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Background and objective In this study, we aimed to analyze the association of ureteral wall thickness (UWT) measured on non-contrast CT (NCCT) with stone impaction as found in ureteroscopy (URS). Materials and methods We analyzed 43 patients who underwent URS and pneumatic/laser lithotripsy for ureteric stones from May to November 2022. The UWT was measured by an experienced radiologist on NCCT. Clinical predictors of the impacted stone were calculated by univariate and multivariate regression analysis. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated for the UWT cutoff to apply it for impaction with different parameters. We also evaluated the association of intra- and postoperative parameters of the two groups with UWT. Results Out of the 43 patients with stones, 26 (60.46%) patients had impacted stones. Univariate analysis was used to analyze the site (left-sided stone impacted more commonly), stone size, stone density [Hounsfield unit (HU)], hydronephrosis, UWT, and duration between initial presentation and surgery, and multivariate analysis was utilized to assess stone density, as well as UWT's association with impacted stones. The ROC curve showed a cutoff of 3.5 mm for UWT with an accuracy of 0.83. High UWT (≥3.5 mm) was associated with a significantly lower stone-free rate, more complications, and mean operative time as compared to low UWT (<3.5 mm) (p<0.05). Conclusion Based on our findings, high UWT is associated with high rates of impacted stones and a lower stone-free rate when compared to low UWT.
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Introduction Radical cystectomy (RC) is the current standard of care for treating muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), however bladder preservation by offering radical radiotherapy (RT) is gaining interest for improving the quality of life while maintaining a reasonable oncological outcome. In this study, we have compared outcomes of the two treatment options. Materials and methods This is a 10-year retrospective cohort study that included all patients who were treated for histologically proven muscle-invasive bladder cancer in the department of uro-oncology at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre from January 2005 to January 2015. Data was analysed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS), version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). The primary end point of our study was to calculate the three- and five-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Results A total of 230 patients were included in the study with male gender predominating (88%). The mean and standard deviation for age was 58.32+11.128. Radical cystectomy was performed in 119 patients while 111 received RT. Clinically, 34% had stage 2 disease, while 66 % had stage 3 cancer. The median follow-up duration was 41 months (range: 2-155). During follow-up 57.4% of patients showed no recurrence. Local recurrence was found in 9.6% patients and distant metastasis in 32.2%. The three-year DFS of RC was 63% and that of RT was 57% while the five-year DFS for RC and RT were 60% and 49%, respectively (p=0.196). The three-year OS of RC was 64% and that for RT was 58%. On further analysis the five-year OS of RC was 53% and that for RT was 50% (p=0.98). Upon stage-based comparisons, we found no statistically significant difference between the three- and five-year DFS and OS of stage 2 and stage 3 when treated with either modality. Conclusion Most studies favor RC and consider it as the gold standard treatment for muscle-invasive bladder tumor treatment. The current study reveals that bladder preservation approach by chemo radiotherapy is a viable treatment option, having comparable oncological outcomes with patients receiving radical cystectomy, and can be offered to patients having muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer.