perianal-intrarectal lidocaine-prilocaine cream alone (group 2), periprostatic nerve block alone (group 3) or no anesthesia (group 4) before transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy. Pain was evaluated with a 10-point visual analog scale at subsequent procedural steps, including perianal-intrarectal substance administration, prostate transrectal ultrasound, periprostatic nerve block and sampling. Complications were assessed by self-administered questionnaire and telephone interview., Results: The groups were comparable in patient age, prostate volume, pathology results and visual analog scale perianal-intrarectal substance administration. Visual analog scale results for transrectal ultrasound were lower in groups 1 and 2 vs 3 and 4 (mean 1.5 and 1.41 vs 5.37 and 5.31, p <0.001) and results for periprostatic nerve block were lower in group 1 vs 3 (mean 1.03 vs 3.74, p <0.001). Results for sampling were lower in groups 1 to 3 vs 4 (mean 0.77, 1.27 and 1.27 vs 4.33, p <0.001) and in group 1 vs 2 and 3 (p <0.001). Stratified analysis showed that visual analog scale sampling was lower in group 1 vs 2 and 3 in patients 65 years old or younger, those with a prostate greater than 49 cc and those with lower anorectal compliance (visual analog scale results for perianal-intrarectal substance administration greater than 2) (p = 0.006, <0.001 and 0.003, respectively). The overall complication rate was similar in all 4 groups (p = 0.87)., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the combination of perianal-intrarectal lidocaine-prilocaine cream and periprostatic nerve block provides better pain control than the 2 modalities alone during the sampling part of transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy with no increase in the complication rate. The magnitude of this effect is higher in younger men, men with a larger prostate and men with lower anorectal compliance.

Purpose: We validated the Italian version of the Ureteral Stent Symptoms Questionnaire in male and female patients with an indwelling ureteral stent., Materials and Methods: A double-back translation of the original Ureteral Stent Symptoms Questionnaire was performed by 3 urologists and 4 professional translators. A total of 78 patients (cases) with and 35 healthy subjects without (controls) an indwelling ureteral stent were asked to complete the Italian version of the Ureteral Stent Symptoms Questionnaire and a visual analog scale for pain as well as the International Prostate Symptom Score (men) and Urogenital Distress Inventory-6 plus Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-7 (women). Cases were evaluated at weeks 1 and 4 after stent placement, and at week 4 after removal, while controls were evaluated once. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were analyzed., Results: A total of 66 cases and 30 controls were suitable for analysis. The questionnaire showed good internal consistency in all domains except global quality of life compared with that of the International Prostate Symptom Score (Cronbach's alpha >0.75). Test-retest reliability was good except for the sexual matters domain (Pearson's coefficient >0.7). Relatively high correlation coefficients (greater than 0.65) were found for the visual analog scale for pain, the International Prostate Symptom Score, the Urogenital Distress Inventory-6 and the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-7 with the corresponding Ureteral Stent Symptoms Questionnaire domains, suggesting good convergent validity. Sensitivity to change and discriminant validity were also good (p <0.001)., Conclusions: The Italian version of the Ureteral Stent Symptoms Questionnaire is a reliable and robust instrument that can be self-administered to male and female Italian patients with an indwelling ureteral stent in the clinical and research settings.

Purpose: We determined the efficiency of routine excretory urography for detecting tumor recurrence in the upper urinary tract after cystectomy and urinary diversion for bladder cancer., Materials and Methods: We evaluated 322 patients who underwent cystectomy and urinary diversion, and had undergone routine followup, including regular excretory urography 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 years after cystectomy., Results: Upper urinary tract recurrence was found in 15 of the 322 patients (4.7%) patients. Eight of 15 cases were detected by routine excretory urography, resulting in a low efficiency of 0.75% (8 of 1,064 studies) for this method. The remaining 7 recurrences were detected as a result of symptoms such as macrohematuria or flank pain occurring between routine followup examinations. Patients were at up to 10 times higher risk for recurrence in the upper urinary tract if they had positive distal ureteral resection margins or a history of upper urinary tract tumors. Although the incidence of recurrence in the upper urinary tract increased 1.8-fold in patients with pTa/pT1 tumors, it remained relatively low at 8.4%., Conclusions: The incidence of recurrence in the upper urinary tract a median of 49 months (range 12 to 220) after cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma was 4.7%. Because only half of these cases were detected by routine excretory urography, this should be limited to patients at high risk with a history of upper urinary tract tumors or positive ureteral margins. In the future other techniques, eg cytology of voided urine or new markers, should be evaluated to replace excretory urography for routine followup of patients after cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.

Purpose: Although most Leydig cell tumors are benign, radical orchiectomy is currently considered the standard therapy. We retrospectively analyzed the long-term followup of a series of patients with Leydig cell tumors electively treated with testis sparing surgery., Materials and Methods: Between November 1990 and December 2005, 17 consecutive patients with Leydig cell tumors underwent testis sparing surgery on an elective basis. Preoperative evaluation included physical examination, serum markers for germ cell tumors, scrotal ultrasound, abdominal computerized tomography, chest x-ray and hormonal profile if clinically required. Testis sparing surgery was performed via an inguinal approach with spermatic cord clamping. Frozen section examination was performed in all cases, revealing Leydig cell tumors. Followup consisted of physical examination, scrotal ultrasound, abdominal computerized tomography and chest x-ray every 6 months for the first 2 years, then annually. Tumor recurrence and survival were evaluated., Results: Mean patient age was 41.6 years (range 28 to 55). Medical referral was prompted by symptoms/signs such as infertility, gynecomastia or self-palpation of scrotal mass in 11 patients (64.7%), while in the remaining 6 (35.3%) the lesions were incidentally diagnosed. Hormonal profile was performed in 9 patients, showing abnormalities in all. Mean tumor diameter was 13.4 mm (range 5 to 31). Definitive pathological examination confirmed benign Leydig cell tumor in all cases. After a mean followup of 91 months (range 12 to 192), neither local recurrence nor distant metastases have been detected and all patients are alive without evidence of disease., Conclusions: In patients with Leydig cell tumors testis sparing surgery with frozen section examination provides an excellent long-term oncological outcome.