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Urine analysis via an electronic nose provides volatile organic compounds easily usable in the diagnosis of urological diseases. Although challenging and highly expensive for health systems worldwide, no useful markers are available in clinical practice that aim to anticipate prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis in the early stages in the context of wide population screening. Some previous works suggested that dogs trained to smell urine could recognize several types of cancers with various success rates. We hypothesized that urinary volatilome profiling may distinguish PCa patients from healthy controls. In this study, 272 individuals, 133 patients, and 139 healthy controls participated. Urine samples were collected, stabilized at 37 °C, and analyzed using a commercially available electronic nose (Cyranose C320). Statistical analysis of the sensor responses was performed off-line using principal component (PCA) analyses, discriminant analysis (CDA), and ROC curves. Principal components best discriminating groups were identified with univariable ANOVA analysis. groups were identified with univariable ANOVA analysis. Here, 110/133 and 123/139 cases were correctly identified in the PCa and healthy control cohorts, respectively (sensitivity 82.7%, specificity 88.5%; positive predictive value 87.3%, negative predictive value 84.2%). The Cross Validated Accuracy (CVA 85.3%, p < 0.001) was calculated. Using ROC analysis, the area under the curve was 0.9. Urine volatilome profiling via an electronic nose seems a promising non-invasive diagnostic tool.

Objective:In recent years, several biomarkers alternative to standard prostate specific antigen (PSA) for prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis have become available. The aim of this systematic review is to assess the current knowledge about alternative serum and urinary biomarkers for the diagnosis of PCa.Material and Methods:A research was conducted in Medline, restricted to English language articles published between December 2014 and June 2018 with the aim to update previously published series on PCa biomarkers. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) criteria were used for selecting studies with the lowest risk of bias.Results:Emerging role and actual controversies on serum and urine alternative biomarkers to standard PSA for PCa diagnosis, staging and prognosis assessment, such as prostate health index (PHI), PCA3, ConfirmMDx, Aberrant PSA glycosylation, MiPS, miRNAs are critically presented in the current review.Conclusion:Although the use of several biomarkers has been recommended or questioned by different international guidelines, larger prospective randomized studies are still necessary to validate their efficacy in PCa detection, discrimination, prognosis and treatment effectiveness. To date, only PHI and 4Kscore have shown clinical relevance for discriminating more aggressive PCa. Furthermore, a new grading classification based on molecular features relevant for PCa risk-stratification and tailoring treatment is still needed.

Introduction: Mesenchymal tumors are an exceptional finding in the urinary tract and renal leiomyoma is even more rare. They are usually discovered incidentally during ultrasonography examinations or autopsy. Sometimes they are clinically symptomatic with hematuria, flank pain, or palpable mass. Till today, it is still difficult to make a diagnosis of leiomyoma using the radiological examinations. Although conventional imaging has a high sensitivity and specificity in the detection of both retroperitoneal and renal masses, the diagnosis is based on histological examination, due to the poor discrimination accuracy between different retroperitoneal tumors. Case description: We report a case of renal leiomyoma in a 47-year-old woman, who incidentally discovered a retroperitoneal mass with an abdominal ultrasound scheduled for a conventional follow-up schedule of a mammary neoplasm. Partial nephrectomy was carried out with an open flank surgical approach and the diagnosis was “leiomyoma of the renal capsule”. Four years after surgery, the patient is disease-free. Conclusions: Renal leiomyomas are rare, benign, nonmetastasizing tumors with a good prognosis after surgical treatment. At present, the differential diagnosis is still possible by histopathological examination.

Mitomycin C (MMC) as an intravesical chemotherapeutic agent is a well-known option for treatment of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) recurrence; it is probably the most commonly used agent given its low rate of side effects and its efficacy. Both the American Urologic Association (AUA) and European Association of Urology (EAU) consider MMC as a standard treatment for immediate single-dose postoperative treatment and for adjuvant therapy in low and intermediate-risk NMIBC. Despite the popularity of this agent in the treatment of NMIBCs, many questions regarding the optimal approach to MMC therapy remain unanswered and the schedule widely used is empirical. Nevertheless, even when the current optimal approaches to MMC administration are used, a large proportion of NMIBCs recur. This apparent treatment resistance might be overcome by an optimization of standard MMC therapy or with a combination of MMC with other agents that have different mechanisms of action. Strategies to enhance passive delivery of MMC have been well studied and multiple measures are recommended for implementation of use in routine clinical practice. A modified scheme of instillation seems to be an easy and inexpensive alternative to increase efficacy of intravesical MMC and to also use this agent with an ablative intent. Enhancing tumor response with a sequential therapy is another option that has been investigated, mostly for chemo-immunotherapy wherein the different mechanisms of action of Bacillus of Calmette and Guerìn (BCG) and MMC are combined to achieve a higher response.

Background: To evaluate the difference at different steps of follow-up of the postoperative quality of life (QoL) in patients who had undergone radical cystectomy and ileal orthotopic neobladder derivation. Patients and Methods: A multicentric, cross-qualitative study was performed in 5 Italian centers of reference for the treatment of bladder cancer. One hundred seventy one patients who underwent radical cystectomy and creation of ileal orthotopic neobladder according to ‘Vescica Ileale Padovana' between 2006 and 2011 have been analyzed. The validated and dedicated questionnaires EORTC QLQ-C30, IOB-PRO and EORTC QLQ-BLM30 were used. Results: All data gathered were then processed, specifically means ± SD were included for comparison during 4 periods of follow-up (quartile): the first ranging from 1 to 18 months; the second ranging from 19 to 36 months; the third from 37 to 72 months and the fourth >72 months. Cancer-specific and health-related factors were analyzed separately, and the change was determined during follow-up. Conclusions: The global QoL, highlighted by validated cancer-specific and health-related questionnaires, is certainly on a satisfactory level. Thus, the education of the patient, the exploration of the pros and cons of an orthotopic neobladder and the active participation in treatment decision seem to be the keys to better improve the post-operative QoL during the follow-up period.

Objective: It was the aim of this study to evaluate the accuracy of the measurement of tumor size comparing the objective size with that measured by preoperative cystoscopy, by preoperative ultrasound (US) and with the diameter described by the operator before the transurethral resection. Patients and Methods: This study included 100 patients with bladder papillary endoscopic features of single or multiple neoplasms who were candidates for transurethral resection. The sizes of the same neoplasms measured during preoperative cystoscopy, preoperative US and described by the operator before the transurethral resection were evaluated. A statistical analysis of the errors of measurement was performed if compared with an objective measurement done with an ureteral catheter. Results: The statistical analysis of the data shows that there are no substantial differences between the objective and subjective measurement, and therefore, the measurements reported by individual operators are reliable. On the contrary, the diameters given by preoperative cystoscopy and US differ significantly from the objective measurement. Conclusions: This study shows that the most reliable measurement is the subjective measurement made directly by the urologist in the operating room.

Purpose Patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer recurrence after 2 induction courses of BCG are eligible for radical cystectomy. So, in the last years research to discover new drugs for the management of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer recurrence after failure of first and second line therapy is ongoing. In accordance to the results obtained with BCG, whose mechanism depends on the induction of the T helper 1 (TH1) immune response, we investigated the activity of a Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 ligand, named Helicobacter Pylori Neutrophil Activating Protein (HP-NAP), that we recently demonstrated being able of enhancing the differentiation of Th1 cells, both in vitro and in vivo, because of its ability to create an IL-12 enriched milieu. Materials and Methods We show here, in a mouse model of bladder neoplasm implants, that local administration of HP-NAP decreases tumor growth by inducing tumor necrosis. Results The result is joined up with a massive cluster of both CD4+ and CD8+ IFN-γ+ cells, within neoplasm and regional lymph nodes. It is of note that HP-NAP-treated tumors show also a reduced vascularization due to the anti-angiogenic activity of IFN-γ induced by HP-NAP. Conclusions The present study suggests that the activity of HP-NAP against urothelial tumor burden warrants subsequent in vivo studies.