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Isochromosome 12p (iChr12p) is typical in almost all invasive testicular cancers. Increased copy number of genes on 12p is associated with the development of a clinically manifest tumor; however, the causative genes have not yet been identified. Chromosome 12 harbors many genes involved in Vitamin D metabolism. RNAseq analysis of Vitamin D receptor (VDR) genes from the TCGA cohort revealed that clustering of VDR expression signatures could differentiate between pure seminomas and non-seminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT). Using TCGA mRNA expression of anabolic (CYP2R1, CYP27A1 and CYP27B1) and catabolic (CYP24A1) Vitamin D enzymes, positive (PTHLH, IFNG, and TNF) and negative (FGF23) feedback regulators could also clearly distinguish between pure seminomas and NSGCT. We hypothesize that the regulation of Vitamin D metabolism might be disturbed through iChr12p formation, influencing testicular carcinogenesis via increased FGF23 and PTHLH expression. While FGF23 represses CYP27B1 and activates catabolism of active hormone, increased PTHLH secretion can lead to hypercalcemia via inactivation of VDR. In conclusion, testicular cancer is associated with extensive modifications in intratesticular Vitamin D homeostasis. Further research is needed to clarify whether Vitamin D deficiency causes the formation of iChr12p and whether Vitamin D deficiency via iChr12p genomic aberration is involved in testicular carcinogenesis.

Purpose The aim of this study was to analyze the injury patterns and clinical course of a winter sport dominated by blunt renal trauma collective. Methods Blunt renal trauma cases (N = 106) treated in a Level 1 Trauma Center in Austria were analyzed. Results We encountered 12.3% grade 1, 10.4% grade 2, 32.1% grade 3, 38.7% grade 4 and 6.6% grade 5 renal traumata classified according to the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST). The mechanisms of injury (MOI) did not have an influence on the frequency of HG trauma (i.e., grade 4 and 5). No concomitant injuries (CIs) were found in 57.9% of patients. The number of patients without CIs was significantly higher in the sports associated trauma group compared to other MOIs (p p p p p p Conclusions Sports-associated blunt renal trauma is more likely to occur isolated, and has a lower risk of severe outcomes, compared to other trauma mechanisms. NOM can successfully be performed in over 90% of all trauma grades.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Bei einer alternden Gesellschaft ist mit einer Zunahme der therapiebedürftigen benignen Prostataobstruktion (BPO) zu rechnen, auch der Anteil an Patienten mit kardiovaskulären Komorbiditäten unter Antikoagulation steigt an. Hier kann die operative Therapie der BPO problematisch sein. Die blutstillende Wirkung der Techniken ist von besonderer Bedeutung. Fragestellung Die folgende Übersichtsarbeit diskutiert die Datenlage zum Blutungsrisiko etablierter operativer Techniken und die Stellungnahme der EAU-Leitlinie „EAU Guidelines on Management of Non-Neurogenic Male Lower Urinary Tract symptoms (LUTS) incl. Benign Prostatic Obstruction (BPO)“ zu diesem Thema. Material und Methoden Es wurde eine Datenanalyse aus PubMed erstellt. Ergebnisse Die EAU-Leitlinie gibt der transurethralen Vaporisation der Prostata mittels Greenlight‑, Thulium- oder Diodenlaser und der Enukleation mittels Holmium- oder Thuliumlaser bei diesem Patientengut den Vorzug. Die bipolare ist der monopolaren transurethralen Resektion der Prostata (TURP) bei der Blutstillung überlegen. Die bipolare Enukleation der Prostata (BipoLEP) kann bei guter Hämostase zukünftig eine Alternative darstellen. Neuere minimal-invasive Techniken wie Urolift® (NeoTract, Pleasanton, USA), I‑TIND© (MediTate, Or-Akiva, Israel) und Rezūm™ (Boston Scientific, Boston, USA) zeigen ein geringes Blutungsrisiko, dies gilt auch für die Prostataarterienembolisation. Nicht geeignet erscheint die Aquaablation/AquaBeam® bei häufigen Nachblutungen. Die chirurgische Adenomektomie kann mit hoher Blutungsgefahr verbunden sein. Schlussfolgerung Transurethrale Laservaporisation und -enukleation der Prostata sind die Therapie der Wahl beim antikoagulierten Patienten, jedoch haben auch andere transurethrale Techniken, wie die BipoLEP, ein akzeptables Blutungsrisiko und können je nach lokalen Ressourcen eine Alternative darstellen. Neuere minimal-invasive Ansätze können zukünftig mehr an Bedeutung gewinnen.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a well-established concept in muscle-invasive bladder cancer with known advantages in overall survival. Phase II trials show encouraging response rates for neoadjuvant immunotherapy before radical surgery in urothelial cancer. There is no recommendation for neoadjuvant therapy in upper tract urothelial carcinoma before nephroureterectomy. Our aim was to assess the available data on neoadjuvant chemotherapy and immunotherapy before nephroureterectomy in patients with high-risk upper tract urothelial carcinoma in terms of pathological downstaging and oncological outcomes. Two investigators screened PubMed/Medline for comparative trials in the English language. We identified 368 studies and included eleven investigations in a systematic review and meta-analysis for neoadjuvant chemotherapy and control groups. There were no comparative trials investigating immunotherapy in this setting. All 11 studies reported on overall pathological downstaging with a significant effect in favor of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (OR 5.17; 95%CI 3.82; 7.00). Pathological complete response and non-muscle invasive disease were significantly higher in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (OR 12.07; 95%CI 4.16; 35.03 and OR 1.62; 95%CI 1.05; 2.49). Overall survival and progression-free survival data analysis showed a slight benefit for neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Our results show that neoadjuvant chemotherapy is effective in downstaging in upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma. The selection of patients and chemotherapy regimens are unclear.

Even though transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) using electric current is still considered the gold standard for the treatment of benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) of patients nonresponding to or unsuitable for pharmacologic treatment, the focus of research is trending towards ‘new’ surgical techniques. These include endoscopic enucleation of the prostate (EEP), prostate vaporization (PV), and vaporesection of the prostate (VRP). As a result, endoscopic laser surgery is getting into the spotlight [1]. In addition to their different physical properties and effect on the prostatic tissue, multiple types of lasers have been tested for the various BPE surgical techniques. Nevertheless, electrosurgery is in frequent use for EEP, VRP, and PV as well. There is an ongoing debate to what extent the energy source attributes to the success of the surgery. Driven by the constant introduction of new laser variants, it will not settle soon. Therefore, current research trends focus on matching surgery type and energy source with the patient's needs, rather than identifying the best surgical technique above all. This narrative review aims to highlight and comment on recent publications (April 2019 to April 2021) in the field of endoscopic BPE surgery, focusing on similarities and differences between laser and electrosurgery. Open in a separate window Box 1 no caption available

Simple Summary Currently, little is known about what therapeutic options exist for the treatment of metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) after a therapy with checkpoint inhibitors (CPI). In the context of this systemic review, five therapy regimens tested in the post-CPI setting with adequate data were identified: Chemotherapy (CT), Ramucirumab plus Docetaxel, Erdafitinib (Erd), Enfortumab vedotin (EV), and Sacituzumab govitecan (SG). Most data were available on EV, and the results of three studies testing the agent were combined via single-group meta-analysis. For EV, the objective response rate was 42.1% compared to 17.9% for CT in a similar setting. EV was also ahead in progression-free survival (5.9 months with EV vs. 3.7 months with CT) and overall survival (12.8 months with EV vs. 9.0 months with CT). Further research is needed on the question of which patients’ subcollectives particularly benefit from which therapeutic approach. Abstract Background: In the first and second-line therapy of metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC), checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) such as Pembrolizumab and Atezolizumab have been widely implemented. Little is currently known about what therapeutic options are effective after therapy with CPI. This article presents a systemic review of current treatment options in this setting. Methods: From August 2020 to 15 April 2021, a literature search was performed through the PubMed/Medline. Subsequently, a single-group meta-analysis of three studies testing Enfortumab vedotin (EV) was conducted. Results: Five therapy regimens tested in the post-CPI setting with adequate data were identified: Chemotherapy (CT), Ramucirumab plus Docetaxel, Erdafitinib (Erd), EV, and Sacituzumab govitecan (SG). In n = 74 + 125 + 288 patients, the single-group meta-analysis showed an objective response rate of 42.1% for EV compared to 17.9% for CT in a similar setting. EV was also ahead in progression free survival (5.9 months with EV vs. 3.7 months with CT) and overall survival (12.8 months with EV vs. 9.0 months with CT). Conclusion: Most data are currently available for EV. Further research is needed on the question of which patients’ subcollectives particularly benefit from which therapeutic approach.

Background: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyze the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations of the scrotum in comparison with standard ultrasound (US) and histopathology. Methods: A retrospective multi-center analysis of MRI examinations of the scrotum performed between 06/2008 and 04/2021 was conducted. Results: A total of n = 113 patients were included. A total of 53 histopathologies were available, with 52.8% malignant and 50.9% benign findings. Related to histopathology, imaging was true negative, false negative, false positive, and true positive in 4.1%, 2.1%, 25.0% and 37.5% for standard ultrasound (US) and 9.1%, 1.8%, 25.5% and 43.6% for MRI. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 94.7%, 20.0%, 36.0% and 88.9% for US and 85.7%, 72.8%, 52.1% and 93.7% for MRI, respectively. Benign lesions were significantly smaller than malignant ones in standard US (p = 0.001), histopathology (p = 0.001) and MRI (p = 0.004). The size of malignant tumors did not differ significantly between histopathology and standard US (0.72) and between histopathology and MRI (p = 0.88). Conclusions: MRI shows good sensitivity and specificity for the estimation of testicular tumors in this collective. Benign lesions are significantly smaller than malignant ones. Both MRI and US can estimate the size of malignant tumors adequately.

Introduction Penile cancer (PeCa) is an orphan disease in European countries. The current guidelines are predominantly based on retrospective studies with a low level of evidence. In our study, we aimed to identify predictors for guideline-conform treatment and hypothesize that reference centers for PeCa and physicians' experience promote guideline compliance and therefore correct local tumor therapy. Methods This study is part of the European PROspective Penile Cancer Study (E-PROPS), an international collaboration group evaluating therapeutic management for PeCa in Central Europe. For this module, a 14-item-survey was developed and sent to 681 urologists in 45 European centers. Three questions focused on therapeutic decisions for PeCa in clinical stage Tis, Ta-T1a, and T1b. Four questions addressed potential personal confounders. Survey results were analyzed by bootstrap-adjusted stepwise multivariate linear regression analysis to identify predictors for EAU guideline-conform local treatment of PeCa. Results For local therapy of cTis 80.4% recommended guideline-conform treatment, for cTa-cT1a 87.3% and for cT1b 59.1%. In total, 42.4% chose a correct approach in all tumor stages. The number of PeCa patients treated at the hospital, a higher level of training of the physicians, resource-based answering and the option of penile-sparing surgery offered at the hospital matched with giving guideline-conform recommendations and thus accurate local tumor treatment. Conclusion Patients with PeCa are best treated by experienced physicians, in centers with a high number of cases, which also offer a wide range of local tumor therapy. This could be offered in reference centers.

Background: In Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) refractory non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), radical cystectomy is the gold standard. The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) has permanently changed the therapy landscape of bladder cancer (BC). This article presents a systematic review of immune-modulating (IM) therapies (CPIs and others) in BCG-refractory NMIBC. Methods: In total, 406 articles were identified through data bank research in PubMed/Medline, with data cutoff in October 2021. Four full-text articles and four additional congress abstracts were included in the review. Results: Durvalumab plus Oportuzumab monatox, Pembrolizumab, and Nadofaragene firadenovec (NF) show complete response (CR) rates of 41.6%, 40.6%, and 59.6% after 3 months, with a long-lasting effect, especially for NF (12-month CR rate of 30.5%). Instillations with oncolytic viruses such as NF and CG0070 show good efficacy without triggering significant immune-mediated systemic adverse events. Recombinant BCG VPM1002BC could prove to be valid as an alternative to BCG in the future. The recombinant pox-viral vector vaccine PANVAC™ is not convincing in combination with BCG. Interleukin mediating therapies, such as ALT-803, are currently being studied. Conclusion: CPIs and other IM agents now offer an increasing opportunity for bladder-preserving strategies. Studies on different substances are ongoing and will yield new findings.

Background: Women who undergo cystectomy with orthotopic ileal neobladder are more likely to have urinary retention and neocystocele mainly because of anatomical reasons than stress urinary incontinence. The risk is even higher in case of neurologic comorbidities, as in case of our patient. Case Presentation: We present a laparoscopic mesh insertion for sacrospinal colposuspension to prevent a neocystocele and pelvic organ prolapse in combination with laparoscopic radical cystectomy in a female patient suffering from bladder cancer and chronic episodic multiple sclerosis. After a 30-month follow-up, the patient is continent and voids without residual urine. A dynamic MR of the pelvis shows a minimal rectocele without any evidence of a cystocele. Conclusion: Laparoscopic cystectomy combined with sacrospinal mesh fixation is technically feasible and could be an option to prevent neocystocele for female patients.