Diet and Health-related Quality of Life Among Men on Active Surveillance for Early-stage Prostate Cancer: The Men's Eating and Living Study (Cancer and Leukemia Group 70807 [Alliance]).

BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with localized prostate cancer (PC) on active surveillance (AS) and whether it may be improved through lifestyle-focused interventions remain underdefined. OBJECTIVE: To assess longitudinal changes in HRQoL in patients who received and those who did not receive a behavioral intervention that increased vegetable intake. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A secondary analysis of participants in the Men's Eating and Living (MEAL) study (Cancer and Leukemia Group 70807 [Alliance]), a randomized trial of vegetable consumption in patients on AS, was conducted. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) included the Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer (MAX-PC), the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite 26 (EPIC-26), and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Scale-Prostate (FACT-P). Areas under the curves (AUCs) were used to summarize serial HRQoL. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: PROs were completed in 87% (n = 387) of the intention-to-collect population. Baseline characteristics of patients completing HRQoL measures did not differ significantly from the entire study population or between groups. Baseline scores were high for all PROs and remained stable over 24 mo, with no significant differences from baseline at any time point. In adjusted analyses, there were no significant differences in summary AUC measures comparing control with intervention for the total MAX-PC score (p = 0.173); EPIC-26 domains of urinary incontinence (p = 0.210), urinary obstruction (p = 0.062), bowel health (p = 0.607), sexual health (p = 0.398), and vitality (p = 0.363); and total FACT-P scores (p = 0.471). CONCLUSIONS: Among men with localized PC on AS enrolled in a randomized trial, HRQoL was high across multiple domains at baseline, remained high during follow-up, and did not change in response to a behavioral intervention that increased vegetable intake. PATIENT SUMMARY: Patients with localized prostate cancer enrolled on active surveillance experience minimal cancer-associated anxiety, suffer low levels of cancer-associated symptoms, and perceive high physical and emotional well-being.

Diabetes and benign prostatic hyperplasia: emerging clinical connections.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and associated lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are highly prevalent in older men and represent a substantial challenge to public health. Increasing epidemiologic evidence suggests that diabetes significantly increases the risks of BPH and LUTS. Plausible pathophysiologic mechanisms to potentially explain these associations include increased sympathetic tone, stimulation of prostate growth by insulin and related trophic factors, alterations in sex steroid hormone expression, and induction of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress. This article presents a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of clinical and epidemiologic research on diabetes and BPH/LUTS, describes hypothesized pathophysiologic mechanisms linking these conditions, and recommends future directions for research and clinical care.

A simplified procedure for creating a urinary conduit in patients with a colostomy.

A simplified procedure for constructing a urinary conduit is described in patients who have already undergone fecal diversion with colostomy. Two patients are described in whom this method was utilized to create a urinary conduit without the need for an intestinal anastomosis. This procedure is especially suited to high-risk surgical candidates with comorbid medical conditions, multiple previous surgical procedures or prior pelvic radiotherapy in whom avoiding an intestinal anastomosis can significantly reduce postoperative morbidity. This simplified method for creating a urinary conduit is described in two patients and discussed as related to alternative methods for establishing supravesicular urinary diversion.

[Acute arthritis secondary to intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin for bladder cancer]. / Artritis aguda secundaria a bacilo de Calmette-Guérin intravesical en el cáncer de vejiga.

INTRODUCTION: We sought to identify the prevalence, presentation, treatment, and prognosis of acute arthritis secondary to intravesical bacilli Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy for bladder cancer. METHODS: We performed a structured, systematic review of the English language literature pertaining to BCG and reactive arthritis among bladder cancer patients. We extracted data pertaining to prevalence, presentation, management, and prognosis. RESULTS: We extracted 23 individual case reports and 4 review articles. Thirty-nine patients -31 (80%) male and 8 (20%) female- were described in these publications; we also identified 1 patient from our institution. Although prevalence estimates of reactive arthritis range from 0.5 to 1.0% of all bladder cancer patients receiving BCG, the true prevalence remains unclear. Polyarthritis (68%) and fever (58%) were the most common presenting symptoms. Among patients presenting with joint pain, the knees (41%), ankles (26%), and wrists (19%) were most often affected. The most common time of presentation was immediately following the 4th instillation of a 6-week induction course (25%). Initial therapy in 100% of patients was discontinuation of BCG. Other therapies included nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (25%); steroids (8%); anti-tubercular medications (8%); and combined NSAIDs, steroids, and anti-tubercular medications (20%). CONCLUSIONS: Reactive arthritis is an infrequent but potentially severe complication of intravesical BCG for bladder cancer that typically presents with polyarthritis and fever during induction. The most common treatments include immediate discontinuation of BCG and systemic anti-inflammatory therapy. Further studies are needed to determine prevalence, pathophysiology, and long-term prognosis.

Hospital costs and length of stay related to robot-assisted versus open radical and partial nephrectomy for kidney cancer in the USA.

There are scant national outcomes data for robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery. We assessed costs and length of stay (LOS) related to robot-assisted radical and partial nephrectomy in a nationally representative population database. We performed a cohort analysis of the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample database. Using ICD-9 procedure codes, we identified patients who underwent radical or partial nephrectomy for kidney cancer from October 2008 to December 2008. We excluded patients with non-robot-assisted laparoscopic procedures and those under age 18 years. We performed multivariate analyses of LOS and total hospital charges, adjusting for age, race, gender, Charlson comorbidity index, and teaching hospital status. Records of 2,242 patients were analyzed. On adjusted multivariate analysis, robot-assisted partial nephrectomy was associated with shorter LOS compared with open surgery (-2.0 days, P = 0.032). Robot-assisted radical nephrectomy was associated with shorter LOS compared with open surgery (-1.8 days, P = 0.077). There were no significant differences in total charges for robot-assisted compared with open surgery for either radical (P = 0.631) or partial (P = 0.713) nephrectomy. In this large, population-based analysis, robot-assisted radical and partial nephrectomy were associated with shorter LOS and equivalent hospital charges compared with their open surgery counterparts. These data suggest that, for renal surgery, diminished LOS offsets other hospital costs associated with robot-assisted procedures.

Shock wave lithotripsy and renal hemorrhage.

Although shock wave lithotripsy is a safe and efficacious treatment for nephrolithiasis, the most common acute complication is renal hemorrhage. Shock wave-induced renal hemorrhage is a potentially devastating injury if not promptly recognized and treated appropriately. The authors report a large perirenal hematoma occurring after shock wave lithotripsy and review the causes, prevention, and treatment of shock wave-induced renal hemorrhage.