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Abstract Background Nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff excision is the standard treatment for high-risk upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). The role of minimally invasive surgery in treating locally advanced UTUC remains controversial. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of open, laparoscopic, and robotic surgeries for managing locally advanced UTUC. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 705 patients with locally advanced UTUC from multiple institutions throughout Taiwan. Perioperative outcomes and oncological outcomes, such as cancer-specific survival, overall survival, disease-free survival and bladder-free survival, were compared between the open, laparoscopic and robotic groups. Results The minimally invasive group had better overall and cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates. The 2-year CSS rates of the open, laparoscopic and robotic groups were 71%, 83%, and 77% respectively (p

Abstract Background The urachus is the embryological remnant of the cloaca and allantois. Failure of its regression can cause diseases any time after birth. It is difficult to differentiate an abscess from urachal adenocarcinoma based on the clinical presentation and image findings. Cystitis glandularis reflects chronic irritation of the bladder urothelium, and tumor-like florid cystitis glandularis can be misdiagnosed as malignancy. We report a patient with concurrent urachal abscess and florid cystitis glandularis which increased the resemblance of malignancy. Case presentation A 57-year-old female was incidentally found to have a heterogeneous pelvic mass abutting the urinary bladder. A cystoscopy examination revealed protruding tumors located in the bladder dome. Her blood test results were all normal, and urinalysis showed microscopic hematuria. Urachal cancer was diagnosed and en bloc excision of the umbilicus, tumor, and the involved bladder dome was performed. Pathology revealed urachal abscess with concurrent cystitis glandularis within the urinary bladder. No malignancy was identified in the resected specimen. Conclusions It is challenging to distinguish urachal abscess from a malignant tumor based on the clinical presentation and imaging studies. As in our case, the coexistence of urachal abscess and tumor-like florid cystitis glandularis increased the resemblance to a malignancy. This is the first reported case of the concurrence of these two disease entities, and emphasizes that the detection of bladder tumors on cystoscopy is not sufficient to make the diagnosis of urachal cancer with bladder involvement.

Abstract Background In this study, we aimed to compare the efficacy and clinical outcomes of shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) for patients with renal stones using pure fluoroscopy (FS) or ultrasound-assisted (USa) localization with two lithotripters. Methods We retrospectively identified 425 patients with renal calculi who underwent SWL with either a LiteMed LM-9200 ELMA lithotripter (209 cases), which combined ultrasound and fluoroscopic stone targeting or a Medispec EM-1000 lithotripter machine (216 cases), which used fluoroscopy for stone localization and tracking. The patient demographic data, stone-free rates, stone disintegration rates, retreatment rates and complication rates were analyzed. Results The USa group had a significantly higher overall stone-free rate (43.6 vs. 28.2%, p 1 cm group, the stone-free rate (32.4 vs. 17.8%, p = 0.028), disintegration rate (89.2 vs. 54.8%, p = 0.031) and retreatment rate (21.6 vs. 53.4%, p

Abstract Background The current study aimed to compare the efficacy of transition zone PSA density (TZPSAD) with traditional PSA and PSA density (PSAD), for the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) in Taiwanese males. Methods Men with PSA between 4.0 and 20.0 ng/ml who underwent a transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided prostate biopsy between the studied period were retrospectively identified. The demographic data, PSAD and TZPSAD were calculated in all patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to analyze the accuracy of a positive PCa diagnosis. Results The area under the ROC (AUC) was 0.615, 0.748 and 0.746 for PSA, PSAD and TZPSAD, respectively. The best cut-off of value for TZPSAD in predicting PCa in men with a PSA of 4.0–10.0 ng/ml was 0.367 ng/ml/ml with a sensitivity of 50% and a specificity of 77.5%. In men with a PSA of 10.1–20.0 ng/ml, the best cut-off value was 0.454 ng/ml, with a sensitivity of 74.8% and specificity of 70.9%. Conclusion The use of TZPSAD can improve the efficiency and specificity of PSA for the diagnosis of PCa in Taiwanese men with PSA 4.0–20.0 ng/ml. TZPSAD efficiency was similar to PSAD but TZPSAD had better cancer specificity.