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The aim of this study was to develop a model to predict high-genomic-risk prostate cancer (PCa) according to Decipher score, a validated 22 gene prognostic panel. By doing so, one might select the individuals who are likely to benefit from genomic testing and improve pre-op counseling about the need for adjuvant treatments.We retrospectively reviewed IRB-approved databases at two institutions. All patients had preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Decipher prostate radical prostatectomy (RP), a validated 22 gene prognostic panel. We used binary logistic regression to estimate high-risk Decipher (Decipher score 0.60) probability on RP specimen. Area under the curve (AUC) and calibration were used to assess the accuracy of the model in the development and validation cohort. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was performed to assess the clinical benefit of the model.The development and validation cohort included 622 and 185 patients with 283 (35%) and 80 (43%) of those with high-risk Decipher. The multivariable model included PSA density, biopsy Gleason Grade Group, percentage of positive cores and MRI extracapsular extension. AUC was 0.73 after leave-one-out cross-validation. DCA showed a clinical benefit in a range of probabilities between 15 and 60%. In the external validation cohort, AUC was 0.70 and calibration showed that the model underestimates the actual probability of the outcome.The proposed model to predict high-risk Decipher score at RP is helpful to improve risk stratification of patients with PCa and to assess the need for additional testing and treatments.

To externally validate a Genomic Classifier (GC) based risk-stratification nomogram identifying candidates who would benefit from adjuvant radiation (aRT) therapy after radical prostatectomy (RP). We identified 350 patients who underwent RP, between 2013 and 2018, and had adverse pathological features (positive margin, and/or pT3a or higher) on final pathology. Genomic profile was available for all these men. The clinical recurrence-free survival was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. The external validity of the nomogram was tested using the concordance index (c-index), calibration plot, and decision curve analysis. The median follow-up of the cohort was 26.5 months. Overall, 14% of the patients received aRT. During the follow-up period, 3.4% of the patients developed metastasis. Overall 3-year metastasis-free survival was 95% (95% CI 0.92–0.98). The c-index of the nomogram was 0.84. The calibration of the model was favorable. Decision-curve analysis showed a positive net benefit for probabilities ranging between 0.01 and 0.09, with the highest difference at threshold probability around 0.05. At that threshold, the net benefit is 0.06 for the model and 0 for treating all the patients. Our report is the first to confirm the validity of this genomic-based risk-stratification tool in identifying men who might benefit from aRT after RP. As such, it can be a useful instrument to be incorporated in shared decision making on whether administration of aRT will lead to a clinically meaningful benefit. Such a model can also be useful for patients’ classification in future clinical trials.

We sought to review the appropriate patient selection criteria, available clinical literature, technical modifications, and future directions associated with the use of robotic technology to perform salvage robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (SRARP). Recent studies have investigated the emerging role of SRARP following primary focal therapies, imaging technologies for preoperative staging and risk assessment, and novel bioengineering and technical modifications to improve postoperative functional outcomes. SRARP represents a potentially curative but underutilized treatment for men who develop localized recurrence of prostate cancer (PCa) following primary radiotherapy treatment or primary focal therapy. While SRARP may be associated with potentially significant complications including rectal injury, erectile dysfunction, and stress urinary incontinence, several centers have published their experience with the procedure and several technical modifications to the standard RALP have been utilized to reduce the risk of these potential treatment side effects. Further standardization of pathology reporting, novel technological and imaging advances, and multi-institutional collaboration will be necessary to improve future SRARP outcomes.

Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) can generally be performed with 1–2 nights of postoperative monitoring before discharge from the hospital. Little is known about what causes individual patients to remain in hospital beyond the second postoperative day. Data for RARPs performed between 2013 and 2015 were extracted from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database. The fraction of cases with prolonged length of stay (PLOS) that can be reasonably attributed to complications was examined. Logistic regression was performed to identify risk factors for PLOS in the overall population and separately in the population of patients with PLOS without any perioperative complications. Of 11,440 patients, 10,342 (90.4%) were discharged on postoperative days 0–2; 80.6% (887/1101) of patients with PLOS did not experience any perioperative complications. The most common complication was bleeding requiring transfusion, but this was present in only 5.6% (62/1101) of patients with PLOS. Logistic regression identified predictors of PLOS as age, race, wound class, American Society of Anesthesiologists class, smoking, diabetes, dyspnea, dependent functional health status, congestive heart failure, operative time, and pelvic lymph node dissection. Results of this regression were insensitive to the exclusion of patients who experienced no perioperative complications. This study utilizes logistic regression on NSQIP data to identify risk factors for PLOS after RARP and, in particular, to evaluate the role of postoperative complications in PLOS. The analysis shows that postoperative complications account for a small minority of cases of PLOS after RARP.

Multiple genomic tests are available following radical prostatectomy (RP), however, there is a lack of head-to-head evidence for these tests. We sought to compare the performance of two genomic tests in predicting post-RP oncological outcomes. A cohort of 16 post-RP patients with adverse pathological features who had obtained both Decipher (D) and Prolaris (P) testing. The Pearson correlation was used to compare scores from D and cell cycle progression (CCP) from P. Then, we derived a microarray CCP (mCCP) from D and correlated with P-CCP. The associations of D and mCCP with biochemical recurrence (BCR) and metastasis (M) was evaluated in multivariable survival analysis (MVA) in a large cohort of RP patients treated at Johns Hopkins University (1992–2010). In addition, we characterized the expression of the 31 P-CCP genes and mCCP scores in a cohort of 17,967 RP samples from Decipher platform. There was significant correlation between the D score and P-CCP (r = 0.67, p = 0.004), and between the 10-year probability of BCR reported by P and 5-year probability of M reported by D (r = 0.69, p = 0.003). In this cohort, mCCP derived from the D platform was highly correlated to the reported P-CCP scores from the P platform (r = 0.88, p = 6.7e−6). In a comparative retrospective RP cohort, both mCCP and D were significantly associated with M outcome (p

Amid the opioid crisis, postoperative pain management is a major challenge for practitioners. Recent pain management guidelines emphasize the importance of using regional anesthesia as part of opioid-sparing multimodal analgesia. This report aims to review recent evidence regarding the utilization of transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block in minimally invasive urologic surgery. TAP block has been shown to improve early and late pain at rest, and to reduce opioid consumption after minimally invasive surgery. These benefits have indirectly reduced the incidence of postoperative delirium, pneumonia, urinary retention, and falls. Compared to epidural analgesia, TAP block provides similar pain control, has a lower incidence of hypotension, and is associated with a shorter length of stay. Few studies focus specifically on the outcomes of TAP block in minimally invasive urologic surgery. TAP block decreases postoperative pain and reduces opioid consumption without increasing complications. TAP block should be integrated as an indispensable component in enhanced recovery after surgery protocols.

We examined the effect of previous transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) on multiple oncologic and continence outcomes after robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). We performed a retrospective cohort study of a total of 2693 patients from 2007 to 2014 who underwent RARP. Patients were stratified into 49 patients who had previous TURP prior to RARP (group 1) and 2644 patients who had no TURP prior to RARP (group 2). We collected operative variables including estimated blood loss, operative time, and positive surgical margin (PSM) rates. Urinary continence, defined as 0 pads per day (PPD), and social continence, defined as 1-PPD, were also assessed. American Urological Association Symptoms Score (AUASS), overall ability to function sexually, and Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) questionnaire were evaluated at 3 and 12 months after RARP. Weakness of urinary stream (EPIC #4d) at 12 months imposed a greater problem for group 1 patients with prior TURP compared to group 2 patients without prior TURP (p = 0.012). PSM was not statistically significant between the two groups (p = 0.110). Group 1 patients had a greater PSM rate (30.61 %) as compared to group 2 (20.95 %). PSM locations in group 1 patients showed the most common locations at the posterior and apex. The difference between the two groups for AUASS, overall sexual function, estimated blood loss, operative time, urinary continence, and social continence was not statistically significant. We examined the effect of previous TURP on postoperative RARP continence and oncologic outcomes. This data can be used to counsel those with prior TURP before RARP.

We have developed a system for measuring and recording the high-frequency vibrations that characterize instrument interactions during minimally invasive robotic surgery. Consisting of simple circuitry and a DVD recorder, this system is low-cost and easily implementable, requires no sterilization, and enables measurement of a validated, objective technical skill metric in both the simulated setting and the operating room. The vibration recordings of fourteen sleeve gastrectomies were processed by segmenting the operation into seven phases and calculating the root mean square (RMS) vibration within each phase. Statistical analysis showed that the observed differences match expectations drawn from knowledge of the operation, substantiating the premise that RMS vibration provides a good measure of the intensity of instrument interactions during live robotic surgery.

Urinary incontinence is one of the most common adverse effects after radical prostatectomy (RP). Preoperative lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), which increase in prevalence with advancing age, have been hypothesized to be related to postoperative urinary continence. We review the literature on the role of preoperative LUTS on postoperative urinary function after RP in patients with clinically localized prostate cancer. The precise role of preoperative LUTS on postoperative urinary continence after RP is unclear due to conflicting conclusions from numerous reports. However, correlating preoperative LUTS to postoperative urinary incontinence may be particularly relevant in three instances: in patients with preoperative voiding or emptying LUTS, in predicting early postoperative urinary continence, and in patients with preoperative urinary incontinence. Also, RP in patients with moderate to severe preexisting LUTS may improve postoperatively as a result of relief of obstruction.

Surgeons have always used their cognitive intuition for the execution of skilled tasks and real-time perception of intra-operative outcomes. We attempted to measure the overall accuracy of intra-operative surgeon perception on the functional outcome of early continence after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). A single experienced surgeon (D.I.L.) used a scoring sheet to prospectively capture his subjective opinion of how well a particular portion of the RARP procedure was completed. Surgeon perception of factors affecting post-operative continence such as quality of bladder neck preservation, nerve sparing, urethral length, anastomosis, striated sphincter thickness, quality of Rocco repair and bladder neck plication suture (total 7 variables) were graded as “poor”, “average” or “good”. Urinary continence was graded as either total continence [0 pads per day (PPD) or social continence (security pad or one PPD)]. A total of 273 (39 patients × 7 variables) responses were recorded: 58.6% were rated as “good”, 32.2% as “average” and 8.4% as “poor”. A log-rank test for all perception variables showed no significant differences in subsequent achievement of continence (either 0 or 1 PPD) (P > 0.05) at both the 1- and 3-month time points. In the case of some perception variables, patients with “bad” scores gained continence a median of 3 weeks sooner than patients with “good” scores. Surgeon perception of intra-operative performance during RARP is a poor predictive indicator of subsequent functional outcome in terms of urinary continence. Inter-surgeon variability of perception may vary and needs further investigation.

Several recent reports have affirmed the feasibility of the laparoscopic approach for radical prostatectomy. In this review, we discuss the morbidities associated with this technique and compare outcomes and convalescence with standard open radical prostatectomy. We reviewed all currently published data on laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and our series of 45 robotic-assisted radical prostatectomies and compared them to several landmark series of open retropubic and perineal radical prostatectomies. Although the initial series reported long operating times, these times have been significantly reduced in more recent series. Data on blood loss, convalescence, impotence, and incontinence rates have also been promising. Although follow-up has been short thus far, laparoscopic radical prostatectomy has been shown to be similar to open radical prostatectomy in several areas.