Descriptive characteristics of prostate cancer in patients with a history of primary male breast cancer - a SEER analysis.

BACKGROUND: Current evidence on risk of prostate cancer following a diagnosis of male breast cancer is limited and guidance for screening in this potentially higher-risk population remainsunclear. Our objective was to quantify prostate cancer risk in men diagnosed with breast cancer. METHODS: We identified men diagnosed with first primary breast cancer between 1988 and 2012 using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program registry databases. Men were followed for occurrence of a second primary prostate cancer and secondary outcomes of cancer-specific and overall survival. Stratified analyses were performed by age, breast cancer stage, race, and breast cancer hormone receptor status. Excess risk per 10,000 person-years and standardized incidence ratios (SIR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. We used multivaraible Cox proportional hazard models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% CI for characteristics associated with secondary prostate cancer and survival. RESULTS: From a cohort of 5753 men with breast cancer with median follow up of 4.3 years, we identified 250 cases of second primary prostate cancer. Overall, the incidence of second primary prostate cancer was modestly greater than expected (SIR = 1.12, 95% CI 0.93-1.33), although not statistically significant. Stratified analyses demonstrated associations for men ages 65-74 at the time of breast cancer diagnosis (SIR = 1.34, 95%CI 1.01-1.73), hormone receptor-positive breast cancer (SIR = 1.23, 95%CI 1.11-1.39) or AJCC stage I breast cancer (SIR = 1.36, 95%CI 1.04-1.75) and second primary prostate cancer diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of prostate cancer in men with history of breast cancer is similar to the general population. Men with favorable characteristics of their breast cancer were more likely to develop prostate cancer, possibly due to a lower competing risk of breast cancer mortality.

Post-thaw recovery of rare or very low concentrations of cryopreserved human sperm.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze cases in which no sperm could be identified after thawing among cryopreserved samples of rare or very low concentrations of sperm. DESIGN: Retrospective, single-institution, cross-sectional. SETTING: Male infertility clinic. PATIENT(S): We identified couples that underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with the use of either ejaculated or testicular cryopreserved-thawed sperm. Inclusion criteria were men with <100,000 total ejaculated sperm or men with azoospermia due to spermatogenic dysfunction who underwent microsurgical testicular sperm extraction with similarly low pre-cryopreservation sperm counts. Pre-cryopreservation specimens were categorized as "rare sperm only" (Group 1) or <100,000 total sperm (group 2). "Rare sperm only" applied to cases in which only one to three sperm were identified in a search of >20 high-power fields. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Cases in which no sperm were able to be found post-thaw (i.e., complete cellular loss) for use at the time of a programmed IVF cycle. RESULT(S): We analyzed 55 men (83 ICSI cycles). There were five ICSI cycles (6.0%) among five different couples in which no sperm could be identified post-thaw. Of these, four cases were from group 1 (8.5%) and one from group 2 (2.8%). Complete cellular loss occurred in 5.8% of testicular sperm samples and 7.1% of ejaculated sperm samples. There were no statistical associations between the ability to locate sperm post-thaw and the pre-cryopreservation parameters or sperm source. CONCLUSION(S): Failure to retrieve any sperm after thawing of rare or very low concentrations of cryopreserved sperm is an infrequent event and largely limited to those patients with rare quantities of sperm.

Outcomes of anastrozole in oligozoospermic hypoandrogenic subfertile men.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the change in sperm parameters in subfertile hypoandrogenic men treated with anastrozole is correlated to the magnitude of increase in testosterone (T) to estrogen ratio in men responding to treatment. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Male fertility clinic. PATIENT(S): The study group consisted of 86 subfertile hypoandrogenic men with low T/estradiol (E2) ratio (n = 78) or a prior aversive reaction to clomiphene citrate (n = 8). INTERVENTION(S): All patients were treated with 1 mg anastrozole daily, administered orally. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Hormone analysis and semen analysis before and after treatment were performed. Hormone analysis included measurements of total T, E2, sex-hormone binding globulin, albumin, FSH, and LH, and bioavailable T was calculated. Total motile sperm count was calculated from the semen analysis. RESULT(S): In all, 95.3% of patients had an increased serum T and decreased serum E2 after treatment with anastrozole. Sperm concentration and total motile counts improved in 18 of 21 subfertile hypoandrogenic oligozoospermic men treated with anastrozole. In these men the magnitude of total motile count increase was significantly correlated with the change in the T/E2 ratio. No improvement was seen in semen parameters of men with azoospermia, cryptozoospermia, or normozoospermia at presentation. CONCLUSION(S): Approximately 95% of men with hypoandrogenism responded with improved endocrine parameters, and a subset of oligozoospermic men (approximately 25% of all patients) displayed significantly improved sperm parameters. In that subset, increase in sperm parameters was correlated with the change in the T/E2 ratio, which argues for a physiologic effect of treatment.

Cost effectiveness and robot-assisted urologic surgery: does it make dollars and sense?

INTRODUCTION: The introduction of the robotic surgical platform has led to distinct changes in practice patterns and the utilization of minimally invasive surgery in urology. While use of the robotic system is associated with improvements in perioperative outcomes such as estimated blood loss and hospital stay, there are significant fixed and variable costs with the purchase, maintenance and use of the robotics system that has led many authors to investigate the cost effectiveness of robotic urologic surgery. We sought to examine the best current available evidence for the cost effectiveness of robotic urologic surgery. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Comprehensive electronic literature searches were conducted without language restriction to identify reports of published studies within PubMed/Medline, SCOPUS and Web of Science. Relevant articles were examined and reference lists cross referenced to find additional pertinent publications. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: PubMed literature searches of "robot urology cost" (304 articles) "robotic prostatectomy cost" (215 articles), "robotic nephrectomy cost" (87 articles), "robotic cystectomy cost" (44 articles) and "robotic pyeloplasty cost" (41 articles) were initially reviewed in abstract form to find appropriate articles for inclusion. Given that robotic cystectomy (559 articles), robotic pyeloplasty (344 articles) robotic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (59 articles) are less frequently performed than robotic prostatectomy, all available articles published from January 1st 2000 until July 31st 2016 were reviewed for potential inclusion. After excluding duplicates, appropriate articles were pulled for full text review. 49 articles were used for the final analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The available literature on the cost effectiveness of robotic urologic surgery is somewhat limited by heterogeneity of research methods, local cost variations and methods for determining costs associated with surgical outcomes. The introduction of the robotic surgical platform has led to a dramatic change in the availability and utilization of laparoscopic surgery and is associated with both favorable perioperative outcomes as well as significantly greater fixed costs related to instrumentation and equipment expenses. Well-designed trials comparing open and robotic approaches in the contemporary era of widespread robotic adoption with quality of life and validated economic metrics will be necessary to provide evidence for continued use of this valuable technology.

Use of testicular versus ejaculated sperm for intracytoplasmic sperm injection among men with cryptozoospermia: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine outcomes of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using testicular versus ejaculated sperm among men with cryptozoospermia. DESIGN: Meta-analysis. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): Men with cryptozoospermia undergoing consecutive ICSI cycles using ejaculated or testicular sperm. INTERVENTION(S): A systematic search was performed using PubMed (inception to August 2015). Inclusion criteria were studies comparing ICSI outcomes among men with cryptozoospermia using ejaculated and testicular sperm. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Primary outcomes included ICSI fertilization or pregnancy rates (PRs). Secondary analysis included number of retrieved oocytes, maternal and paternal ages. Meta-analysis of weighted data using a random effects model was performed. Results are reported as relative risk or weighted mean differences (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULT(S): Five cohort studies were included, encompassing 272 ICSI cycles and 4,596 injected oocytes. There were no differences in ICSI PRs (relative risk [RR] 0.53, 95% CI 0.19-1.42, I(2) = 67%) or fertilization rates (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.78-1.06, I(2) = 73%) between testicular and ejaculated sperm groups. There was a significant trend toward increasing maternal age (WMD 1.69 years, 95% CI -2.71 to -0.66) and paternal age (WMD 2.61 years, 95% CI -4.73 to -0.48) with testicular sperm. There was no difference between numbers of oocytes retrieved (WMD 0.95, 95% CI -0.15 to 2.05). Post-hoc power analysis revealed pß <20% for PR analysis and pß <10% for fertilization rate analysis. CONCLUSION(S): The existing literature does not support a recommendation for men with cryptozoospermia to use testicular sperm in preference over ejaculated sperm for ICSI.

Totally intracorporeal robot-assisted laparoscopic reverse seven ileal ureteric reconstruction.

We describe the first reported case of completely intracorporeal robot-assisted laparoscopic reverse seven ileal ureteric reconstruction. The patient was a woman with bilateral, long segment ureteric strictures secondary to pelvic surgery and radiation. This report demonstrates that robotic reconstruction is a viable option even in a complex patient with a hostile abdomen.

CD31 is required on CD4+ T cells to promote T cell survival during Salmonella infection.

Hematopoietic cells constitutively express CD31/PECAM1, a signaling adhesion receptor associated with controlling responses to inflammatory stimuli. Although expressed on CD4(+) T cells, its function on these cells is unclear. To address this, we have used a model of systemic Salmonella infection that induces high levels of T cell activation and depends on CD4(+) T cells for resolution. Infection of CD31-deficient (CD31KO) mice demonstrates that these mice fail to control infection effectively. During infection, CD31KO mice have diminished numbers of total CD4(+) T cells and IFN-γ-secreting Th1 cells. This is despite a higher proportion of CD31KO CD4(+) T cells exhibiting an activated phenotype and an undiminished capacity to prime normally and polarize to Th1. Reduced numbers of T cells reflected the increased propensity of naive and activated CD31KO T cells to undergo apoptosis postinfection compared with wild-type T cells. Using adoptive transfer experiments, we show that loss of CD31 on CD4(+) T cells alone is sufficient to account for the defective CD31KO T cell accumulation. These data are consistent with CD31 helping to control T cell activation, because in its absence, T cells have a greater propensity to become activated, resulting in increased susceptibility to become apoptotic. The impact of CD31 loss on T cell homeostasis becomes most pronounced during severe, inflammatory, and immunological stresses such as those caused by systemic Salmonella infection. This identifies a novel role for CD31 in regulating CD4 T cell homeostasis.