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Objective: Renal artery aneurysms (RAA) may pose significant surgical challenges when encountered with coexisting pathology such as renal tumors. Herein, we demonstrate the management of a patient with an enhancing 6.6 cm central right renal mass and an ipsilateral 2.0 cm RAA. We present the technique for robotic transabdominal right radical nephrectomy in the setting of a right RAA. Surgical Procedure: The patient was placed in the left lateral decubitus position. The ascending colon was mobilized medially to expose the right kidney. The interaortocaval inferior vena cava was exposed. Dissection was performed in a plane inferior to the left renal vein, and the aorta was identified. The right renal artery was skeletonized. A nonabsorbable polymer clip was placed across the right renal artery proximal to the right RAA, followed by a metal clip on either side of the polymer clip. The right renal hilum was dissected. A 60 mm vascular stapler was placed across the right renal vein and right renal artery distal to the right RAA. A nonabsorbable polymer clip was placed across the distal ureter which was then transected proximally. The kidney was completely freed from remaining attachments and was placed into a bag for extraction. Results: The patient had an uncomplicated post-operative course. Pathology revealed pT1bN0 chromophobe renal cell carcinoma with negative surgical margins. 2 years postoperatively, imaging continues to show no evidence of local tumor recurrence or metastatic disease. The RAA has diminished in size over time. Conclusions: Achieving proximal control of the renal artery is paramount when performing radical nephrectomy in the setting of RAA. Robotic surgery remains a viable option in the minimally invasive management of renal masses with complex vascular considerations.

Abstract Accurate prediction of new baseline GFR (NBGFR) after radical nephrectomy (RN) can inform clinical management and patient counseling whenever RN is a strong consideration. Preoperative global GFR, split renal function (SRF), and renal functional compensation (RFC) are fundamentally important for the accurate prediction of NBGFR post-RN. While SRF has traditionally been obtained from nuclear renal scans (NRS), differential parenchymal volume analysis (PVA) via software analysis may be more accurate. A simplified approach to estimate parenchymal volumes and SRF based on length/width/height measurements (LWH) has also been proposed. We compare the accuracies of these three methods for determining SRF, and, by extension, predicting NBGFR after RN. All 235 renal cancer patients managed with RN (2006–2021) with available preoperative CT/MRI and NRS, and relevant functional data were analyzed. PVA was performed on CT/MRI using semi-automated software, and LWH measurements were obtained from CT/MRI images. RFC was presumed to be 25%, and thus: Predicted NBGFR = 1.25 × Global GFRPre-RN × SRFContralateral. Predictive accuracies were assessed by mean squared error (MSE) and correlation coefficients (r). The r values for the LWH/NRS/software-derived PVA approaches were 0.72/0.71/0.86, respectively (p

BackgroundElicitation of patients’ preferences is an integral part of shared decision-making, the recommended approach for prostate cancer decision-making. Existing decision aids for this population often do not specifically focus on patients’ preferences. Healium is a brief interactive web-based decision aid that aims to elicit patients’ treatment preferences and is designed for a low health literate population. ObjectiveThis study used a randomized controlled trial to evaluate whether Healium, designed to target preference elicitation, is as efficacious as Healing Choices, a comprehensive education and decision tool, in improving outcomes for decision-making and emotional quality of life. MethodsPatients diagnosed with localized prostate cancer who had not yet made a treatment decision were randomly assigned to the brief Healium intervention or Healing Choices, a decision aid previously developed by our group that serves as a virtual information center on prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment. Assessments were completed at baseline, 6 weeks, and 3 months post baseline, and included decisional outcomes (decisional conflict, satisfaction with decision, and preparation for decision-making), and emotional quality of life (anxiety/tension and depression), along with demographics, comorbidities, and health literacy. ResultsA total of 327 individuals consented to participate in the study (171 were randomized to the Healium intervention arm and 156 were randomized to Healing Choices). The majority of the sample was non-Hispanic (272/282, 96%), White (239/314, 76%), married (251/320, 78.4%), and was on average 62.4 (SD 6.9) years old. Within both arms, there was a significant decrease in decisional conflict from baseline to 6 weeks postbaseline (Healium, P≤.001; Healing Choices, P≤.001), and a significant increase in satisfaction with one’s decision from 6 weeks to 3 months (Healium, P=.04; Healing Choices, P=.01). Within both arms, anxiety/tension (Healium, P=.23; Healing Choices, P=.27) and depression (Healium, P=.001; Healing Choices, P≤.001) decreased from baseline to 6 weeks, but only in the case of depression was the decrease statistically significant. ConclusionsHealium, our brief decision aid focusing on treatment preference elicitation, is as successful in reducing decisional conflict as our previously tested comprehensive decision aid, Healing Choices, and has the added benefit of brevity, making it the ideal tool for integration into the physician consultation and electronic medical record. Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05800483; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05800483

ObjectiveTo characterize academic urology Twitter presence and interaction by subspecialty designation. MethodsUsing Twitter application programming interface of available data, 94000 specific tweets were extracted for the analysis through the Twitter Developer Program. Academic urologists were defined based on American Urological Association (AUA) residency program registration of 143 residency programs, with a total of 2377 faculty. Two of 3-factor verification (name, location, specialty) of faculty Twitter account was used. Additional faculty information including sex, program location, and subspecialty were manually recorded. All elements of microblogging were captured through Anaconda Navigator. Analyzed tweets were further evaluated using natural language processing for sentiment association, mentions, and quote tweeted and retweeted. Network analysis based on interactions of academic urologist within specialty for given topic were analyzed using D3 in JavaScript. Analysis was performed in Python and R. ResultsWe identified 143 residency programs with a total of 2377 faculty (1975 men and 402 women). Among all faculty, 945 (39.7%) had registered Twitter accounts, with the majority being men (759 [80.40%] versus 185 [19.60%]). Although there were more male academic urologists across programs, women within academic urology were more likely to have a registered Twitter account overall (46% versus 38.5%) compared with men. When assessing registered accounts by sex, there was a peak for male faculty in 2014 (10.05% of all accounts registered) and peak for female faculty in 2015 (2.65%). There was no notable change in faculty account registration during COVID-19 (2019–2020). In 2022, oncology represented the highest total number of registered Twitter users (225), with the highest number of total tweets (24622), followers (138541), and tweets per user per day (0.32). However, andrology (50%) and reconstruction (51.3%) were 2 of the highest proportionally represented subspecialties within academic urology. Within the context of conversation surrounding a specified topic (#aua21), female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS) and endourology demonstrated the total highest number of intersubspecialty conversations. ConclusionsThere is a steady increase in Twitter representation among academic urologists, largely unaffected by COVID-19. While urologic oncology represents the largest group, andrology and reconstructive urology represent the highest proportion of their respective subspecialties. Interaction analysis highlights the variant interaction among subspecialties based on topic, with strong direct ties between endourology, FPMRS, and oncology.

Background: Until recently, the properties of microbiome and mycobiome in humans and its relevance to disease have largely been unexplored. While the interest of microbiome and malignancy over the past few years have burgeoned with advent of new technologies, no research describing the composition of mycobiome in bladder cancer has been done. Deciphering of the metagenome and its aggregate genetic information can be used to understand the functional properties and relationships between the bacteria, fungi, and cancer. Objective: The aim of this project is to characterize the compositional range of the normal versus bladder cancer mycobiome of the gut. Design, setting, and participants: An internal transcribed spacer (ITS) survey of 52 fecal samples was performed to evaluate the gut mycobiome differences between noncancer controls and bladder cancer patients. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Our study evaluated the differences in mycobiome among patients with bladder cancer, versus matched controls. Our secondary analysis evaluated compositional differences in the gut as a function of response status with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Data demultiplexing and classification were performed using the QIIME v.1.1.1.1 platform. The Ion Torrent–generated fungal ITS sequence data were processed using QIIME (v.1.9.1), and the reads were demultiplexed, quality filtered, and clustered into operation taxonomic units using default parameters. Alpha and beta diversity were computed and plotted in Phyloseq, principal coordinate analysis was performed on Bray-Curtis dissimilarity indices, and a one-way permutational multivariate analysis of variance was used to test for significant differences between cohorts. Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt) was applied to infer functional categories associated with taxonomic composition. Results and limitations: We found distinctive mycobiome differences between control group (n = 32) and bladder cancer (n = 29) gut flora, and identified an increasing abundance of Tremellales, Hypocreales, and Dothideales. Significant differences in alpha and beta diversity were present between the groups (control vs bladder; p = 0.002), noting distinct compositions within each cohort. A subgroup analysis by sex and neoadjuvant chemotherapy status did not show any further differences in mycobiome composition and diversity. Our results indicate that the gut mycobiome may modulate tumor response to preoperative chemotherapy in bladder cancer patients. We propose that patients with a “favorable” mycobiome composition (eg, high diversity, and low abundance of Agaricomycetes and Saccharomycetes) may have enhanced systemic immune response to chemotherapy through antigen presentation. Conclusions: Our study is the first to characterize the enteric mycobiome in patients with bladder cancer and describe complex ecological network alterations, indicating complex bacteria-fungi interactions, particularly highlighted among patients with complete neoadjuvant chemotherapy response. Patient summary: Our study has demonstrated that the composition of stool mycobiome (fungal inhabitants of the gastrointestinal tract) in patients with bladder cancer is different from that in noncancer individuals. Furthermore, when evaluating how patients respond to chemotherapy given prior to their surgery, our study noted significant differences between patients who responded and those who did not.

Multimodal immunosuppression is the backbone of modern solid organ transplantation. However, immunosuppression itself is an independent risk factor for post-transplant malignancy. Although skin malignancy is the most common post-transplant malignancy, genitourinary cancers are also described. Dose reduction or cessation of immunosuppression has a beneficial role in the management of transplant patients with concomitant malignancy, but only limited data exist with respect to bladder cancer (BCa).We describe a patient who developed metastatic muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) after diseased donor kidney transplant (DDKT) who was successfully managed with dose reduction and elimination of an immunosuppression regimen.

Splenosis is a benign condition that is often found in patients with a history of trauma. Most cases are intra-abdominal due to direct seeding of surrounding structures. We report a case of splenosis in the pelvis found in a 59-year-old male during a robotic prostatectomy.

Oncocytic adrenocortical tumors (OAT) are rare and often are non-functional. We report a unique case of an estradiol-secreting adrenal oncocytoma in a 31-year-old male discovered upon an infertility and gynecomastia work-up. After resection of the 9 cm adrenal mass, the patient's estradiol levels normalized from 83.2 pg/ml to 19.0 pg/ml. Gonadotropins and serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate also normalized.

Paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine tumors that can vary in size and metabolic activity. We report a case of giant bilateral malignant retroperitoneal paragangliomas (PGL) in a patient with germline succinate dehydrogenase B (SDHB) mutation. This patient, who presented in an emaciated and debilitated state, was managed with adrenergic blockade followed by radical primary surgery. After being metabolically and radiographically disease free for 4 years, he underwent salvage resection for recurrent retroperitoneal disease and palliative radiation to a site of solidary vertebral metastasis. We review incidence and prognosis of metastatic PGL.

Radical cystectomy (RC) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is the gold standard for management of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Patients without residual tumor at the time of extirpative surgery (ypT0) have excellent prognosis. Distant metastases in this population are rare. We present a unique case of a patient with ypT0N0 urothelial carcinoma (UC) with rapid development of metastasis to the brain.

Colonic adenocarcinoma of a urinary diversion is rare. We report a case of a 70 year-old woman who developed such a malignancy 12 years after creation of an Indiana pouch urinary diversion for treatment of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder cancer.

We describe a case of unilateral renal lymphangiectasia (RLM) in a 30-year-old male with severe, refractory hypertension (HTN) and end-organ effects despite five anti-hypertensives. After diagnostic testing, the patient ultimately underwent a successful right laparoscopic nephrectomy with significant improvement of HTN. We review the literature regarding the pathophysiology and management strategies of HTN in patients with renal lymphangiectasia.

Stauffer's syndrome is a paraneoplastic phenomenon associated with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) characterized by cholestatic hepatitis. We explore the effects of perioperative immunotherapy in a case of Stauffer's syndrome. A 70-year-old female with a locally advanced clear cell RCC (ccRCC) developed severe hyperbilirubinemia. The patient's cholestasis progressed despite initial systemic immunotherapy, but improved after cytoreductive nephrectomy. The patient continued immunotherapy post-operatively and regained normalized hepatic function. To our knowledge, this is the first case reporting use of systemic immunotherapy with surgery in Stauffer's syndrome, and we provide clinical insight into a treatment regimen which may be employed in future cases. Keywords: Renal cell carcinoma, Stauffer's syndrome, Immunotherapy

Angiosarcoma of the adrenal gland is an extremely rare malignancy. We report a case of a 59-year-old female who presented with abdominal pain and profound anemia. A 7 cm enhancing, lipid-poor adrenal mass with calcifications that extended posterior to the vena cava was identified on imaging. Patient underwent right adrenalectomy with retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. Pathology demonstrated angiosarcoma of the adrenal gland. Consolidative treatment included adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy. Patient remains disease free 1.5 years following treatment. Prior reported literature on the diagnosis and management of adrenal angiosarcoma is reviewed.

Paraneoplastic syndromes are commonly encountered in renal cell carcinoma, but neurological manifestations are rare. Herein we report a case of a patient with locally advanced renal cell carcinoma who presented with Parkinson-like symptoms which prohibited surgery due to poor performance status. However, a significant improvement was noted after tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy, allowing the patient to proceed to curative surgery.

Background: The proto-oncogene c-MYC , located on chromosome 8q, can be upregulated through gain of 8q, causing alteration in biology of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of c-MYC through chromosome 8q gain and to correlate findings with cancer-specific mortality (CSM), and overall survival (OS). Methods: Cytogenetic analysis by conventional or Chromosomal Genomic Microarray Analysis (CMA) was performed on 414 renal tumors. Nonclear and nonpapillary RCC were excluded. Impact of gain in chromosome 8q status on CSM, OS, and its correlation with clinicopathological variables were evaluated. CSM and OS were assessed using log-rank test and the Cox proportional hazards model. Results: A total of 297 RCC tumors with cytogenetic analysis were included. Gain of 8q was detected in 18 (6.1%) tumors (9 clear cell and 9 papillary RCC), using conventional method ( n = 11) or CMA ( n = 7). Gain of 8q was associated with higher T stage ( p < 0.001), grade ( p < 0.001), nodal involvement ( p = 0.005), and distant metastasis ( p < 0.001). No association between gain of 8q and age ( p = 0.23), sex ( p = 0.46), and Charlson comorbidity index (CCI, p = 0.59) were seen. Gain of 8q was associated with an 8.38-fold [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.83–18.34, p < 0.001] and 3.31-fold (95% CI, 1.56–7.04, p = 0.001) increase in CSM and decrease in OS, respectively, at a median follow up of 56 months. Conclusion: Chromosome 8q harbors the proto-oncogene c-MYC , which can be upregulated by gain of 8q. Our findings suggest that gain of 8q, can predict aggressive tumor phenotype and inferior survival in RCC.

We describe a case of a patient with a large and clinically worrisome cystic renal lesion. Despite concerning imaging features, lack of definitive enhancement on cross-sectional imaging prompted a recommendation for expected management. The unusual lesion steadily decreased in size until it nearly entirely involuted over two years of follow-up. This case highlights the importance of careful treatment calibration and adherence to established clinical principles in patients who presents with clinically concerning renal lesions that lack definitive enhancement. Keywords: Renal lesion, CT enhancement, Surveillance, Bosniak cyst, Resolution

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy that is generally associated with a poor prognosis whose existence dictates the management of incidental renal masses. We report a case of ACC diagnosed and treated at its apparent inception in a patient undergoing close surveillance imaging of a prior malignancy. Despite timely detection and resection of a localized ACC this patient rapidly progressed to systemic disease. This case highlights the rapid growth kinetics of ACC and puts into perspective the challenges associated with the established treatment paradigm for patients diagnosed with an adrenal mass.

Crossed-fused renal ectopy is an uncommon abnormality of the genitourinary tract that results from errors during embryological development. Ureteral herniation represents another rare anatomic event and can often occur from spontaneous, postoperative, and congenital causes (Allam, Johnson, Grewal & Johnson 2015; Pollack, Popky & Blumberg 1975). Here, we discuss the complex clinical course of a patient with crossed-fused renal ectopia who presents with symptoms due to ureteroinguinal herniation and provide a brief overview of the literature. We highlight the clinical considerations in the management of this patient and provide a potential anatomical and embryological explanation for his presentation.

Hybrid renal tumors (HRT) are rare neoplasms that contain both benign and malignant components. Sporadic solitary HRT that contain high-grade malignant pathology appear to be extremely rare [1]. We describe a case at our institution of a tumor that was characterized as a type-2 papillary RCC and atypical oncocytoma hybrid that mimicked a simple cyst on non-contrast computed tomography.

Metastatic spread of differentiated thyroid cancer to genitourinary organs is rare. Synchronous presentation of renal and adrenal thyroid metastasis is even less common, this case being only the 3rd reported. We describe a case of a 60-year-old male with oligometastatic thyroid cancer, where adrenal and renal metastases were the only extracervical sites of disease and triggered the patient's presentation.

Purpose We suggest that when surgical correction is considered to treat a duplicated collecting system with well-functioning moieties, a laparoscopic approach at the renal level is feasible even in cases requiring complex reconstruction.Patients and Methods Six children between the ages of 4 months and 10 years (mean age 5.2 years) presented with urinary-tract infection, incontinence, or pain and underwent transperitoneal laparoscopic reconstruction for duplex collecting system pathology in renal moieties with preserved function. Five patients underwent laparoscopic upper pole-to-lower pole ureteroureterostomies, whereas one patient underwent a complex reconstruction of a long narrowing defect utilizing a Scardino-Prince vertical flap. Four patients underwent conventional laparoscopy, while the da Vinci Surgical System®was used during the surgical procedures of the other two patients.Results The mean operative time was 3.1 hours (range 2.6–4.9 hours) for the entire procedure, including cystoscopic evaluation. Stents were removed 6 weeks postoperatively. The patients were evaluated with retroperitoneal ultrasonography and either intravenous urography or diuretic radionuclide imaging to assess the anatomic integrity of the reconstruction. The presenting symptomatology resolved in all patients.Conclusions We believe that complex laparoscopic upper-tract reconstruction in children who benefit from a parenchyma-preserving approach is possible and should be evaluated against open techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy is standard of care for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC); however, it is infrequently adopted in practice because of concerns regarding toxicity and delay to cystectomy. We hypothesized that three cycles of neoadjuvant accelerated methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (AMVAC) would be safe, shorten the time to surgery, and yield similar pathologic complete response (pT0) rates compared with historical controls., Patients and Methods: Patients with cT2-T4a and N0-N1 MIBC were eligible and received three cycles of AMVAC with pegfilgrastim followed by radical cystectomy with lymph node dissection. The primary end point was pT0 rate. Telomere length (TL) and p53 mutation status were correlated with response and toxicity., Results: Forty-four patients were accrued; 60% had stage III to IV disease; median age was 64 years. Forty patients were evaluable for response, with 15 (38%; 95% CI, 23% to 53%) showing pT0 at cystectomy, meeting the primary end point of the study. Another six patients (14%) were downstaged to non-muscle invasive disease. Most (82%) experienced only grade 1 to 2 treatment-related toxicities. There were no grade 3 or 4 renal toxicities and no treatment-related deaths. One patient developed metastases and thus did not undergo cystectomy; all others (n = 43) proceeded to cystectomy within 8 weeks after last chemotherapy administration. Median time from start of chemotherapy to cystectomy was 9.7 weeks. TL and p53 mutation did not predict response or toxicity., Conclusion: AMVAC is well tolerated and results in similar pT0 rates with 6 weeks of treatment compared with standard 12-week regimens. Further analysis is ongoing to ascertain whether molecular alterations in tumor samples can predict response to chemotherapy., (© 2014 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.)