Combination of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging and transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsies is not enough for identifying patients eligible for hemiablative focal therapy for prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: To evaluate focal therapy (hemiablation) eligibility in men undergoing prostate biopsy and multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) with reference to histopathology from radical prostatectomy (RP) specimens. METHODS: Subjects were selected among 810 men who underwent prostate biopsy, mpMRI, and RP from January 2016 to December 2017. Hemiablation eligibility criteria were biopsy-proven unilateral cancer, prostate-specific antigen ≤ 15 ng/ml, and Gleason score (GS) ≤ 3 + 4. Evidence of non-organ-confined disease or Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System score ≥ 4 on the contralateral lobe on mpMRI was classified as ineligible for hemiablation. Of the 810, data for 185 who met the screening criteria were compared to final pathology findings. Significant cancer at RP was defined as any of the following: (1) GS 6 with tumor volume ≥ 0.5 ml; (2) GS ≥ 3 + 4; or (3) the presence of advanced stage (≥ pT3). RESULTS: Among the 185 candidates for hemiablation, 62 (33.5%) had unilateral cancer on final RP histopathology. Among the 123 bilateral cancers, 50 (27%) were organ confined and had GS ≤ 3 + 4 = 7 and bilateral multifocal tumor in which the index tumor was confined to one lobe and the secondary tumor in the contralateral lobe had tumor volume < 0.5 ml and GS ≤ 6. A total of 112 (60.5%) patients in this series were considered suitable for hemiablation. Significant cancer on biopsy and mpMRI-negative lobes were found in 72 (38.9%) of 185 lobes, including 1 (0.5%) with advanced stage. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of standard prostate biopsy and mpMRI did not accurately identify lobes that could be considered as non-treated regions.

RFA versus robotic partial nephrectomy for T1a renal cell carcinoma: a propensity score-matched comparison of mid-term outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To compare oncological and functional mid-term outcomes following robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for treating T1a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) using propensity score-matching. METHODS: Between December 2008-April 2016, 63 patients from each treatment group were propensity score-matched for age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, tumour size, tumour laterality, tumour histology, R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score and preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Post-treatment follow-up periods for RPN and RFA ranged from 1-90 months (median, 24.6) and 1-65 months (21), respectively. Tumour location, percentage of eGFR preservation and 2-year recurrence-free survival rate were compared between groups. RESULTS: Exophytic and endophytic RCC occurred in 73.0 % (46/63) and 27.0 % (17/63) of the RPN group, and 52.4 % (33/63) and 47.6 % (30/63) of the RFA group, respectively (p=0.017). There was 91.7 % preservation of eGFR in the RPN group and 86.8 % in the RFA group (p=0.088). Two-year recurrence-free survival rate was 100 % in the RPN and 95.2 % in the RFA group (p=0.029). CONCLUSIONS: RPN provides a higher recurrence-free survival rate than RFA. However, RFA is a better treatment option for an endophytic or recurrent RCC that is difficult to treat with RPN. KEY POINTS: • RPN provides a higher recurrence-free survival rate than RFA. • Unlike RPN, repeat RFA is easy to perform for recurrent RCC. • Endophytic RCC could be better treated with RFA.

Association between diabetes mellitus and oncological outcomes in bladder cancer patients undergoing radical cystectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between diabetes mellitus and oncological outcomes in urothelial bladder cancer patients undergoing radical cystectomy. METHODS: From January 2004 to December 2014, 200 non-metastatic urothelial bladder cancer patients who underwent radical cystectomy were divided into two groups according to diabetes mellitus status at the time of surgery. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analysis were used to assess the association between diabetes mellitus and urothelial bladder cancer recurrence-free, cancer-specific and overall mortality. RESULTS: Of the 200 patients, 28 (14%) had diabetes mellitus and presented similar preoperative factors and pathological findings after radical cystectomy, including pathological stage, grade, lymph node invasion and positive surgical margin compared with non-diabetes mellitus patients (n = 172). The 5-year cancer-specific survivals were 92.3% and 62.1% in the non-diabetes mellitus and diabetes mellitus groups, respectively (P = 0.022). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that diabetes mellitus was a significant predictor for cancer-specific mortality (hazard ratio 1.785, P = 0.038). The 5-year overall survival rate was 92.1% and 59.4% in the non-diabetes mellitus and diabetes mellitus groups, respectively (P = 0.014), and diabetes mellitus was a significant factor for overall mortality by multivariate Cox regression analysis (hazard ratio 1.281, P = 0.042). CONCLUSIONS: Among bladder cancer patients who underwent radical cystectomy, the diabetes mellitus patients had worse cancer-specific mortality and overall mortality outcomes than the non-diabetes mellitus patients. The mechanism of association between diabetes mellitus and urothelial bladder cancer should be investigated to validate the present results in a future prospective study.

ISL1 promotes enzalutamide resistance in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) through epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT).

Abnormal expression of insulin gene enhancer-binding protein 1 (ISL1) has been demonstrated to be closely associated with cancer development and progression in several cancers. However, little is known about ISL1 expression in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). ISL1 has also been recognized as a positive modulator of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In this study, we focused on ISL1 which showed maximum upregulation at the mRNA level in the enzalutamide-resistant cell line. Accordingly, we found that ISL1 was overexpressed in enzalutamide-resistant C4-2B cells and its expression was significantly related to EMT. Our findings reveal the important role of ISL1 in androgen receptor (AR)-dependent prostate cancer cell growth; ISL1 knockdown reduced the AR activity and cell growth. ISL1 knockdown using small-interfering RNA inhibited AR, PSA, and EMT-related protein expression in C4-2B ENZR cells. In addition, knock-down ISL1 reduced the levels of AKT and p65 phosphorylation in C4-2B ENZR cells and these suggest that knock-down ISL1 suppresses EMT in part by targeting the AKT/NF-κB pathway. Further, ISL1 downregulation could effectively inhibit tumor growth in a human CRPC xenograft model. Together, the present study shows that downregulation of ISL1 expression is necessary for overcoming enzalutamide resistance and improving the survival of CRPC patients.

Effect of the dual 5alpha-reductase inhibitor, dutasteride, on serum testosterone and body mass index in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of dutasteride on serum testosterone level and body mass index (BMI) in men who received medical therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). PATIENTS AND METHODS: In all, 120 patients with BPH were randomized to three treatment groups: tamsulosin 0.2 mg/day (alpha-blocker group), dutasteride 0.5 mg/day (dutasteride group), or tamsulosin 0.2 mg plus dutasteride 0.5 mg/day (combination group) for 1 year. For all patients the BMI and serum testosterone levels were checked at baseline and after 1 year of treatment. RESULTS: Among the evaluable 107 patients, the dutasteride (33) and combination groups (37) had significantly greater increases in serum testosterone level (16.3% and 15%, respectively) than the alpha-blocker group (37; 0.3%) after 1 year of treatment (both P < 0.001). When analysed by baseline serum testosterone tertile, the increases in serum testosterone level among the dutasteride and combination group were greatest in the lowest tertile. For BMI, the dutasteride and combination group had mean decreases of 0.17 and 0.20 kg/m(2), respectively, at 1 year, whereas the alpha-blocker group had a mean increase of 0.04 kg/m(2). The decreases in BMI for the dutasteride and combination group were statistically significant only in the lowest tertile (P = 0.048 and 0.010, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our results show that dutasteride treatment in men with BPH led to a significant increase in serum testosterone level and a significant decrease in BMI among those with relatively lower baseline serum testosterone levels.

Non-invasive parameters predicting bladder outlet obstruction in Korean men with lower urinary tract symptoms.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the clinical and urodynamic features in Korean men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and to determine non-invasive parameters for predicting bladder outlet obstruction (BOO). Four hundred twenty nine Korean men with LUTS over 50 yr of age underwent clinical evaluations for LUTS including urodynamic study. The patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of BOO. These two groups were compared with regard to age, the results of the uroflowmetry, serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, prostate volume, International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS), and the results of the urodynamic study. Patients with BOO had a lower maximal flow rate (Q(max)), lower voided volume, higher serum PSA level and larger prostate volume (P<0.05). BOO group had a significantly higher rate of involuntary detrusor contraction and poor compliance compared to the patients without BOO (P<0.05). The multivariate analysis showed that Q(max) and poor compliance were significant factors for predicting BOO. Our results show that Q(max) plays a significant role in predicting BOO in Korean men with LUTS. In addition, BOO is significantly associated with detrusor dysfunction, therefore, secondary bladder dysfunction must be emphasized in the management of male patients with LUTS.

Detection of prostate cancer using prostate imaging reporting and data system score and prostate-specific antigen density in biopsy-naive and prior biopsy-negative patients.

BACKGROUND: Few studies report on indications for prostate biopsy using Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) score and prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD). No study to date has included biopsy-naïve and prior biopsy-negative patients. Therefore, we evaluated the predictive values of the PI-RADS, version 2 (v2) score combined with PSAD to decrease unnecessary biopsies in biopsy-naïve and prior biopsy-negative patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1,098 patients who underwent multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging at our hospital before a prostate biopsy and who underwent their second prostate biopsy with an initial benign negative prostatic biopsy were included. We found factors associated with clinically significant prostate cancer (csPca). We assessed negative predictive values by stratifying biopsy outcomes by prior biopsy history and PI-RADS score combined with PSAD. RESULTS: The median age was 65 years (interquartile range: 59-70), and the median PSA was 5.1 ng/mL (interquartile range: 3.8-7.1). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age, prostate volume, PSAD, and PI-RADS score were independent predictors of csPca. In a biopsy-naïve group, 4% with PI-RADS score 1 or 2 had csPca; in a prior biopsy-negative group, 3% with PI-RADS score 1 or 2 had csPca. The csPca detection rate was 2.0% for PSA density <0.15 ng/mL/mL and 4.0% for PSA density 0.15-0.3 ng/mL/mL among patients with PI-RADS score 3 in a biopsy-naïve group. The csPca detection rate was 1.8% for PSA density <0.15 ng/mL/mL and 0.15-0.3 ng/mL/mL among patients with PI-RADS score 3 in a prior biopsy-negative group. CONCLUSION: Patients with PI-RADS v2 score ≤2, regardless of PSA density, may avoid unnecessary biopsy. Patients with PI-RADS score 3 may avoid unnecessary biopsy through PSA density results.

Comparison of Cancer Detection Rates Between TRUS-Guided Biopsy and MRI-Targeted Biopsy According to PSA Level in Biopsy-Naive Patients: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study was to compare cancer detection rates between 12-core transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy (TRUS-Bx) and multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI)-guided target prostate biopsy (MRI-TBx) according to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level in biopsy-naive patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in 2009 biopsy-naive patients with suspected prostate cancer (PSA ≤20 ng/mL). Patients underwent TRUS-Bx (n = 1786) or MRI-guided target prostate biopsy (MRI-TBx; n = 223) from September 2013 to March 2017 and were stratified according to each of 4 PSA cutoffs. MRI-TBx was performed on lesions with Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) scores of 3 to 5 on mpMRI. Clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) was defined as Gleason ≥7. Propensity score matching was performed using the prebiopsy variables, which included age, PSA, prostate volume, and PSA density. RESULTS: Propensity score matching resulted in 222 patients in each group. There were significant differences between the TRUS-Bx and MRI-TBx groups in the overall detection rates of prostate cancer (41.4% vs. 55.4%; P = .003) and csPCa (30.1% vs. 42.8%; P = .005). However, across PSA cutoffs, MRI-TBx detected more prostate cancer than TRUS-Bx at PSA levels of 2.5 to <4 (29.5% vs. 56.6%; P < .001). The csPCa detection rates of TRUS-Bx and MRI-TBx did not differ significantly within the PSA cutoffs. There was a significantly higher detection rate of prostate cancer and csPCa in lesions with PI-RADS scores 4 and 5 than in those with a score of 3. CONCLUSION: Prebiopsy mpMRI and subsequent targeted biopsy had a higher detection rate than TRUS-Bx in patients with prostate cancer and csPCa.

Preventive effects of green tea (Camellia sinensis var. assamica) on diabetic nephropathy.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the preventive effects of Camellia sinensis var. assamica (CSVA) on diabetic nephropathy in in vitro and in vivo models. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MDCK cells were incubated with 1 mM of oxalate with or without different concentrations of CSVA, then MTT and malondialdehyde (MDA) assays were performed to investigate the preventive effects of CSVA on oxalate-induced cytotoxicity and oxidative stress. Thirty male db/db mice were divided into three groups. Group 1 were fed AIN-93G ad libitum; group 2 were fed AIN-93G mixed with 10% fermented CSVA ad libitum; group 3 were fed AIN-93G mixed with 10% non-fermented CSVA ad libitum. The mice were sacrificed 14 weeks later, and the serum glucose level, 24-hour urine chemistry, and morphological changes in the kidneys were examined. RESULTS: As CSVA concentrations increased, viable MDCK cells increased in concentration. MDA production decreased over time in the CSVA treated group. The creatinine clearance of group 3 was lower than those of groups 1 and 2. The amount of urine microalbumin and protein in group 1 were higher than those in groups 2 and 3. Also, more glomerulus basement membrane foot processes were preserved in groups 2 and 3. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, CSVA has beneficial preventive tendencies towards diabetic nephropathy in both in vitro and in vivo models.

Laparoendoscopic single-site nephrectomy using a homemade single-port device for single-system ectopic ureter in a child: initial case report.

A 3-year-old girl with a history of continuous urinary incontinence was found to have a right single-system ectopic ureter. She underwent laparoendoscopic single-site nephrectomy without any intraoperative or postoperative complications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of a laparoendoscopic single-site nephrectomy for single-system ectopic ureter in a child.