Off-clamp vs on-clamp robot-assisted partial nephrectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To compare intra- and postoperative outcomes between off-clamp and on-clamp robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN), using data from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or covariate-matched studies (propensity score-matched or matched-pair analysis). METHODS: A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-compliant literature review was conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus and CENTRAL for relevant studies comparing off-clamp to on-clamp RAPN. Primary outcomes were estimated blood loss, postoperative percentage decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and margin positive rate. Secondary outcomes were operative time, postoperative eGFR, length of stay, all postoperative complications, major complications, and need for transfusion. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed to generate mean differences (MDs) or odds ratios (ORs). RESULTS: A total of 10 studies (2307 patients) were shortlisted for analysis. There was no significant difference in estimated operative blood loss between off-clamp and on-clamp RAPN (MD 21.9 mL, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.9 to 44.7 mL; P = 0.06, I2 = 58%). Off-clamp RAPN yielded a smaller postoperative eGFR deterioration (MD 3.10%, 95% CI 1.05-5.16%; P = 0.008, I2 = 13%) and lower odds of margin positivity (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.40-0.94; P = 0.03, I2 = 0%). No significant differences were found for all secondary outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Off-clamp and on-clamp RAPN are similarly effective approaches for selected renal masses. Within the classic trifecta of PN outcomes, off-clamp RAPN yields similar rates of perioperative complications and may possibly offer better preservation of renal function and reduced margin-positive rates.

A reduction in hospital length of stay reduces costs for colorectal surgery: an economic evaluation of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program in Singapore.

PURPOSE: In 2017, the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) was introduced in the Department of Colorectal Surgery at Singapore General Hospital as a pilot quality improvement initiative. This study aimed to examine the cost-effectiveness of NSQIP by evaluating its effects on surgical outcomes, length of stay (LOS), and costs. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients undergoing colorectal surgery (2017-2020). Patients were divided into two cohorts: pre-NSQIP (2017-2018) and post-NSQIP (2019-2020). Outcomes evaluated were 30-day postoperative complications, LOS, and costs. Total cost-savings from NSQIP intervention's impact on LOS were estimated using a decision model with a one-way sensitivity analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify factors for prolonged LOS. RESULTS: 1905 patients underwent colorectal surgery, with 996 in the pre-NSQIP cohort and 909 in the post-NSQIP cohort. A significant reduction in overall postoperative complications of 4.7% was observed in the post-NSQIP cohort (36.5% vs. 31.8%, p = 0.029). Patients in the post-NSQIP cohort had a shorter median LOS (8.0 vs. 6.0 days, p < 0.001). The implementation of NSQIP resulted in an 8.5% decrease in prolonged LOS > 6 days (p < 0.001), saving S$0.31 million on LOS. Total costs per case were reduced by 20.8% following NSQIP (S$39,539.05 vs. S$31,311.93, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Implementing NSQIP has significantly reduced overall postoperative complications, LOS, and costs and achieved cost savings following colorectal surgery.

Defining prostate cancer size and treatment margin for focal therapy: does intralesional heterogeneity impact the performance of multiparametric MRI?

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of intralesional heterogeneity on the performance of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) in determining cancer extent and treatment margins for focal therapy (FT) of prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We identified men who underwent primary radical prostatectomy for organ- confined prostate cancer over a 3-year period. Cancer foci on whole-mount histology were marked out, coding low-grade (LG; Gleason 3) and high-grade (HG; Gleason 4-5) components separately. Measurements of entire tumours were grouped according to intralesional proportion of HG cancer: 0%, <50% and ≥50%; the readings were corrected for specimen shrinkage and correlated with matching lesions on mpMRI. Separate measurements were also taken of HG cancer components only, and correlated against entire lesions on mpMRI. Size discrepancies were used to derive the optimal tumour size and treatment margins for FT. RESULTS: There were 122 MRI-detected cancer lesions in 70 men. The mean linear specimen shrinkage was 8.4%. The overall correlation between histology and MRI dimensions was r = 0.79 (P < 0.001). Size correlation was superior for tumours with high burden (≥50%) compared to low burden (<50%) of HG cancer (r = 0.84 vs r = 0.63; P = 0.007). Size underestimation by mpMRI was more likely for larger tumours (51% for >12 mm vs 26% for ≤12 mm) and those containing HG cancer (44%, vs 20% for LG only). Size discrepancy analysis suggests an optimal tumour size of ≤12 mm and treatment margins of 5-6 mm for FT. For tumours ≤12 mm in diameter, applying 5- and 6-mm treatment margins would achieve 98.6% and 100% complete tumour ablation, respectively. For tumours of all sizes, using the same margins would ablate >95% of the HG cancer components. CONCLUSIONS: Multiparametric MRI performance in estimating prostate cancer size, and consequently the treatment margin for FT, is impacted by tumour size and the intralesional heterogeneity of cancer grades.

Evolving trends in the surgical management of renal masses over the past two decades: A contemporary picture from a large prospectively-maintained database.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the trends in the presentation and surgical management of renal tumors at Singapore General Hospital, Singapore. METHODS: We accessed our uro-oncological registry to extract the clinicopathological data of patients with renal tumors who underwent nephrectomy from 2000 to 2015. Binary logistic regression was used to identify predictors of nephron-sparing surgery utilization, Clavien-Dindo grade ≥III complications and progression to stage ≥3 chronic kidney disease. Cox regression models were created to evaluate the proportional hazards of the risk factors for overall survival and cancer-specific survival. RESULTS: A total of 1208 cases of nephrectomy were carried out between 2000 and 2015. The proportion of cT1a tumors increased from 2000-2004 to 2010-2015, which was accompanied by the doubling of utilization rates of nephron-sparing surgery and minimally invasive surgery. Charlson Comorbidity Index score <2, asymptomatic presentation, clinical T1a tumors and having an estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥30 mL/min/1.73 m2 were all independent predictors of nephron-sparing surgery utilization. Age, symptomatic presentation and nephron-sparing surgery utilization were all significantly associated with greater odds of having Clavien-Dindo grade ≥III complications, whereas minimally invasive surgery was associated with decreased risk. The utilization of partial nephrectomy and minimally invasive surgery was significantly associated with a decreased risk of developing postoperative stage ≥3 chronic kidney disease. Both overall survival and cancer-specific survival were not significantly affected by whether nephron-sparing surgery was utilized. CONCLUSIONS: There has been an increasing proportion of small renal masses diagnosed incidentally with a shift towards nephron-sparing surgery for clinically localized tumors. With the adoption of nephron-sparing surgery, progression to stage 3 chronic kidney disease has decreased, without any compromise in oncological and survival outcomes.

Role of computed tomography-calculated intraparenchymal tumor volume in assessment of patients undergoing partial nephrectomy.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the complexity of renal masses by using an objective novel imaging parameter (intraparenchymal tumor volume) based on computed tomography scans, to correlate this parameter to perioperative outcomes and to the RENAL nephrometry score. METHODS: After institutional review board approval, 87 patients who underwent partial nephrectomy between 2012 and 2016 at Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, were retrospectively analyzed. Preoperative computed tomography intravenous pyelogram scans were reviewed by a single senior radiologist who calculated the intraparenchymal tumor volume. Once the intraparenchymal tumor volume scores were obtained, they were compared with perioperative renal and surgical outcomes, and nephrometry scores. Furthermore, intraparenchymal tumor volume was subdivided into two categories, low and high intraparenchymal tumor volume, both using the 89th percentile. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 60 years, and the mean tumor size was 2.9 cm. The mean nephrometry score was 7.8, and the mean intraparenchymal tumor volume score was 12.7 cm³. The cut-off for high intraparenchymal tumor volume was >27.26 cm³. As a continuous variable, intraparenchymal tumor volume showed a significant relationship with the percentage of creatinine change (P = 0.009) and nephrometry scores (P < 0.001). As a categorical variable, high intraparenchymal tumor volume showed significance when compared with absolute creatinine change (P = 0.018), percentage of creatinine change (P = 0.004) and nephrometry score (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Intraparenchymal tumor volume represents a novel objective tool based on computed tomography imaging to determine the complexity of a renal mass. This tool correlates with renal functional outcomes of partial nephrectomy, and it also shows good correlation with RENAL nephrometry score.

"Seeing Is Believing": Additive Utility of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in Prostate Cancer Diagnosis.

Widespread adoption of mpMRI has led to a decrease in the number of patients requiring prostate biopsies. 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT has demonstrated added benefits in identifying csPCa. Integrating the use of these imaging techniques may hold promise for predicting the presence of csPCa without invasive biopsy. A retrospective analysis of 42 consecutive patients who underwent mpMRI, 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT, prostatic biopsy, and radical prostatectomy (RP) was carried out. A lesion-based model (n = 122) using prostatectomy histopathology as reference standard was used to analyze the accuracy of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT, mpMRI alone, and both in combination to identify ISUP-grade group ≥ 2 lesions. 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT demonstrated greater specificity and positive predictive value (PPV), with values of 73.3% (vs. 40.0%) and 90.1% (vs. 82.2%), while the mpMRI Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) 4-5 had better sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV): 90.2% (vs. 78.5%) and 57.1% (vs. 52.4%), respectively. When used in combination, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 74.2%, 83.3%, 93.2%, and 51.0%, respectively. Subgroup analysis of PI-RADS 3, 4, and 5 lesions was carried out. For PI-RADS 3 lesions, 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT demonstrated a NPV of 77.8%. For PI-RADS 4-5 lesions, 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT achieved PPV values of 82.1% and 100%, respectively, with an NPV of 100% in PI-RADS 5 lesions. A combination of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT and mpMRI improved the radiological diagnosis of csPCa. This suggests that avoidance of prostate biopsy prior to RP may represent a valid option in a selected subgroup of high-risk patients with a high suspicion of csPCa on mpMRI and 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT.

Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer-The Middle Child Syndrome.

Oligometastatic prostate cancer is an evolving clinical entity as more data from novel imaging tools such as PSMA PET/CT emerges. Recognition of this disease entity allows for unique interventions which differ from conventional treatment of metastatic prostate cancers such as the initiation of chemotherapy. With metastasis-directed therapy (MDT), there is potential for early eradication of limited disease metastases and a delay in systemic treatment with its associated treatment-related toxicities. This review explores the current evidence and outcomes of different metastasis-directed therapies such as the role of radiotherapy in low volume metastasis and the use of PSMA ligands to facilitate pelvic lymph node dissections. With a deeper understanding of this low metastasis state, it has revolutionized the current viable treatment options, and more studies are ongoing to provide further insights into this unique disease entity.

Cost-effectiveness of alternative first- and second-line treatments for benign prostatic hyperplasia in Singapore.

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive surgical therapies, such as water vapor thermal therapy (WVTT) and prostatic urethral lift (PUL), are typically second-line options for patients in whom medical management (MM) failed but who are unwilling or unsuitable to undergo invasive transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). However, the incremental cost-effectiveness of WVTT or PUL as first- or second-line therapy is unknown. We evaluated the incremental cost-effectiveness of alternative first- and second-line treatments for patients with moderate-to-severe benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in Singapore to help policymakers make subsidy decisions based on value for money. METHODS: We considered six stepped-up treatment strategies, beginning with MM, WVTT, PUL or TURP. In each strategy, patients requiring retreatment advance to a more invasive treatment until TURP, which may be undergone twice. A Markov cohort model was used to simulate transitions between BPH severity states and retreatment, accruing costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) over a lifetime horizon. RESULTS: In moderate patients, strategies beginning with MM had similar cost and effectiveness, and first-line WVTT was incrementally cost-effective to first-line MM (33,307 SGD/QALY). First-line TURP was not incrementally cost-effective to first-line WVTT (159,361 SGD/QALY). For severe patients, WVTT was incrementally cost-effective to MM as a first-line treatment (30,133 SGD/QALY) and to TURP as a second-line treatment following MM (6877 SGD/QALY). TURP was incrementally cost-effective to WVTT as a first-line treatment (48,209 SGD/QALY) in severe patients only. All pathways involving PUL were dominated (higher costs and lower QALYs). CONCLUSION: Based on the common willingness-to-pay threshold of SGD 50,000/QALY, this study demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of WVTT over MM as first-line treatment for patients with moderate or severe BPH, suggesting it represents good value for money and should be considered for subsidy. PUL is not cost-effective as a first- nor second-line treatment. For patients with severe BPH, TURP as first-line is also cost-effective.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate, common among older men. Its symptoms include difficulties with starting and completing urination, incontinence, frequent and urgent need to urinate. Minimally invasive procedures, such as water vapor thermal therapy (WVTT) and prostatic urethral lift (PUL), are typically offered as second-line options to patients for whom medication has failed but who are unwilling or unsuitable to undergo invasive surgery (transurethral resection of the prostate, TURP). However, whether offering these procedures as first-line options represents good value for money (i.e. cost-effectiveness) is an open question. To address this question and inform subsidy decisions in Singapore, we investigated six stepped-up treatment strategies which differ in first- and second-line treatments. For each strategy, we simulated healthcare costs and quality of life for a cohort of moderate and severe BPH patients over their lifetime, considering the possibility of treatment-related adverse effects and multiple rounds of retreatment. The incremental cost of a unit improvement in quality of life for a strategy relative to the next most expensive one was compared against a willingness-to-pay threshold to determine cost-effectiveness. We found that WVTT was cost-effective relative to medication as a first-line treatment for patients with moderate or severe BPH, suggesting it represents good value for money and should be considered for subsidy. PUL was not cost-effective as first- nor second-line treatment. TURP is cost-effective as first-line for severe BPH patients only.

Natural language processing in urology: Automated extraction of clinical information from histopathology reports of uro-oncology procedures.

Objectives: We aimed to automate routine extraction of clinically relevant unstructured information from uro-oncological histopathology reports by applying rule-based and machine learning (ML)/deep learning (DL) methods to develop an oncology focused natural language processing (NLP) algorithm. Methods: Our algorithm employs a combination of a rule-based approach and support vector machines/neural networks (BioBert/Clinical BERT), and is optimised for accuracy. We randomly extracted 5772 uro-oncological histology reports from 2008 to 2018 from electronic health records (EHRs) and split the data into training and validation datasets in an 80:20 ratio. The training dataset was annotated by medical professionals and reviewed by cancer registrars. The validation dataset was annotated by cancer registrars and defined as the gold standard with which the algorithm outcomes were compared. The accuracy of NLP-parsed data was matched against these human annotation results. We defined an accuracy rate of >95% as "acceptable" by professional human extraction, as per our cancer registry definition. Results: There were 11 extraction variables in 268 free-text reports. We achieved an accuracy rate of between 61.2% and 99.0% using our algorithm. Of the 11 data fields, a total of 8 data fields met the acceptable accuracy standard, while another 3 data fields had an accuracy rate between 61.2% and 89.7%. Noticeably, the rule-based approach was shown to be more effective and robust in extracting variables of interest. On the other hand, ML/DL models had poorer predictive performances due to highly imbalanced data distribution and variable writing styles between different reports and data used for domain-specific pre-trained models. Conclusion: We designed an NLP algorithm that can automate clinical information extraction accurately from histopathology reports with an overall average micro accuracy of 93.3%.

Development and testing of a multi-lingual Natural Language Processing-based deep learning system in 10 languages for COVID-19 pandemic crisis: A multi-center study.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically disrupted global healthcare systems. With the higher demand for healthcare and misinformation related to COVID-19, there is a need to explore alternative models to improve communication. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) have emerged as promising solutions to improve healthcare delivery. Chatbots could fill a pivotal role in the dissemination and easy accessibility of accurate information in a pandemic. In this study, we developed a multi-lingual NLP-based AI chatbot, DR-COVID, which responds accurately to open-ended, COVID-19 related questions. This was used to facilitate pandemic education and healthcare delivery. Methods: First, we developed DR-COVID with an ensemble NLP model on the Telegram platform (https://t.me/drcovid_nlp_chatbot). Second, we evaluated various performance metrics. Third, we evaluated multi-lingual text-to-text translation to Chinese, Malay, Tamil, Filipino, Thai, Japanese, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. We utilized 2,728 training questions and 821 test questions in English. Primary outcome measurements were (A) overall and top 3 accuracies; (B) Area Under the Curve (AUC), precision, recall, and F1 score. Overall accuracy referred to a correct response for the top answer, whereas top 3 accuracy referred to an appropriate response for any one answer amongst the top 3 answers. AUC and its relevant matrices were obtained from the Receiver Operation Characteristics (ROC) curve. Secondary outcomes were (A) multi-lingual accuracy; (B) comparison to enterprise-grade chatbot systems. The sharing of training and testing datasets on an open-source platform will also contribute to existing data. Results: Our NLP model, utilizing the ensemble architecture, achieved overall and top 3 accuracies of 0.838 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.826-0.851] and 0.922 [95% CI: 0.913-0.932] respectively. For overall and top 3 results, AUC scores of 0.917 [95% CI: 0.911-0.925] and 0.960 [95% CI: 0.955-0.964] were achieved respectively. We achieved multi-linguicism with nine non-English languages, with Portuguese performing the best overall at 0.900. Lastly, DR-COVID generated answers more accurately and quickly than other chatbots, within 1.12-2.15 s across three devices tested. Conclusion: DR-COVID is a clinically effective NLP-based conversational AI chatbot, and a promising solution for healthcare delivery in the pandemic era.

Clinicopathological features of non-conventional renal cell carcinoma histological subtypes: Learning points from a large contemporary series spanning over three decades.

PURPOSE: To perform a retrospective review of the clinicopathological features of patients with conventional and non-conventional renal cell carcinoma (cRCC and ncRCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A large prospectively maintained uro-oncological registry was accessed to extract clinicopathological data of patients diagnosed with renal tumors who subsequently underwent nephrectomy from 1990-2019. Demographics and operative parameters were extracted. Analyses of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox proportional-hazards analysis was used to identify risk factors which influenced survival. RESULTS: There were a total of 1,686 consecutive nephrectomies which was retrieved, with 1,286 cRCC and 400 ncRCC. The commonest ncRCC subtypes were papillary (n=198, 11.7%), clear cell papillary (n=50, 3.0%) and chromophobe (n=49, 2.9%) RCC. Kaplan-Meier estimates of OS were higher in cRCC (0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.71-0.78) than ncRCC (hazard ratio, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.16-1.87). Among individual subtypes, chromophobe RCC had the highest 5-year OS (0.90; 95% CI, 0.79-1.0). Among ncRCC subtypes, acquired cystic RCC demonstrated the highest association with end-stage renal failure and hypertension, with the highest CSS. MiT family translocation RCC had the youngest mean age at presentation (45.6±12.8 y) and excellent CSS. Factors associated with increased OS in the entire cohort included shorter operative time, partial nephrectomy and lower tumor stages. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a comprehensive contemporary overview of ncRCCs which are yet poorly characterized, in comparison to cRCCs. Data from this study would contribute towards tailored patient counseling and healthcare resource planning.

A Systemic Review and Meta-analysis of Transabdominal Intravesical Prostatic Protrusion Assessment in Determining Bladder Outlet Obstruction and Unsuccessful Trial Without Catheter.

CONTEXT: Urodynamic study (UDS) provides the most objective assessment of bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) but is impractical to be recommended routinely in outpatient services. Intravesical prostatic protrusion (IPP) had been described to obstruct urinary flow by creating an anatomical ball-valve effect, but there remains a lack of pooled evidence that can objectively correlate with BOO in benign prostatic hyperplasia. OBJECTIVE: To update the current evidence on the predictive role of IPP in determining BOO and unsuccessful trial without catheter (TWOC). EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A comprehensive literature search was performed to identify studies that evaluated IPP in diagnosing UDS-determined BOO and TWOC. The search included the PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library up to January 2021. An updated systemic review and meta-analysis was performed. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: A total of 18 studies with 4128 patients were examined. Eleven studies with 1478 patients examined the role of IPP in UDS-determined BOO. The pooled area under the curve (AUC) was 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.79-0.86), and at a cut-off of >10 mm, the sensitivity (Sn) and specificity (Sp) were 0.71 (95% CI: 0.61-0.78) and 0.77 (95% CI: 0.68-0.84), respectively. The probability-modifying plot revealed positive and negative likelihood ratios of 3.34 (95% CI: 2.56-4.36) and 0.35 (95% CI: 0.26-0.45), respectively. Seven studies with 2650 patients examined IPP in predicting unsuccessful TWOC, with a pooled AUC of 0.74 (95% CI: 0.70-0.84), with Sn of 0.51 (95% CI: 0.43-0.60) and Sp of 0.79 (95% CI: 0.73-0.84) at an IPP cut-off of >10 mm. Five studies compared prostate volume (PV) and IPP and revealed a lower AUC of PV at 0.71 (95% CI: 0.67-0.75), which was an inferior parameter in diagnosing BOO (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This systemic review provided evidence that IPP is a reliable clinical parameter that correlates strongly with underlying BOO and unsuccessful TWOC. PATIENT SUMMARY: In this review, we comprehensively reviewed all the literature to date on evaluating the clinical utility of intravesical prostatic protrusion (IPP). We have demonstrated that IPP correlates strongly with urodynamic study (UDS)-determined bladder outlet obstruction and failure of trial without catheter (TWOC). Outpatient IPP measurement is a quick, inexpensive, and reproducible clinical parameter that can determine the severity of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The clinical role of IPP in predicting failure of TWOC selects patients who are best treated with aggressive surgical approaches rather than conservative medical therapies. More importantly, IPP can facilitate the discriminatory use of invasive UDS, reserved for patients with a strong suspicion of concomitant detrusor abnormalities.

Peak stent discomfort occurs early and ureteral stent with distal loop design has less pain-A pilot prospective randomised single-blinded trial over 2 weeks.

OBJECTIVES: The Polaris™ loop ureteric stent reduces the severity of stent discomfort by minimising stent material in the bladder. Early impact of ureteral stenting on quality of life (QoL) within 1 week remains unclear. The usefulness of the patient-administered ureteral stent symptoms questionnaire (USSQ) during this period of stent insertion was assessed. In this pilot single-blinded prospective randomised study, we investigate 1) the presence of early (within the 1st week) stent discomfort via the visual analog scale (VAS); 2) determine the QoL of the loop stent against conventional stent. METHODS: Forty adults requiring retrograde unilateral ureteral stent placements were enrolled. Patients with single ureteric stone or benign stricture were selected. Patients were randomised in 1:1 ratio to the loop and pigtail arm. The USSQ was administered before placement (baseline), USSQ and VAS were administered on Day 3, 7, and 14. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the USSQ scores. Median pain scores on Day 3 were lower in the loop stent group (2.9 vs. 4.0, p=0.047). There was a significant reduction in pain from Day 3-7 (0 vs. -1, p=0.016) in the pigtail group. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that peak stent discomfort occurs but resolves quickly within 1 week of post-stent insertion. The loop stent offers a better pain profile compared with conventional stents at Day 3 but no difference in QoL. The loop stent reduces early pain experience post-stent insertion and may have a role in the care of patients who experience significant stent discomfort previously.

Stereotactic robot-assisted transperineal prostate biopsy under local anaesthesia and sedation: moving robotic biopsy from operating theatre to clinic.

This IRB-approved prospective pilot study evaluates the safety and feasibility of performing stereotactic robot-assisted transperineal MRI-US fusion targeted prostate biopsy under local anaesthesia (LA) with sedation. 30 patients who underwent robotic transperineal prostate biopsy between September 2017 and June 2018 were recruited. All biopsies were performed with the iSR'obot Mona Lisa® and BK3000 ultrasound system. Intravenous paracetamol 1 g, with midazolam and fentanyl were given at positioning. After administration of 5 mL of 1%-lidocaine into the perineal skin 2 cm above and lateral to the anus, periapical prostatic block with 10 mL mixture of 1%-Lidocaine and 0.5%-Marcaine was given. The median age of patients was 66 years (range 53-80 years). Median PSA and mean prostate volume were 8.1 ng/ml (range 4.2-20.6 ng/ml) and 40.1 cc (range 18.6-70 cc). 24 (80.0%) patients had targeted prostate biopsy, with median number of targeted cores of 8 (range 5-16). All patients had saturation biopsy and median number of saturation cores was 21 (range 9-48). Mean dose of intravenous midazolam given was 1.5 mg (range 0-5 mg) and intravenous fentanyl was 75 mcg (10-150 mcg). No patient required conversion to GA. Two patients required motion compensation of 3 mm and 7.5 mm, respectively, due minor movement. Immediate post-operative pain score was 0 for all patients. 29 of 30 patients (96.7%) were discharged within 24 h of procedure. There were no immediate severe complications. Adenocarcinoma was detected in 19/30 (63.3%) cases. This pilot feasibility study showed that stereotactic robotic transperineal MRI-US fusion targeted prostate biopsy can be safely and accurately performed under LA with sedation.

Multiparametric MRI reporting using Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System version 2.0 (PI-RADSv2) retains clinical efficacy in a predominantly post-biopsy patient population.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) using Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System version 2.0 (PI-RADSv2) definitions in detecting organ-confined prostate cancer. METHODS: All patients who underwent radical prostatectomy between January 1, 2014 and December 30, 2014 were identified. All underwent mp-MRI within 180 days before surgery. Those with prior pelvic irradiation or androgen deprivation therapy were excluded. Fully embedded, whole-mount histopathology was centrally reviewed and correlated with imaging for tumour location, Gleason score (GS) and stage. RESULTS: There were 39 patients included, of which 35 (90%) had mp-MRI done post-biopsy. A total of 93 cancer foci were identified on whole-mount pathology, of which mp-MRI detected 63 (68%). Of those detected by mp-MRI, 14 were PI-RADS 3 (n = 6 for GS 6, n = 8 for GS 7, no GS ≥ 8) and 49 were PI-RADS 4-5 (n = 7 for GS 6, n = 33 for GS 7, and n = 9 for GS ≥ 8). There were 30 (32%) cancer foci missed by mp-MRI (n = 15 for GS 6, n = 13 for GS 7 and n = 2 for GS ≥ 8). A lesion classified as PI-RADS 4-5 predicted a higher grade cancer on pathology as compared to PI-RADS 3 (for GS 7 lesions, odds ratio [OR] = 3.53, 95% CI: 0.93-13.45, p = 0.064). The mp-MRI size detection limit was 20 mm2 and 100 mm2 for 50% and 75% probability of cancer, respectively. In associating with radiological and pathologic stage, the weighted Kappa value was 0.69 (p < 0.0001). The sensitivity and positive predictive values for this study were 68% (95% CI: 57%-77%) and 78% (95% CI: 67%-86%), respectively. CONCLUSION: In this predominantly post-biopsy cohort, mp-MRI using PI-RADSv2 reporting has a reasonably high diagnostic accuracy in detecting clinically significant prostate cancer.

PRL3-zumab as an immunotherapy to inhibit tumors expressing PRL3 oncoprotein.

Tumor-specific antibody drugs can serve as cancer therapy with minimal side effects. A humanized antibody, PRL3-zumab, specifically binds to an intracellular oncogenic phosphatase PRL3, which is frequently expressed in several cancers. Here we show that PRL3-zumab specifically inhibits PRL3+ cancer cells in vivo, but not in vitro. PRL3 antigens are detected on the cell surface and outer exosomal membranes, implying an 'inside-out' externalization of PRL3. PRL3-zumab binds to surface PRL3 in a manner consistent with that in classical antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity or antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis tumor elimination pathways, as PRL3-zumab requires an intact Fc region and host FcγII/III receptor engagement to recruit B cells, NK cells and macrophages to PRL3+ tumor microenvironments. PRL3 is overexpressed in 80.6% of 151 fresh-frozen tumor samples across 11 common cancers examined, but not in patient-matched normal tissues, thereby implicating PRL3 as a tumor-associated antigen. Targeting externalized PRL3 antigens with PRL3-zumab may represent a feasible approach for anti-tumor immunotherapy.

A rare case of isolated castrate resistant bilateral testicular metastases in advanced prostate cancer.

Testicular metastasis is rare with the prostate being the most common site of primary cancer. We report a case of a 72-year-old man with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and known metastases to bone and lymph nodes, who developed bilateral painful swollen testes 3 years after the initial diagnosis of prostate cancer. He had first presented with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) with suspicious findings on digital rectal examination of the prostate, and an elevated serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level of 129 ng/mL. Transrectal prostate biopsy revealed Gleason 4 + 5 adenocarcinoma. Radiological staging showed locally advanced prostate cancer with extensive metastases to bone and pelvic and retroperitoneal lymph nodes. He was given hormonal therapy for over 2 years until progression to CRPC. Six months later he developed painful bilateral testicular swellings, and serum markers for testicular germ cell cancer were normal. Bilateral orchiectomy was performed, showing metastatic prostate cancer (Gleason 4 + 5) on histology. One month postoperatively his PSA level dropped to 0.1 ng/mL from a presurgery level of 6.24 ng/mL.

Automating the Renal Cell Carcinoma Registry in Singapore: A Case Study on the Integration of the Research Electronic Data Capture System with the Enterprise Data Warehouse.

The renal cell carcinoma registry (RCCR) at the Singapore General Hospital was established in the 1980s. In 2012, the registry transited to a partially automated system using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) and Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE), which is a platform for retrieval of electronic data from the Electronic Health Intelligence System (eHIntS). A committee was formed of experts from the department of urology and the health services research center, as well as an information technology (IT) team to evaluate the efficacy of the partially automated system. In the 5 years after the new system was implemented, 1,751 cases were recorded in the RCCR. The casefinding completeness increased by 1.9%, the data accuracy rate was 97%, and the efficiency increased by 12%. Strengths of the new system after partial automation were: (1) secure access to the registry via the hospital Web, (2) direct access to REDCap via the electronic medical records system, (3) automated and timely data extraction, and (4) visual presentation of data. On the other hand, we also encountered several challenges in the process of automating the registry, including limited IT support, limited expertise in matching data variables from RCCR and eHIntS, and limited availability and accessibility of eHIntS information for import into REDCap. In summary, despite these challenges, partial automation was achieved with the REDCap/OBIEE system, enhancing efficiency, data security, and data quality.

An update on transurethral surgery for benign prostatic obstruction.

Clinical benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common cause of lower urinary tract symptoms and transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) has been the gold standard technique for surgical treatment of benign prostate obstruction (BPO) over the last 2 decades. Although monopolar TURP is considered a safe and effective option for surgical management of BPO, there are some disadvantages, namely bleeding, transurethral resection syndrome, incompleteness of treatment. This review aims to highlight these problems, and describe the advances in technology and techniques that have evolved to minimise such complications. With the advent of lasers and bipolar technology, as well as enucleative techniques to remove the prostatic adenoma/adenomata, the problems of bleeding, transurethral resection syndrome and incomplete treatment are significantly minimised. Monopolar TURP will likely be replaced by such technology and techniques in the near future such that transurethral surgery of the prostate remain a safe and effective option in alleviating the harmful effects of BPO.