Obesity is associated with increased risk of invasive penile cancer.

BACKGROUND: To validate the association between obesity and penile cancer at a population level, we conducted a matched case-control study linking the Iowa Department of Motor Vehicles Drivers' License Database (DLD) with cancer surveillance data collected by the State Health Registry of Iowa (SHRI). METHODS: All men diagnosed with invasive penile squamous cell carcinoma from 1985 to 2010 were identified by SHRI. Two hundred sixty-six cancer cases and 816 cancer-free male controls, selected from the Iowa DLD, were matched within 5-year age and calendar year strata. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated using self-reported height and weight from the DLD. RESULTS: Conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between BMI and the risk of developing invasive penile cancer. Obesity was significantly associated with an increased risk of developing penile cancer. For every five-unit increase in BMI the risk of invasive penile cancer increased by 53 % (OR 1.53, 95 % CI 1.29-1.81, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: We previously reported an association between obesity and higher risk of invasive penile cancer and advanced cancer stage at diagnosis in a hospital-based retrospective study. This population-based study confirms an association between obesity and invasive penile cancer.

Do ureteric stent extraction strings affect stent-related quality of life or complications after ureteroscopy for urolithiasis: a prospective randomised control trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether ureteric stent extraction strings affect stent-related quality of life (QoL) or increase complications after ureteroscopy (URS) for stone disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In all, 68 patients undergoing URS (October 2011 to May 2013) for stone disease were randomised to receive a ureteric stent with or without an extraction string. Patients completed the Ureteric Stent Symptom Questionnaire (USSQ) on postoperative days 1 and 6, and 6 weeks after stent removal. Pain was assessed at stent removal. Adverse events, including early stent removal, stent migration, retained stent, urinary tract infection (UTI), emergency room (ER) visits and postoperative phone calls were monitored. RESULTS: There was no difference in stent-related QoL as measured by the USSQ between those with and without a stent extraction string, pain at stent removal between those who pulled their stent independently vs those who underwent cystoscopy for stent removal, or in the rate of UTIs, ER visits or phone calls between groups. Five patients (four female, one male) removed their stent early by inadvertently pulling the string; none required replacement. Patients without a string had a significantly longer period with the postoperative ureteric stent (10.6 vs 6.3 days, P < 0.001). One patient without a stent string retained her ureteric stent for 6 months, which was removed by cystoscopy without incident. CONCLUSION: Ureteric stent extraction strings may offer several advantages without increasing stent-related urinary symptoms, complications, or postoperative morbidity.

Assessment of asymptomatic microscopic hematuria in adults.

Although routine screening for bladder cancer is not recommended, microscopic hematuria is often incidentally discovered by primary care physicians. The American Urological Association has published an updated guideline for the management of asymptomatic microscopic hematuria, which is defined as the presence of three or more red blood cells per high-power field visible in a properly collected urine specimen without evidence of infection. The most common causes of microscopic hematuria are urinary tract infection, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and urinary calculi. However, up to 5% of patients with asymptomatic microscopic hematuria are found to have a urinary tract malignancy. The risk of urologic malignancy is increased in men, persons older than 35 years, and persons with a history of smoking. Microscopic hematuria in the setting of urinary tract infection should resolve after appropriate antibiotic treatment; persistence of hematuria warrants a diagnostic workup. Dysmorphic red blood cells, cellular casts, proteinuria, elevated creatinine levels, or hypertension in the presence of microscopic hematuria should prompt concurrent nephrologic and urologic referral. The upper urinary tract is best evaluated with multiphasic computed tomography urography, which identifies hydronephrosis, urinary calculi, and renal and ureteral lesions. The lower urinary tract is best evaluated with cystoscopy for urethral stricture disease, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and bladder masses. Voided urine cytology is no longer recommended as part of the routine evaluation of asymptomatic microscopic hematuria, unless there are risk factors for malignancy.

Minimal changes in the systemic immune response after nephrectomy of localized renal masses.

OBJECTIVES: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is an immunogenic tumor, and multiple immunostimulatory therapies are in use or under development for patients with inoperable tumors. However, a major drawback to the use of immunotherapy for RCC is that renal tumors are also immunosuppressive. As a result, current immunotherapies are curative in<10% of patients with RCC. To better understand the systemic immune response to RCC, we performed a comprehensive examination of the leukocyte and cytokine/chemokine composition in the peripheral blood of patients with localized clear cell renal tumors pre- and post-nephrectomy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Peripheral blood samples were taken from 53 consented subjects with renal masses before cytoreductive nephrectomy and again at clinic visits approximately 30 days after nephrectomy. Samples were also obtained from 10 healthy age- and gender-matched controls. Blood samples from clear cell RCC subjects were analyzed by multi-parameter flow cytometry to determine leukocyte subset composition and multiplex array to evaluate plasma proteins. RESULTS: Pre-nephrectomy, clear cell tumors were associated with systemic accumulations of both "exhausted" CD8+ T cells, as indicated by surface BTLA expression, and monocytic CD14(+)HLA-DR(neg)CD33(+) myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC). Subjects with T3 clear cell RCC also had a unique pro-tumorigenic and inflammatory cytokine/chemokine profile characterized by high serum concentrations of IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-5, IL-7, IL-8, IL-17, TNF-α, MCP-1 and MIP-1ß. At an early post-nephrectomy time point (~30 d), we found the systemic immune response to be largely unaltered. The only significant change was a decrease in the mean percentage of circulating BTLA(+)CD8(+) T cells. All other cellular and soluble immune parameters we examined were unaltered by the removal of the primary tumor. CONCLUSIONS: In the first month following surgery, nephrectomy may relieve systemic CD8 T cell exhaustion marked by BTLA expression, but continuing inflammation and MDSC presence likely counteract this positive effect. Future determination of how this systemic immune signature becomes altered during metastatic progression could provide novel targets for neoadjuvant immunotherapy in RCC.