[Palliative surgery for metastatic prostate cancer]. / Palliative Chirurgie des metastasierten Prostatakarzinoms.

Androgen deprivation in combination with novel hormonal agents, docetaxel, or in combination with abiraterone/prednisone plus docetaxel or darolutamid plus docetaxel represent the standard therapeutic approach in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC). Patients with low-risk prostate cancer also benefit from additional radiation therapy or radical prostatectomy in terms of progression-free and overall survival. Despite favorable response rates, basically all patients will develop castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) within 2.5 to 4 years. In addition to systemic chemotherapy, second-line hormonal treatment of systemic application of radionuclides such as radium223 or 177Lu-PSMA represent salvage management options. However, nowadays about 50-65% of patients will develop symptoms due to local progression of prostate cancer which is the result of improved oncological outcomes with significantly prolonged survival times due to the new medical treatment options. Management of such symptomatic local progression will become more important in upcoming years so that all uro-oncologists need to be aware of the various surgical management options. Complications of the lower urogenital tract such as recurrent gross hematuria ± bladder clotting and with the necessity for red blood cell transfusions, subvesical obstruction and acute urinary retention, rectourethral or rectovesical fistulas might be managed by palliative surgery such as palliative transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), radical cystectomy, radical cystoprostatectomy with urinary diversion, and pelvic exenteration. Symptomatic or asymptomatic obstruction of the upper urinary tract might be managed by endoluminal or percutaneous urinary diversion, ureteral reimplantation, ileal ureter replacement, or implantation of the Detour® system (Coloplast GmbH, Hamburg, Germany).

Surgical Treatment for Severe Fixed Hyperkyphosis in an Adult Patient Suffering From Ankylosing Spondylitis and Hereditary Hypophosphatemia With Vertebral Osteopetrosis.

PURPOSE: Ankylosing spondylitis and hereditary hypophosphatemia with long-term high dose supplementation of phosphorous and calcitriol can both lead to severe structural abnormalities of the vertebrae. Impairment of spinal mobility and spinal deformity may ultimately necessitate surgical treatment. A severe fixed hyperkyphosis in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis is a surgically demanding condition, therefore, the indication for surgical treatment should be thoroughly considered and chosen individually. METHODS: This is an uncommon case with a combination of a severe fixed hyperkyphosis with a Cobb-angle of 105 degrees between Th2 and L4 in an adult male patient suffering from ankylosing spondylitis and X-linked hypophosphatemia with surprisingly massive osteopetrosis. In this paper, the coexisting conditions of late-stage ankylosing spondylitis and long-term treated hereditary hypophosphatemia are highlighted. The surgical treatment with different techniques, complications, and results are well explained. RESULTS: A normal gait and stand were achieved by a long posterior fusion with 3 pedicle subtraction osteotomies on L1, L3, and L5. The surgical correction was performed in 3 stages. Postoperative the patient was administered to a rehabilitation center for 3 months. The hyperkyphosis, the C7 plumbline, and the pelvic retroversion were corrected. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical treatment of a severe fixed hyperkyphosis due to ankylosing spondylitis is technically demanding but can be successfully achieved if all surgical challenges and comorbidities are adequately addressed including intraoperative surprising findings like osteopetrotic bone in a patient with hereditary hypophosphatemia as in our case.

Multi-disciplinary and shared decision-making approach in the management of organ-confined prostate cancer.

Decision-making in the management of organ-confined prostate cancer is complex as it is based on multi-factorial considerations. It is complicated by a multitude of issues, which are related to the patient, treatment, disease, availability of equipment(s), expertise, and physicians. Combination of all these factors play a major role in the decision-making process and provide for an interactive decision-making preferably in the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meeting. MDT decisions are comprehensive and are often based on all factors including patients' biological status, disease and its aggressiveness, and physician and centres' expertise. However, one important and often under rated factor is patient-related factors. There is considerable evidence that patients and physicians have different goals for treatment and physicians' understanding of their own patients' preferences is not accurate. Several patient-related key factors have been identified such as age, religious beliefs, sexual health, educational background, and cognitive impairment. We have focused on these areas and highlight some key factors that need to be taken considered whilst counselling a patient and understanding his choice of treatment, which might not always be match with the clinicians' recommendation.

Lenalidomide enhances MOR202-dependent macrophage-mediated effector functions via the vitamin D pathway.

Macrophages are key mediators of the therapeutic effects exerted by monoclonal antibodies, such as the anti-CD38 antibody MOR202, currently introduced in multiple myeloma (MM) therapy. Therefore, it is important to understand how antibody-mediated effector functions of myeloma-associated macrophages (MAMs) are regulated. Here, we focused on the effects of vitamin D, a known regulator of macrophage effector functions. Consequently, it was the aim of this study to assess whether modulation of the vitamin D pathway alters the tumoricidal activity of MAMs. Here, we demonstrate that MAMs display a defective vitamin D pathway with reduced expression level of CYP27B1 and limited tumoricidal activity which can be restored by the IMiD lenalidomide in vitro. Furthermore, our data indicate that the vitamin D pathway of MAMs from MM patients does recover during an IMiD-containing therapy shown by an improved MOR202-mediated cytotoxic activity of these MAMs against primary MM cells ex vivo. Here, the ex vivo cytotoxic activity could be further enhanced by vitamin D supplementation. These data suggest that vitamin D holds a key role for the effector functions of MAMs and that vitamin D supplementation in IMiD combination trials could further increase the therapeutic efficacy of anti-CD38 antibodies such as MOR202, which remains to be investigated in clinical studies.

Continuous intra-articular local anesthetic drug instillation versus discontinuous sciatic nerve block after total knee arthroplasty.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Sciatic nerve block (SNB) is commonly used as adjunct to femoralis nerve block (FNB) to achieve high-quality pain relief after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, this combination is associated with considerable muscle weakness, foot drop and surgically related nerve injuries may be masked. The purpose of this study was to assess whether low risk continuous intra-articular anesthetic drug instillation is an adequate alternative to SNB when adding to FNB after TKA. DESIGN: Retrospective investigational follow-up study. SETTING: University teaching hospital. Interdisciplinary postoperative anesthetic and orthopedic survey. PATIENTS: For this investigational analysis, 34 of 50 consecutive patients were available. INTERVENTIONS: All patients underwent primary unilateral TKA. Group A (18 patients) received a continuous intra-articular 0.33% ropivacaine (5 mL/h) instillation for the first 48 h postoperatively. In Group B (16 patients) a discontinuous SNB was used. Both groups were treated with a continuous FNB. MEASUREMENTS: Main endpoints were mean and maximum postoperative pain intensity levels for both anterior and posterior knee side, amount of postoperative administered opioid drugs, differences in functional outcome or hospital stay and rate of postoperative complications. MAIN RESULTS: Group A showed higher pain intensity levels for the posterior knee side (P≤.042). Merely on the second postoperative day there were no differences within either study group. No differences were found regarding anterior knee pain. Group A showed a significant higher postoperative piritramid consumption (P≤.007). Length of hospital stay or postoperative functional outcome was not significant different. Postoperative complications were not related to anesthesia techniques. CONCLUSIONS: SNB technique resulted in superior pain relief in comparison to continuous intra-articular local anesthetic drug instillation as adjunct to continuous FNB after TKA.

High-Risk Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer-Therapy Options During Intravesical BCG Shortage.

Bladder cancer is the second commonest urinary tract malignancy with 70-80 % being non-muscle invasive (NMIBC) at diagnosis. Patients with high-risk NMIBC (T1/Tis, with high grade/G3, or CIS) represent a challenging group as they are at greater risk of recurrence and progression. Intravesical Bacilli Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is commonly used as first line therapy in this patient group but there is a current worldwide shortage. BCG has been shown to reduce recurrence in high-risk NMIBC and is more effective that other intravesical agents including mitomycin C, epirubicin, interferon-alpha and gemcitabine. Primary cystectomy offers a high change of cure in this cohort (80-90 %) and is a more radical treatment option which patients need to be counselled carefully about. Bladder thermotherapy and electromotive drug administration with mitomycin C are alternative therapies with promising short-term results although long-term follow-up data are lacking.

The current role of percutaneous chemolysis in the management of urolithiasis: review and results.

The treatment of urolithiasis has changed dramatically over the past several decades. Novel technologies have led to new management protocols. Percutaneous chemolysis as a primary or adjuvant treatment for urinary tract stones has widely been neglected. We present our own experience with it and discuss it in the light of an extensive literature review. From a MEDLINE search on percutaneous chemolysis we evaluated the most important studies, a total of 58 articles, 43 case series and 15 review articles. In our unit between 2001 and 2011, 29 patients (mean age 62 years) with infectious staghorn calculi were treated with adjuvant percutaneous chemolysis post-percutaneous nephrolithotripsy. There were 17 women, with 10 complete and 14 partial staghorn stones (mean size 32 mm). Patients were generally deemed at high risk to undergo another procedure in the future. Suby G solution was used following an established protocol. Sixteen patients (55.1 %) were stone free after chemolysis, eight stones showed partial dissolution, half of them with so-called "insignificant" residual fragments <4 mm. Patients with residual stones underwent SWL. Mean follow-up was 5.25 years (1-11). One stone-free patient (6 %) and three of eight patients (37.5 %) with residual fragments post local chemolysis, developed new stones during follow-up. The often neglected percutaneous chemolysis represents a significant and effective.