Prognostic nomogram for disease-free survival in patients with renal adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop a postoperative prognostic nomogram for disease-free survival in patients with renal adenocarcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 224 patients with organ-confined or locally advanced renal adenocarcinoma were treated with radical or partial nephrectomy. The variables included in the model were age, histological type, pathological stage, Fuhrman grade and DNA ploidy. Tumor recurrence was defined as any clinical evidence of recurrence. The probability of progression-free survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier estimate, and multivariate analysis was performed using a Cox regression. The nomogram was created using the data obtained from the Cox regression. RESULTS: Tumor recurrence was detected in 89 patients (39.74%). The median progression-free time in these patients was 9.55 months (range 0-133). Of these patients, 70.9% relapsed during the first 2 years, and only 15 patients (6.9%) were alive but ill at the end of the study. The probability of progression-free survival at 5 and 10 years was 66.64 and 61.97%, respectively. We performed a statistical validation of the model with accurate predictions that were discriminated with a confidence interval of 0.75 (comparing the predicted and actual probability). According to the nomogram obtained, patients with low-grade, diploid, organ-confined tumors would be candidates for follow-up not exceeding 5 years due to the low probability of recurrence (<40 points). CONCLUSION: The nomogram we developed is clinically relevant and can provide prognostic information for both patients and researchers. In addition, it can be used by researchers during the monitoring protocols that categorize patients based on their relative risk of disease progression.

Impact of aging on the incidence and mortality of urological cancers: 20-year projection in Spain.

INTRODUCTION: In 2020, 282,421 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in Spain, and urological neoplasms (UN) were among the most frequent ones. Cancer treatment in eldery people is challenging due to fragility and comorbidities of these patients. To meet the needs of treating UN in the eldery, it is necessary to optimize healthcare resources, for which a deep analysis of cancer registries becomes mandatory. The objective of this work was to provide a detailed analysis of the incidence and mortality of UN in Spanish people over 65 years old in the last year 2020, as well as the estimates for the year 2040. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Incidence and mortality estimates were obtained from the GLOBOCAN database. The urological neoplasms that were included were: testicle, bladder, penis, kidney and prostate. RESULTS: In 2020, 63,278 cases of UN were diagnosed in Spain. Most UN were much more frequent among patients >65 years old, except for testicular cancers. For the year 2040, an incidence increase of 41.5% is estimated, reaching 89,507 new cases of UN per year, with approximately 3 out of 4 patients being over 65 years old. Deaths in people over 65 will increase by 60.15% in 2040. CONCLUSION: In the next two decades, it is expected that new cases UN in people over 65 years will increase above 50%. For Healthcare systems to face it, greater financial and human resources, as well as multidisciplinary teams with experience and geriatric training will be necessary.

In vivo aneuploidization during the expansion of renal adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A correlation has been observed between DNA ploidy and other prognostic parameters such as tumor stage and grade. The present study evaluates tumor aneuploidization during renal adenocarcinoma expansion and growth. METHODS: A total of 252 renal tumors were analyzed between 1969 and 2001. Evaluated variables were age, TNM, Fuhrman classification, histology, size and DNA. A tumor was homogeneous when all the samples were diploid or aneuploid, and a heterogeneous tumor was the coexistence of aneuploid and diploid samples, or all-aneuploid with different aneuploid clones. RESULTS: A total of 224 tumors were included (coefficient of variation <8). The DNA study classified 129 (57.6%) as diploid and 95 (42.4%) as aneuploid. The percentage of aneuploid tumors increased significantly with the pathological stage. Both aneuploid patterns were also significantly more frequent in advanced pathological stages. Tumors with multiple aneuploid clones (n = 17) were significantly more frequent in tumors measuring `4 cm. Both aneuploid patterns showed no differences in survival (p = 0.83), indicating that the heterogeneous pattern probably represents an intermediate step between diploid and homogeneous aneuploid tumor status. CONCLUSIONS: The aneuploid pattern is more common in more advanced stages of the disease, with no clear correlation to primary tumor size. This suggests gradual aneuploidization with tumor expansion and growth.

[Economic evaluation of medical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in the specialised care setting in Spain. Application to the cost-effectiveness of two drugs frequently used in its treatment]. / Evaluación económica del tratamiento médico de la hiperplasia benigna de próstata (HBP) en España en atención especializada. Aplicación al coste- efectividad de dos fármacos habitualmente utilizados en su tratamiento.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a pharmacoeconomic study in order to know the average cost of BPH diagnosis and follow-up in Spain in the Urology Department setting from the perspective of the public health system, considering two frequently used drugs in the Spanish Healthcare environment, an alpha-blocker (tamsulosin) and the lipido-sterolic extract of Serenoa repens (Permixon). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Direct healthcare costs of BPH diagnosis and treatment were determined for each clinical stage according to the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS): mild, moderate and severe. Data on the usage and unit costs of healthcare resources were obtained from a semi-structured interview with clinical experts. The clinical efficacy of the medical treatments was obtained from the PERMAL clinical study, where therapeutic equivalence between the two studied drugs was observed. RESULTS: For patients treated in the Urology Department setting, the average annual cost of diagnostic tests and medical visits related to mild, moderate or severe BPH symptoms were, respectively, Euro 124, Euro 207, and Euro 286. The average annual cost of the drugs, including adverse effects treatment, was Euro 211 for Permixon and Euro 346 for tamsulosin. DISCUSSION: Costs of medical care of BPH increases with symptom intensity. Pharmacological treatment makes up a significant part of the disease's cost. According to the model used, treatment with Permixon is considerably more cost-effective than with tamsulosin, offering average yearly savings of Euro 135 per patient.

[A preliminar mathematical model for patients with a previous negative prostate biopsy]. / Desarrollo de un Modelo Matemático preliminar para la detección de cancer de próstata en los pacientes con biopsias prostáticas de repetición.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: It is usual to identify patients with a negative prostate biopsy who are still at risk of prostate cancer. We try to analyse if the classical variables used in the prostate cancer screening are useful for those patients with a previous negative prostate biopsy, and if there is a possibility for making a nomogram witch would help us in the decision to repeat the biopsy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied 179 patients with at least 1 initial negative biopsy. At each biopsy session we recorded: Patient age, serum prostate specific antigen (PSA), free PSA/total PSA, PSA slope, digital rectal examination, prostate volume, PSA density, cancer suspicion in previous transrectal ultrasounds findings, number of negative cores previously obtained, history of precarcinomatous lesions and time between biopsies. Through Logistic regression analysis we determined the association of each variable a positive biopsy. A nomogram was constructed using all variables and discrimination was calculated as the concordance index. RESULTS: Overall 46% of patients had cancer at the repeated biopsy session. In the univariate analysis: Age, digital rectal examination, prostate volume, PSA density, cancer suspicion in ultrasounds findings, and precarcinomatous lesions were associated with repeat positive biopsy for cancer (all p <0.05). In the multivariate study, age, digital rectal examination, prostate volume and history of precarcinomatous lesions were associated with repeat positive biopsy. A nomogram was constructed that had a concordance index of 0.80.

Application of Lean Healthcare methodology in a urology department of a tertiary hospital as a tool for improving efficiency. / Aplicación de la metodología Lean healthcare en un servicio de urología de un hospital terciario como herramienta de mejora de la eficiencia.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the application of the Lean methodology as a method for continuously improving the efficiency of a urology department in a tertiary hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The implementation of the Lean Healthcare methodology in a urology department was conducted in 3 phases: 1) team training and improvement of feedback among the practitioners, 2) management by process and superspecialisation and 3) improvement of indicators (continuous improvement). The indicators were obtained from the Hospital's information systems. The main source of information was the Balanced Scorecard for health systems management (CUIDISS). The comparison with other autonomous and national urology departments was performed through the same platform with the help of the Hospital's records department (IASIST). A baseline was established with the indicators obtained in 2011 for the comparative analysis of the results after implementing the Lean Healthcare methodology. RESULTS: The implementation of this methodology translated into high practitioner satisfaction, improved quality indicators reaching a risk-adjusted complication index (RACI) of 0.59 and a risk-adjusted mortality rate (RAMR) of 0.24 in 4 years. A value of 0.61 was reached with the efficiency indicator (risk-adjusted length of stay [RALOS] index), with a savings of 2869 stays compared with national Benchmarking (IASIST). The risk-adjusted readmissions index (RARI) was the only indicator above the standard, with a value of 1.36 but with progressive annual improvement of the same. CONCLUSIONS: The Lean methodology can be effectively applied to a urology department of a tertiary hospital to improve efficiency, obtaining significant and continuous improvements in all its indicators, as well as practitioner satisfaction. Team training, management by process, continuous improvement and delegation of responsibilities has been shown to be the fundamental pillars of this methodology.

3+4 = 6? Implications of the stratification of localised Gleason 7 prostate cancer by number and percentage of positive biopsy cores in selecting patients for active surveillance. / ¿3 + 4 = 6? Implicaciones de la estratificación del cáncer de próstata localizado Gleason 7 por número y porcentaje de cilindros positivos de biopsia en la selección de pacientes para vigilancia activa.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the number and percentage of positive biopsy cores identify a Gleason 3+4 prostate cancer (PC) subgroup of similar biologic behaviour to Gleason 3+3. MATERIAL AND METHOD: An observational post-radical prostatectomy study was conducted of a cohort of 799 patients with localised low-risk (n=582, Gleason 6, PSA <10ng/ml and cT1c-2a) and favourable intermediate PC (n=217, Gleason 3+4, PSA ≤10 ng/ml and pT2abc). The Gleason 3+4 tumours were stratified by number (≤3 vs.>3) and by percentage of positive cores (≤33% vs. >33%). We analysed the tumours' association with the biochemical recurrence risk (BRR) and cancer-specific mortality (CSM). We conducted various predictive models using Cox regression and estimated (C-index) and compared their predictive capacity. RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 71 months, the BRR and CSM of the patient group with Gleason 3+4 tumours and a low number (≤3) and percentage (≤33%) of positive cores were not significantly different from those of the patients with Gleason 6 tumours. At 5 and 10 years, there were no significant differences in the number of biochemical recurrences, the probability of remaining free of biochemical recurrences, the number of deaths by PC or the probability of death by PC between the 2 groups. In contrast, the patients with Gleason 3+4 tumours and more than 33% of positive cores presented more deaths by PC than the patients with Gleason 6 tumours. At 10 years, the probability of CSM was significantly greater. This subgroup of tumours showed a significantly greater BRR (RR, 1.6; P=.02) and CSM (RR, 5.8, P≤.01) compared with the Gleason 6 tumours. The model with Gleason 3+4 stratified by the percentage of positive cores significantly improved the predictive capacity of BRR and CSM. CONCLUSIONS: Fewer than 3 cores and a percentage <33% of positive cores identifies a subgroup of Gleason 3+4 tumours with biological behaviour similar to Gleason 6 tumours. At 10 years, there were no differences in BRR and CSM between the 2 groups. These results provide evidence supporting active surveillance as an alternative for Gleason 3+4 tumours and low tumour extension in biopsy.

Apoptotic effect as biomarker of disease, severity and follow-up in interstitial cystitis. / Efecto apoptótico como biomarcador de enfermedad, severidad y seguimiento en la cistitis intersticial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the apoptotic effect test could serve as a biomarker of severity in bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective study was conducted between January 2010 and January 2015, which included 57 patients diagnosed with interstitial cystitis and 49 diagnosed with chronic pelvic pain of gynaecological origin. The urine was exposed to cell cultures, and the urine's capacity for inducing apoptosis in the cultures was analysed. A statistical analysis was then conducted to assess whether the apoptotic effect was associated with the symptoms. RESULTS: After performing an analysis of the association between the degree of apoptotic effect and the symptoms of patients with interstitial cystitis, we observed a significant increase in the mean percentages of apoptosis as the degree of symptom severity increased. After analysing the association between the apoptotic effect and symptoms, we obtained a positive correlation in the patients with interstitial cystitis and a lack of correlation in the patients with chronic pelvic pain of gynaecological origin. The rates of apoptosis increased progressively in the patients with interstitial cystitis as the symptoms increased, while the patients with chronic pelvic pain of gynaecological origin remained stable. CONCLUSIONS: The apoptotic effect of the urine of patients with interstitial cystitis could be a marker of disease, thus differentiating patients with interstitial cystitis from patients with chronic pelvic pain. The effect could also provide an objective measure of symptom severity.

Lupus nephritis with preserved kidney function associated with poorer cardiovascular risk control: A call for more awareness.

BACKGROUND: Despite the improvement in the prognosis of lupus nephritis (LN), the cardiovascular morbimortality remains high. The early recognition and remission of flares, while trying to avoid the metabolic adverse effects of medication, must be mandatory. AIM: The aim of our study was to assess the cardiovascular (CV) risk profile in a cohort of lupus patients with preserved kidney function after a nephritis episode, compared to patients without a nephritis flare. METHODS: 130 patients diagnosed of SLE (32 with previous nephritis flare and 98 without) were studied in order to evaluate the CV risk profile, despite the preserved kidney function. RESULTS: The most prevalent risk factors were sedentary lifestyle (57.6%), overweight/obesity (38.3%) and dyslipidemia (36%), followed by smoking (32%) and hypertension (16%). Though more than a half (53.1%) was taking CV medication, a high percentage did not reach a therapeutic target value, especially regarding obesity (11.5%) and cholesterol levels (LDL-C of 16%). The prevalence of dyslipidemia (53.1% vs 30.6%), smoking (46.6% vs 27.5%), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (21.4% vs 6.4%) and lower HDL-C (48.6mg/dL vs 55.4mg/dL) were significantly different in the group with previous nephritis flare. Moreover, young patients with lupus nephritis, received more pulses of corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide, had higher prevalence of hypertension, LVH, higher proteinuria, hospital admissions and waist circumference, constituting the subgroup of patients with greater aggregation of CV risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with previous nephritis flare showed a poor control of CV risk factors despite the preserved renal function, these patients would require a closer therapeutic management.

Bladder cancer recurrence surveillance by urine metabolomics analysis.

Non Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC) is among the most frequent malignant cancers worldwide. NMIBC is treated by transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT) and intravesical therapies, and has the highest recurrence rate among solid tumors. It requires a lifelong patient monitoring based on repeated cystoscopy and urinary cytology, both having drawbacks that include lack of sensitivity and specificity, invasiveness and care costs. We conducted an investigative clinical study to examine changes in the urinary metabolome of NMBIC patients before and after TURBT, as well during the subsequent surveillance period. Adjusting by prior probability of recurrence per risk, discriminant analysis of UPLC-MS metabolic profiles, displayed negative predictive values for low, low-intermediate, high-intermediate and high risk patient groups of 96.5%, 94.0%, 92.9% and 76.1% respectively. Detailed analysis of the metabolome revealed several candidate metabolites and perturbed phenylalanine, arginine, proline and tryptophan metabolisms as putative biomarkers. A pilot retrospective analysis of longitudinal trajectories of a BC metabolic biomarkers during post TURBT surveillance was carried out and the results give strong support for the clinical use of metabolomic profiling in assessing NMIBC recurrence.

[Urethral and scrotal pain syndromes]. / Sindromes de dolor uretral (SDU) y escrotal (SDE).

Painful diseases of the pelvis are not rare. Urethral and scrotal pains are part of the chronic pelvic pain syndromes along with chronic prostatitis and painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis. The objective of this review is to update the current knowledge about epidimiology, etiology, diagnosis and best treatment for patients with urethral and scrotal pain syndromes. Epidemiological data for both syndromes are scant. We lack of uniform definition or readily available diagnostic marker and aetiology remains unclear. The pain could be a neuropathic without a specific stimulus or disproportionate to the stimulus intensity. Regarding diagnosis, there is no evidence to qualify or quantify the symptoms to include or exclude patients. Nevertheless, it is very important to know functional neuroanatomy in the evaluation of these patients. Treatment always should be primary conservatively. Surgery should be avoided if possible. As no specific treatment is available, decrease the pain is the main objective, therefore urologist should know how to manage analgesics, antidepressant and anticonvulsants.

[Analysis of the spanish urologists adherence to the recomendations of the guidelines on diagnostic and treatment of urinary incontinence]. / Análisis de la adherencia de los urólogos españoles a las recomendaciones de diagnóstico y tratamiento de las guías de práctica clínica sobre incontinencia urinaria.

OBJECTIVE: [corrected] Data regarding the degree of adherence to urinary incontinence guidelines are not available. The aim of this study was to know how the spanish urologist diagnos and treat urinary incontinence. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is an opinion poll from 202 urologist underwent in 20 representative meetings of the Spain. The poll consisted of 2 questions about diagnostic and 2 about treatment of urinary incontinence. The anwsers were grouped by ideas. The focal group method dinamized by "structured brain storming" was used. We evaluate the adherence to the incontinence guide lines analizing the agreement between the recommendations and the real practice. We average acording all obtained responses. RESULTS: The adherence were: history 88%, physical examination 78%, blood test 47%, urunalysis 72% and urine culture 67%. The adherence for urodynamic investigation was 23%. The use of symptom and quality of life cuestionares was minority (14% y 26%). The adherence to the right questions about the type of incontinece was very high. An average of 2.7 questions to reach correct diagnoses was needed. A 85% of urologist treat urge compenent of mixed incontinence firstly and 11% the stress component. The 27% considered the availability of drug as the main reason for such prioritization. The adherence of treating urge incontinence with antimuscarics was 98% and of life style interventions 50%. For treating stress urinary incontinence, the adherence to pelvic floor muscle training was 81% and to surgery 53%. CONCLUSIONS: Spanish urologist adherence to incontinence urinary guidelines is far from the ideal. Although this study may have bias, the outcome can be considered as representative of the situation. It is desirable that, in the process of guidelines creation, specific parameters to assess the degree of adherence be designed.

[Incidental renal cancer in young adults: clinical and histopathological findings]. / Cancer renal incidental en pacientes menores de 40 años: hallazgos clinicos e histopatológicos.

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the clinical and pathological renal cancer (CR) characteristics in our series of tumours, analyzing its impact in the group of age less than 40 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied 294 patients with CR. The pathologic characteristics were analyzed and DNA ploidy pattern of the surgical pieces were done in 252 patients. The patients were divided in two groups based on age, greater or less to 40 years, well then clinical and pathologic characteristics were compared between. RESULTS: Of all patients, 26 of 294 patients (8,94%) were included in the young age group (less to 40 years). We did not found differences between both groups comparing stage, tumoral volume, treatment realized or DNA ploidy pattern, but in nuclear grade with more aggressive tumours in young people (p=0,0018), without differences in recurrence-free survival or actuarial disease specific survival rate. CONCLUSIONS: The findings in our study indicate that the natural history and outcome of the RC is similar in both older and younger patients. Therefore, in our opinion, the management of CR in young people should be established with independence of the age.

Competing risk analysis of mortality in prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy. / Análisis de riesgos competitivos de mortalidad en cáncer de próstata tratado mediante prostatectomía radical.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk of cancer-specific mortality (CSM) versus the competing risk of mortality by other causes (MOC) in patients with localised prostate cancer (LPC) treated with radical prostatectomy (RP). MATERIAL AND METHOD: An observational cohort study of 982 patients with LPC treated with RP selected from our department's PC registry database. A competing risk analysis was performed, calculating the probability of CSM in the presence of the competing risk of MOC. Cumulative incidence curves were constructed, and point estimates were performed at 5, 10 and 15 years. The analysis was stratified by age (≤65 vs. >65 years) and risk group: low (Gleason score ≤6 and pT2abc); intermediate (Gleason score of 7 and pT2abc) and high (Gleason score of 8-10 or pT3ab). RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 60 months, the overall probability of dying from PC was 3.5%, and the probability of dying from other causes was 9%. A competing effect for MOC was observed. The risk of MOC was almost 3 times greater than that of CSM. This effect remained for all risk groups, although its magnitude decreased progressively according to the risk group level. At 10 years, CSM was only 0%, 1% and 2% for the low, intermediate and high-risk groups, respectively, while the likelihood of MOC was 4%, 4% and 10%, respectively. The mortality risk was shown after 10years of follow-up and was higher for other causes not attributable to PC and for patients older than 65years. CONCLUSIONS: The benefit of RP might be overestimated, given that the risk of MOC is greater than that of CSM, regardless of the age group and risk group, especially after 10years of follow-up. The only parameter that varied was the magnitude of the CSM/MOC ratio. This information could help in choosing the active treatment for patients with LPC and short life expectancies.

[Traditional training devices for laparoscopy]. / Modelos artesanales de simulación para el aprendizaje laparoscópico.

Laparoscopy is a new approach to urological surgery with a number of advantages. The learning of this technique is very important. In order to establish this technique as routine practice a considerable amount of training is needed. The learning curve is still very long and training methods are scarce. At the present time there are simple, low-cost simulators available that may be used in any place, thus facilitating training. We have reviewed recent literature on these models, which can be of great help in initial laparoscopic training.

[Evaluation of pT3a stage in the current classification for renal cancer]. / Evaluación del estudio pT3a de la actual clasificación TNM del cáncer renal.

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the prognostic value of a stage pT3a diagnosis based on perirrenal fat infiltration. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A series of 300 patients diagnosed of renal cell carcinoma (CCR) between 1992 and 2001 were retrospectively analyzed. Focusing on pT3a tumors as defined by perirrenal fat infiltration, a group of 92 patients (91,08%) regardless lymph node involvement (Nall) were included. Patients with distant metastases were excluded. In patients with pT3a Nall M0 tumors, tumour size was a significant parameter predicting survival. The most significant cut-off value for tumor size based on ROC curve was 5,5 cm. Therefore two groups were defined (up to 5,5 cm or greater than 5,5 cm) and actuarial survival were compared between both groups. RESULTS: No significant differences were found comparing actuarial survival of selected pT3a and tumour size less than 5,5 cm with pT1 and pT2 tumors. After classifying selected pT3a less than 5,5 cm as pT1, multivariate analysis showed no differences regarding to prognostic variables before and after classification. Subsequently multivariate analysis showed that modified T stage was an independent significant predictor of cancer specific actuarial survival. CONCLUSIONS: Perirrenal fat infiltration in renal cell carcinoma should not be used to assign T category. In our series grading tumors pT3a lesser than 5,5 cm as pT1/pT2 TNM stage does not affect their prognostic value.

[Renal cancer in elderly: clinical and histopathological findings]. / Cáncer renal incidental en pacientes de edad geriátrica: hallazgos clínicos e histopatológicos.

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the clinical and pathological characteristics of the CCR in our series of tumors, analyzing its impact in the group of age greater than 65 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 300 patients with renal adenocarcinoma (CCR) were studied. In 252, ploidy pattern of DNA and pathologic characteristics of the surgical pieces were done. According to the criteria of the Spanish Society of Geriatrics, the patients were divided in two groups based on the age, greater and smaller of 65 years. The clinical and pathologic characteristics were compared between both groups. RESULTS: 103 of the 300 patients (33.3%) were included in the geriatric group. We did not found differences between both groups comparing stage, tumoral volume or treatment realized, but found differences in DNA ploidy pattern, recurrences and survey. CONCLUSIONS: The RCC in the elderly has a few clinical and pathological characteristics similar to the rest of patients in our series. Nevertheless differences exist in the average and actuarial survival, which is minor in the patient of more than 65 years, cause the percentage of detected aneuploidies and number of recurrences in not confined tumors in this group of age.

Study of the apoptotic effect of urine as a diagnostic biomarker in patients with interstitial cystitis. / Estudio del efecto apoptótico de la orina de pacientes con cistitis intersticial como biomarcador diagnóstico.

INTRODUCTION: The main objective of the study was to assess the apoptotic effect of urine from patients with interstitial cystitis (IC) in cell cultures and to study its value as a diagnostic biomarker for IC. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective study was conducted between January 2010 and January 2015 and included 57 patients diagnosed with IC and 50 healthy patients from the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona and the La Paz University Hospital. The urine of these patients was exposed to cell cultures, and its ability to induce apoptosis in the cultures was analysed. Using flow cytometry, we then measured the degree of apoptosis, quantified by the percentage of cells of the cell cycle in phase sub G0. RESULTS: The cell cultures exposed to the urine of patients with IC had a sub G1 peak and a G2 phase, which was significantly greater than that of the control group, and a significantly lower percentage in the S phase than the control group. The mean apoptosis values in the urine cultures from patients with IC were significantly higher than those of the control group. Using a value >10% of the apoptosis test as a positive result, we observed a specificity of 96% and a positive predictive value of 92%. CONCLUSIONS: The urine of patients with IC exerts an apoptotic effect on tumour cell cultures that is significantly greater than that exerted by the urine of healthy control patients. A≥10% cutoff for the apoptosis test presented very low sensitivity (40%) but had a very high specificity (96%), thereby able to confirm the diagnosis of IC when positive.

[Predictive value of progression of muscularis mucosae and percentage G3 cells in vesical TIG3 tumours]. / Valor predictivo de progresin de la muscularis mucosae y del porcentaje de células G3 en tumores vesicales T1G3.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Vesical tumor T1G3 constitutes the border between the superficial tumor and the infiltrante tumor. Some of these tumors do not respond to BCG and progress, with cystectomy that present poor results, patients who would benefit from a precocious and aggressive treatment if we could identify them in an preinvasive stage. New predictive factors try to select to these tumors, being little the works that consider anatomo-pathological meticulous study (substanding of the T1 in T1a and T1b and percentage of present G3 cells in the tumor). Our objective is to analyze the value of these anatomo-pathological considerations like predictive factors of progression. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective study of a series of 91 patient affection of vesical tumor T1G3 with initial treatment by means of RTU and BCG. We analyzed 12 variables. The new predictive factors: the level of invasion respect to muscularis mucosae and the percentage of G3 cells. By means of logistic regression analisys we establish the independent pronostic factors for tumoral progression. RESULTS: A total of 31 patients presented infiltration of detrusor, passing away 17 of tumoral cause, after an average time of pursuit of 57.8 +/- 28.2 months. In 8 cases (9%) the substanding could not be determined. The rate of progression for T1a tumors was of 20% (8/40) and for T1b 53% (23/43). Presented independent predictive value of progression the multiplicity (odds: 7.26), the size (odds: 2.14), the presence of Cis (odds: 1.42) and the subestanding (odds: 6.81). CONCLUSION: The substanding is a predictive factor of progression clinically useful in vesical tumors T1G3, reason why we considered habitual clinical introduction.

[Prognostic value for progression of the regulating proteins of the cellular cycle in PT1G3 bladder tumours]. / Valor pronóstico de progresión de las moléculas reguladoras del ciclo celular en tumores vesicales T1G3.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Bladder tumor T1G3 constitutes the group of superficial tumors more aggressive. New prognostic factors in the field of the cytogenetics and molecular biology have been analyzed, with often contradictory results, being little the specific works in tumors T1G3. Our objective is to determine if in this group of tumors the immunohistochemical markers present predictive value of clinically useful progression, and therefore with validity to indicate more suitable a precocious therapeutic attitude. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective study of a series of 83 patients affected of bladder tumor T1G3, on which we analyzed a total of 14 variables; between the new predictive factors: the immunohistochemical determination of regulating proteins of the cellular cycle: p53, p21 and bcl-2, as well as the Ki-67 protein like marker of cellular proliferation. By means of logistic regression analysis we establish the independent prognostic variables for tumorlike progression. RESULTS: The cut point established for Ki67 and p53 was 40% of inmmunomarked cells, 20% for p21 and 10% for Bcl-2. The univariant analysis showed different rates from progression and free times of progression based on the immunohistochemistry of Ki67 and p53: nevertheless, the logistic regression demonstrated that single the immunohistochemistry of p53 presented independent predictive value. CONCLUSIONS: The determination of p53 presents predictive value of clinically useful progression in bledder tumors T1G3, so that its determination can constitute a essential factor in the strategies of treatment of these tumors.