Cardiovascular disease risk assessment and multidisciplinary care in prostate cancer treatment with ADT: recommendations from the APMA PCCV expert network.

PURPOSE: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the mainstay approach for prostate cancer (PCa) management. However, the most commonly used ADT modality, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: The PCa Cardiovascular (PCCV) Expert Network, consisting of multinational urologists, cardiologists and oncologists with expertise in managing PCa, convened to discuss challenges to routine cardiovascular risk assessment in PCa management, as well as how to mitigate such risks in the current treatment landscape. RESULTS: The experts identified several barriers, including lack of awareness, time constraints, challenges in implementing risk assessment tools and difficulties in establishing multidisciplinary teams that include cardiologists. The experts subsequently provided practical recommendations to improve cardio-oncology care for patients with PCa receiving ADT, such as simplifying cardiovascular risk assessment, individualising treatment based on CVD risk categories, establishing multidisciplinary teams and referral networks and fostering active patient engagement. A streamlined cardiovascular risk-stratification tool and a referral/management guide were developed for seamless integration into urologists' practices and presented herein. The PCCV Expert Network agreed that currently available evidence indicates that GnRH antagonists are associated with a lower risk of CVD than that of GnRH agonists and that GnRH antagonists are preferred for patients with PCa and a high CVD risk. CONCLUSION: In summary, this article provides insights and guidance to improve management for patients with PCa undergoing ADT.

A huge pelvic calculus causing acute renal failure.

We present a 69-year-old man with repeated urinary tract infection and lower abdominal pain. Kidney-ureter-bladder (KUB) scout film showed a huge, 320-g triangular pelvic calculus that was surgically removed with excellent results. Bladder stone is a common disease, but it is rare for such a calculus to be so large as to cause bilateral hydronephrosis. Surgical intervention by cystolithotomy or endoscopic cystolithotripsy can achieve satisfactory results. Bladder outlet obstruction should be treated simultaneously. Close follow-up, however, is mandatory because the recurrence of urolithiasis is high in those patients with voiding problems and recurrent urinary infection. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest bladder stone in a human male. This case report also illustrates the importance of radiologic evaluation of patients with repeated urinary infections.