Search

Purpose: Treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) remains challenging, especially for elderly and/or comorbid patients. Patients who are unfit for or refuse surgery should receive bladder-preserving multimodality treatment (BPMT), consisting of transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURB) followed by combined chemoradiotherapy (CRT). We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of vinorelbine, a chemotherapeutic agent not routinely used for MIBC, in patients referred to CRT who are unfit for standard chemotherapy and would thus rely solely on radiotherapy (RT). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 52 consecutive patients with MIBC who received standard CRT with cisplatin (n = 14), CRT with vinorelbine (n = 26), or RT alone (n = 12). Primary endpoints were median overall survival (OS) and median cancer-specific survival (CSS). Secondary endpoints were median local control (LC), median distant control (DC), and OS, CSS, LC, and DC after 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. Results: Median OS and CSS were significantly higher for patients who received vinorelbine as compared to RT alone (OS 8 vs. 22 months, p = 0.003; CSS 11 months vs. not reached, p = 0.001). Median LC and DC did not differ significantly between groups. Vinorelbine was well tolerated with no reported side effects >grade II. Conclusion: Our results suggest that CRT with vinorelbine is well tolerated and superior to RT alone in terms of OS and CSS. Therefore, this treatment regime might constitute a new treatment option for patients with MIBC who are unfit for or refuse surgery or standard chemotherapy. This study encourages a randomized controlled trial to compare this new regime to current standard therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Der Urologe A is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We report the case of a 72-year-old woman who was diagnosed in 2006 with renal cell cancer (RCC) and had undergone consecutive tumor nephrectomy (clear-cell RCC, Fuhrmann grade II, stage pT3a, R0). Over the years, the patient underwent several surgical and radiological interventions due to various metastatic lesions. This case report describes the 3-year progression-free survival in a patient who underwent first-line therapy with the monoclonal antibody bevacizumab. Except for hypertension, the patient does not suffer currently from any other side effects of bevacizumab therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:The aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation between preoperative [-2]proPSA, the Gleason Score (GS) and the risk of non-organ-confined (NOC) disease in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP).Methods:Beckman Coulter Access immunoassay was used to study serum specimens of 381 patients enrolled in a prostate cancer (PCa) early detection program. Inclusion criteria were three or more available serum specimens over 4 years before diagnosis. The values obtained were correlated with the GSs and pathological stages of specimens obtained at RP.Results:[-2]proPSA levels were significantly higher in the cancer group (n=208) than in the benign group (n=173). Already 4 years before diagnosis [-2]proPSA differed significantly between PCa and benign prostate in all measured time points, however, highest prediction value was 2 and 1 years before diagnosis (P<0.001). When stratified [-2]proPSA levels according to GS of RP specimens, [-2]proPSA was highest in patients with GS8 and lowest in those with GS6.The difference in [-2]proPSA values between GS8 and GS7 was highly significant (P<0.01) already 3 years before diagnosis. Investigating the correlation between extraprostatic extension and the preoperative [-2]proPSA levels we found preoperative [-2]proPSA values significantly higher in men with NOC PCa compared with organ-confined (OC) cancers.The highest predictive value of [-2]proPSA to differ between OC and extraprostatic extension was found 3 and 2 years before RP.Conclusions:Patients with high [-2]proPSA levels in the years before cancer diagnosis are at a higher risk of having aggressive PCas. Thus, the [-2]proPSA should be included in the treatment decision-making for managing screen-detected PCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:The TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusion resulting in ERG overexpression has been found in around 50% of prostate cancers (PCa) and is a very early event in tumorigenesis. Most studies have reported on selected surgical cohorts with inconsistent results. We hypothesized that ERG gene rearrangements impact tumor development and investigated the frequency of ERG overexpression in the context of clinicopathological tumor characteristics.Methods:ERG overexpression (ERG+ or ERG-) was determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 1039 radical prostatectomy (RP) tumors and association with PSA, D'Amico risk score, histopathology, biochemical recurrence, body mass index and age of PCa cases was analyzed.Results:ERG+ was associated with younger age at diagnosis (P<0.0001), lower serum PSA (P=0.002) and lower prostate volume (PV) (P=0.001). It was most frequent in the youngest age quartile (55 years, 63.9% ERG+) and decreased constantly with increasing age to 40.8% in the oldest age quartile (67 years, P<0.0001). In the PSA range <4 ng ml−1 the frequency of ERG positivity was 60.2% compared with 47.5 and 49.1% in the PSA ranges 4-10 and 10 ng ml−1, respectively. In the first age quartile, ERG+ patients had lower median serum PSA and fPSA% and smaller PV. In the highest age quartile tumor volume (TV) was increased. Similar differences were observed in the low PSA range. Multivariate analysis identified the first age quartile as a predictor for ERG status (odds ratios (OR) 2.05, P=0.007). No association was found with the D'Amico progression risk score and with biochemical tumor recurrence.Conclusions:ERG+ tumors manifest clinically at lower PSA levels and their prevalence is age dependent. This suggests acceleration of tumor development by ERG overexpression that results in earlier tumor detection in young patients. Long-term results are warranted to determine the impact of ERG overexpression on disease outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Der Radiologe is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: To compare the efficiency of contrast-enhanced colour Doppler ultrasound (CECD-US) targeted biopsy versus systematic biopsy (SB) for PCa detection in 1,776 men.Methods: Retrospective, single-centre, diagnostic accuracy study from 2002 until 2006 in 1,776 male volunteers with a serum total PSA of 1.25 ng/ml or greater. In each patient five CECD-US targeted biopsies were performed in hypervascular areas in the peripheral zone during intravenous injection of a second-generation microbubble US contrast agent. Subsequently, another examiner performed ten SBs. The PCa detection rates for the two techniques were compared.Results: Of 1,776 patients, cancer was detected in 559 patients (31%), including 476 of the 1,776 patients (27%) with CECD-US and 410 (23%) with SB (p < 0.001). The detection rate for CECD-US targeted biopsy cores (10.8% or 961 of 8,880 cores) was significantly better than for SB cores (5.1% or 910 of 17,760 cores, p < 0.001). Among patients with a positive biopsy for PCa, cancer was detected by CECD-US alone in 149 patients (27%) and by SB alone in 83 (15%) (p < 0.001).Conclusion: This study represents the largest clinical trial to date, demonstrating a significant benefit of CECD-US targeted biopsy relative to SB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Der Radiologe is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between benign pro static hyperplasia (BPH) and arteriosclerosis shown in a model of type 2 diabetes in a trans-sectional population study using contrast-enhanced colour Doppler ultrasound for exact assessment of pro static blood flow. Methods: Contrast-enhanced transrectal colour Doppler ultrasound was performed using a microbubble-based ultrasound enhancer SonoVue for evaluating prostate vascularity (transitional zone [TZ] and peripheral zone [PZ]) in diabetic BPH patients, non-diabetic BPH patients and healthy subjects. Computer-assisted quantification of colour pixel intensity (CPI) was used to objectively evaluate the prostate vascularity. Resistive index measurements were obtained in the TZ and the PZ. Findings were compared between these three groups. Results: TZ-CPI was significantly lower in diabetic patients than in non-diabetic BPH men (p=O.OO1), whereas the CPI of the PZ showed no difference between these two groups (p=O.978). TZ-CPI of patients with diabetic and non-diabetic BPH were significantly lower than in controls (p

The rhabdosphincter of the male urethra is an omega-shaped loop of striated muscle fibers that surrounds the membranous urethra at its lateral and anterior aspects. We investigated whether this muscle can be visualized by means of three-dimensional ultrasound to define morphological and dynamic ultrasound criteria. We examined the rhabdosphincter of the male urethra in 77 patients by means of this new imaging technique; 37 patients presented with urinary stress incontinence after transurethral resection of the prostate or radical prostatectomy while 40 were fully continent after radical prostatectomy and served as a control group. Contractility of the muscle was quantified by a specially defined parameter (rhabdosphincter-urethra distance). The anatomical arrangement and the contractions of the rhabdosphincter-loop could be clearly visualized in three-dimensional transrectal and transurethral ultrasound; during contraction the rhabdosphincter retracts the urethra, pulling it towards the rectum. We detected defects and postoperative scarrings in the majority of the patients with postoperative urinary stress incontinence. Furthermore, the patients presented with thinnings in parts of the muscle and atrophies of the rhabdosphincter. The rhabdosphincter-urethra distance was significantly lower in the incontinent group than in the continent group (59 vs. 1.42 mm). Our study shows that the rhabdosphincter of the male urethra can be visualized by means of three-dimensional transrectal ultrasound. The sonographic pathomorphological findings of postoperative urinary stress incontinence are well correlated well with the clinical symptoms [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Der Urologe A is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Ultrasound is a widely used imaging modality for evaluation of the prostate. The main topic of diagnostic imaging is an improvement of prostate cancer diagnosis. The current available systematic prostate biopsy is performed only under ultrasound guidance, but new imaging techniques allow prostate cancer visualization and therefore improved detection. Evolving methods such as contrast-enhanced colour Doppler imaging, contrast-specific ultrasound techniques and elastography may dramatically change the role of ultrasound for prostate cancer diagnosis. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of ultrasound and its different techniques for imaging of the prostate and to discuss current trends and future directions.