Preliminary results of the Spanish Association of Urology National Registry in Active Surveillance for prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To present a National Registry of patients with prostate cancer as monitored through active surveillance, with the intention of testing the hypothesis that cancer-specific mortality in very low-risk and low-risk patients is less than 5% at 15 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A multicentre observational study (AEU-PIEM/2014/0001) sponsored by the Spanish Association of Urology was conducted using their platform for multicentre studies. The clinical-pathological inclusion criteria were as follows: cT1a-cT3a, PSA ≤ 20 ng/ml, initial minimum biopsy of 10 cores, number of affected cores ≤ 3, 1st Gleason score of 3 and 2nd Gleason score ≤ 4 and a known prostate volume (in cc). A unified follow-up was not established for all recruiting centres; however, a survey was conducted that reflects the follow-up characteristics based on a number of tangible parameters that allow for their comparison. With the same philosophy of flexibility, the use of certain biomarkers and multiparametric MRI was not considered necessary for inclusion. RESULTS: We describe the Registry's characteristics and possibilities, as well as the preliminary results from the 324 patients included in its first 5 months of operation in the 15 recruiting centres. We also report the clinical-pathological variables, biomarkers, radiodiagnosis technique and quality-of-life questionnaires considered for the database, as well as the possibilities for indefinite follow-up, remaining open to any active treatment recognized in clinical guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: The AEU-PIEM/2014/0001 represents an extremely useful tool for all Spanish urologists for multicentre clinical research. The registry will undoubtedly enable the dissemination of active surveillance of our patients in a more coordinated manner, thus maintaining the advantages of optimised opportunistic screening for prostate cancer without resulting in overtreatment.

Usefulness of bone turnover markers as predictors of mortality risk, disease progression and skeletal-related events appearance in patients with prostate cancer with bone metastases following treatment with zoledronic acid: TUGAMO study.

BACKGROUND: Owing to the limited validity of clinical data on the treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) and bone metastases, biochemical markers are a promising tool for predicting survival, disease progression and skeletal-related events (SREs) in these patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive capacity of biochemical markers of bone turnover for mortality risk, disease progression and SREs in patients with PCa and bone metastases undergoing treatment with zoledronic acid (ZA). METHODS: This was an observational, prospective and multicenter study in which ninety-eight patients were included. Patients were treated with ZA (4 mg every 4 weeks for 18 months). Data were collected at baseline and 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 months after the beginning of treatment. Serum levels of bone alkaline phosphtase (BALP), aminoterminal propeptide of procollagen type I (P1NP) and beta-isomer of carboxiterminal telopeptide of collagen I (ß-CTX) were analysed at all points in the study. Data on disease progression, SREs development and survival were recorded. RESULTS: Cox regression models with clinical data and bone markers showed that the levels of the three markers studied were predictive of survival time, with ß-CTX being especially powerful, in which a lack of normalisation in visit 1 (3 months after the beginning of treatment) showed a 6.3-times more risk for death than in normalised patients. Levels of these markers were also predictive for SREs, although in this case BALP and P1NP proved to be better predictors. We did not find any relationship between bone markers and disease progression. CONCLUSION: In patients with PCa and bone metastases treated with ZA, ß-CTX and P1NP can be considered suitable predictors for mortality risk, while BALP and P1NP are appropriate for SREs. The levels of these biomarkers 3 months after the beginning of treatment are especially important.

Post-kidney transplant surgical complications under new immunosuppressive regimens.

New immunosuppressive regimens have decreased acute rejection rates after kidney transplant. However, the use of these new agents has modified the profile of surgical complications. We compared the incidence of surgical complications in relation with the use of three types of drugs: calcineurin inhibitors, antiproliferative agents, and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors. This retrospective study included 359 cadaveric recipients who received an allograft between 1997 and 2004. The mean age was 54 years. The prevalence of diabetes was 8.5% and that of obesity (body mass index > 30 kg/m(2)) was 15.4%. The mean follow-up time was 44 +/- 5.6 months. The regimen most frequently used was tacrolimus (TACRO), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), and prednisone (PRED) (n = 172), followed by TACRO-PRED (n = 49), cyclosporine (CSA) and MMF and PRED (n = 41), and CSA-azathioprine (AZA) and PRED (n = 24). A surgical complication was considered to be any type of event during the first year, although minimal, directly related to surgery. The rate of surgical complications was 34.8% (122/350). Collections and bleeding were higher in CSA than in TACRO regimens, 12% versus 3.8% (P < .05) and 11.5% versus 3% (P = .002), respectively. The incidence of lymphoceles was higher in regimens with than without mTOR inhibitors: 16% versus 3.7% (P = .012). The incidence of surgical complications was not influenced by the use of MMF or diabetes. In conclusion, the use of mTOR inhibitor-based immunosuppressive regimens leads to a higher incidence of lymphoceles, while the use of MMF does not increase the incidence of surgical complications.