Impact of virtual reality on pain management in transrectal MRI-guided prostate biopsy.

Background: The beneficial effect of virtual reality (VR) on pain management in the context of transrectal MRI-guided prostate biopsy is not well established. However, it remains unclear whether an adjunctive of VR also improves pain management. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of VR as adjunctive in pain management in transrectal MRI-guided prostate biopsy (PB). Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the pain intensity incidence in the 153 patients with PB indication (of which 102 were naïve of PB) who were admitted to our hospital since the acquisition of the Healthy Mind virtual reality headset on 19 January 2021. Results: Baseline characteristics of patients who received local anesthesia with 1% lidocaine periprostatic nerve block (PPNB) (Group SOC, N = 78) and patients who received VR associated with PPNB (Group VR, N = 75) were largely similar. One PB with general anesthesia was excluded. The mean pain score at day zero was respectively 3.4 (±2.5) and 2.9 (±2.3) for SOC and VR (p = 0.203). However, the mean pain score at day zero was significantly lower in naïve PB patients with VR [2.7 (±2.0)] than in naïve PB patients with SOC [3.8 (±2.5), p = 0.012] when patients were stratified in PB status. Similar results were found on day 3 for the analysis including naïve-PB patients with SOC vs. with VR [0.4 (±2.5) vs. 0.2 (±2.0); p = 0.023)]. Conclusions: The pain intensity was significantly lower in naïve PB patients with VR than in naïve PB patients with SOC. There were no side effects from VR and tolerability was excellent.

Eliciting men's preferences for decision-making relative to treatments of localized prostate cancer with a good or moderate prognosis.

PURPOSE: In diseases where there is no real consensus regarding treatment modalities, promoting shared decision-making can contribute to improving safety and quality of care. This is the case in low- or intermediate-risk localized prostate cancer (PC) treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the preferences guiding men's decisions regarding the characteristics of the treatment strategies for PC to help physicians adopt a more patient-centered approach. METHODS: This prospective multicenter study used a discrete choice experiment (DCE). The attributes and the modalities were identified from a qualitative study and a literature review. Relative preferences were estimated using a logistic regression model. Interaction terms (demographic, clinical and socio-economic characteristics) were added to the model to assess heterogeneity in preferences. RESULTS: 652 men were enrolled in the study and completed a questionnaire with 12 pairs of hypothetical therapeutic alternatives between which they had to choose. Men's choices were significantly negatively influenced by the risk of impotence and urinary incontinence, death, and the length and frequency of care. They preferred treatments with a rescue possibility in case of deterioration or recurrence and the use of innovative technology. Surprisingly, the possibility of undergoing prostate ablation negatively influenced their choice. The results also highlighted differences in trade-offs according to socio-economic level. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed the importance of considering patients' preferences in the decision-making process. It appears essential to better understand these preferences to allow physicians to improve communication and promote case-by-case decision-making.

Localized chromophobe carcinomas treated by nephron-sparing surgery have excellent oncologic outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the oncologic outcomes of nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) for localized chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (cRCC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a multicenter international study involving the French Network for Research on Kidney Cancer (UroCCR) and 5 international teams. Data from 808 patients treated with NSS between 2004 and 2014 for non-clear cell RCCs were analyzed. RESULTS: We included 234 patients with cRCC. There were 123 (52.6%) females. Median age was 61 (23-88) years. Median tumor size was 3 (1-11)cm. A positive surgical margin was identified in 14 specimens (6%). Pathologic stages were T1, T2, and T3a in 202 (86.3%), 9 (3.8%), and 23 (9.8%) cases, respectively. After a mean follow-up of 46.6 ± 36 months, 2 (0.8%) patients experienced a local recurrence. No patient had metastatic progression, and no patient died from cancer. Three-years estimated cancer-free survival and cancer-specific survival were 99.1% and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Oncological results of NSS for localized cRCC are excellent. In this series, only 2 patients had a local recurrence, and no patient had metastatic progression or died from cancer.

Management of Testicular Silicone Gel-Filled Prosthesis Rupture: Case Report of a Rare Event and a Review of the Literature.

Introduction. We report a case of spontaneous rupture of a single testicular prosthesis in a patient who had undergone bilateral orchiectomy and silicone gel-filled prosthesis insertion. The consequences of this rare event are discussed. There is no management algorithm. Case Presentation. A 55-year-old man presented to our outpatient department with altered consistency in his right testicular prosthesis and a painful right hemiscrotum with no systemic symptoms thirty-three years after the implantation of the prosthesis. We removed this implant without replacement, in accordance with the patient's wishes. Conclusion. The long time between the implantation and the spontaneous rupture is remarkable and was never before described. The removal of the prosthesis was straightforward and it would have been possible to implant a new prosthesis after taking into account the condition of the skin.

Impact of Body Mass Index, Age, Prostate Volume, and Genetic Polymorphisms on Prostate-specific Antigen Levels in a Control Population.

UNLABELLED: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is still the cornerstone of prostate cancer (PCa) screening and diagnosis in both research and current clinical practice. Inaccuracy of PSA is partly due to the influence of a number of genetic, clinical, and biological factors modifying PSA blood levels. In the present study, we detailed the respective influence of each factor among age, body mass index (BMI), prostate volume, and five single-nucleotide polymorphisms-rs10788160 (10q26), rs10993994 (10q11), rs11067228 (12q24), rs17632542 (19q13.33), and rs2928679 (8p21)-on PSA values in a cohort of 1374 men without PCa. Our results show that genetic factors, when risk variants are combined, influence PSA levels with an effect size similar to that of BMI. Taken together, the respective correlations of clinical parameters and genetic parameters would make it possible to correct and adjust PSA values more effectively in each individual. These results establish the basis to understand and implement a more personalised approach for the interpretation of PSA blood levels in the context of PCa screening and diagnosis. PATIENT SUMMARY: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values in an individual may vary according to genetic predisposition. The effect size of this variation can be significant, comparable with those resulting from clinical characteristics. Personalised PSA testing should take this into account.

The subclassification of papillary renal cell carcinoma does not affect oncological outcomes after nephron sparing surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the oncological outcomes of papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC) following nephron sparing surgery (NSS) and to determine whether the subclassification type of pRCC could be a prognostic factor for recurrence, progression, and specific death. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An international multicentre retrospective study involving 19 institutions and the French network for research on kidney cancer was conducted after IRB approval. We analyzed data of all patients with pRCC who were treated by NSS between 2004 and 2014. RESULTS: We included 486 patients. Tumors were type 1 pRCC in 369 (76 %) cases and type 2 pRCC in 117 (24 %) cases. After a mean follow-up of 35 (1-120) months, 8 (1.6 %) patients experienced a local recurrence, 12 (1.5 %) had a metastatic progression, 24 (4.9 %) died, and 7 (1.4 %) died from cancer. Patients with type I pRCC had more grade II (66.3 vs. 46.1 %; p < 0.001) and less grade III (20 vs. 41 %; p < 0.001) tumors. Three-year estimated cancer-free survival (CFS) rate for type 1 pRCC was 96.5 % and for type 2 pRCC was 95.1 % (p = 0.894), respectively. Three-year estimated cancer-specific survival rate for type 1 pRCC was 98.4 % and for type 2 pRCC was 97.3 % (p = 0.947), respectively. Tumor stage superior to pT1 was the only prognostic factor for CFS (HR 3.5; p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Histological subtyping of pRCC has no impact on oncologic outcomes after nephron sparing surgery. In this selected population of pRCC tumors, we found that tumor stage is the only prognostic factor for cancer-free survival.

Management of simple renal cyst in children: French multicenter experience of 36 cases and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: The widespread use of renal ultrasonography has resulted in simple renal cysts (SRC) being discovered with increasing frequency in routine pediatric urological practice. Management of SRC, however, remains controversial. Most SRC are asymptomatic, are diagnosed incidentally, and have no clinical consequence. Our goal was to focus on management strategies for SRC in children with the support of our experience and a review of the literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature review was made of SRC in children since 1950, analyzing epidemiologic data, diagnosis, and management. In addition, a retrospective multicenter study was conducted from 1998 to 2009. Patients included presented with a unique SRC. Data recorded were patient characteristics (age, gender), symptoms, imaging features of the cyst (size, side, pole, and location), type of management, and long-term outcomes. To focus on management, two groups of patients were defined: primary surgical management and primary conservative management consisting of clinical and US follow-up. Our results were compared with the literature. RESULTS: Thirty-six cases were included. Fifteen patients were symptomatic. Comparing the two groups, long-term outcomes were similar. The only significant factors were preoperative (age of the patient, diameter and location of the cyst): the bigger the cyst, the more likely it was to be exorenal, and the greater the likelihood that surgery would be performed (p = 0.006). Symptoms were not a significant indicator for surgery. CONCLUSION: According to the literature and our experience, and considering the benign natural history of SRC and the similar outcomes whatever the treatment, primary conservative management is recommended for all cases. Surgery should be restricted to symptomatic large compressive cysts, increase in cyst size on follow-up, and uncertain diagnosis. Percutaneous cyst aspiration with sclerotherapy has not yet been used enough to ascertain its safety, and requires prospective evaluation.

Capsular incision in normal prostatic tissue during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: a new concept or a waste of time?

PURPOSE: Because radical prostatectomy with robot-assisted surgery can lead to unwanted prostatic capsular incisions, capsular incision in normal prostatic tissue (CINPT) is not rare. To study the relationship between positive surgical margins (PSM) and CINPT after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. METHODS: From September 2009 to January 2013, 203 consecutive robot-assisted prostatectomies were carried out by the same surgeon. A transperitoneal Montsouris technique was used for all cases, but modified to suit the use of the four-arm DaVinci device. The data were recorded prospectively in our database. Preoperative data were patient's age, body mass index, prostate-specific antigen level, prostate weight, percentage of positive biopsy, clinical stage, and Gleason score. Postoperative data were preservation of the bladder neck and neurovascular bundles (NVB), the presence of extended pelvic lymph-node dissection (ePLND), pathological stage, Gleason score, margin status, blood loss, and operative room times. The CINPT and no-CINPT groups were analysed and compared retrospectively. RESULTS: The CINPT rates were 23.2 versus 18.2 % for PSM. CINPT contrary to PSM seemed to be more frequent in low-risk prostate cancer. NVB preservation led to more CINPT (p = 0.01). At the multivariate analysis, only the absence of ePLND significantly affected the CINPT status (p = 0.03) and the absence of CINPT positively affected the PSM rate (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Capsular incision in normal prostatic tissue is not a predictive factor of PSM but reflected risk-taking during surgery especially when NVB preservation is indicated in low-risk prostate cancer. It can therefore only be considered a means to evaluate a surgical technique, but not a real predictor of PSM.

Clinicopathological characteristics of incidental prostate cancer discovered from radical cystoprostatectomy specimen: a multicenter French study.

PURPOSE: The present study assessed the incidence and histopathological features of incidentally diagnosed prostate cancer (PCa) in specimens from radical cystoprostatectomy (RCP) for bladder cancer. The patient outcomes also were evaluated. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the histopathological features and survival data of 4,299 male patients who underwent a RCP for bladder cancer at 25 French centers between January 1996 and June 2012. No patients had preoperative clinical or biological suspicion of PCa. RESULTS: Among the 4,299 RCP specimens, PCa was diagnosed in 931 patients (21.7%). Most tumors (90.1%) were organ-confined (pT2), whereas 9.9% of them were diagnosed at a locally advanced stage (≥pT3). Gleason score was <6 in 129 cases (13.9%), 6 in 575 cases (61.7%), 7 (3 + 4) in 149 cases (16.0%), 7 (4 + 3) in 38 cases (4.1%), and >7 in 40 cases (4.3%). After a median follow-up of 25.5 months (interquartile range 14.2-47.4), 35.4% of patients had bladder cancer recurrence and 23.8% died of bladder cancer. Only 16 patients (1.9%) experienced PCa biochemical recurrence during follow-up, and no preoperative predictive factor was identified. No patients died from PCa. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of incidentally diagnosed PCa in RCP specimens was 21.7%. The majority of these PCas were organ-confined. PCa recurrence occurred in only 1.9% of cases during follow-up.

Robot-assisted or pure laparoscopic nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy: what is the optimal procedure for the surgical margins? A single center experience.

OBJECTIVES: To compare positive surgical margin rates after robot-assisted and pure laparoscopic radical prostatectomy when neurovascular bundles are preserved, and to identify parameters affecting surgical margin status. METHODS: From March 2004 to January 2009, 279 consecutive prostatectomies with preservation of neurovascular bundles were carried out by the same surgeon: 175 robot-assisted radical prostatectomies and 104 laparoscopic radical prostatectomies. An intraperitoneal Montsouris's technique was used for all cases. Patient's age, body mass index, prostate weight, prostate-specific antigen level, clinical stage, preoperative and postoperative Gleason score, percentage of positive biopsies, pathological stage, and positive surgical margin status were prospectively recorded in an institutional database. The two groups were retrospectively analyzed and compared. RESULTS: Positive surgical margin rates were 17% and 13% for the robot-assisted radical prostatectomy and laparoscopic radical prostatectomy group (P = 0.4), respectively. At multivariable analysis, only prostate-specific antigen level and prostate weight significantly affected the surgical margin status, where the type of procedure (robotic vs laparoscopic) did not have any effect. CONCLUSION: In our single-surgeon experience, prostate-specific antigen levels and prostate weight are predictive of positive surgical margin in patients undergoing nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy, whereas there seems to be no difference between the robot-assisted radical prostatectomy and the laparoscopic radical prostatectomy techniques.

Impact of genotyping on outcome of prostatic biopsies: a multicenter prospective study.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been associated with prostate cancer (PCa) risk and tumor aggressiveness in retrospective studies. To assess the value of genotyping in a clinical setting, we evaluated the correlation between three genotypes (rs1447295 and rs6983267[8q24] and rs4054823[17p12]) and prostatic biopsy outcome prospectively in a French population of Caucasian men. Five hundred ninety-eight patients with prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) >4 ng/mL or abnormal digital rectal examination (DRE) participated in this prospective, multicenter study. Age, familial history of PCa, body mass index (BMI), data of DRE, International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS) score, PSA value and prostatic volume were collected prospectively before prostatic biopsy. Correlation between genotypes and biopsy outcome (positive or negative) and Gleason score (≤6 or >6) were studied by univariate and multivariable analysis. rs1447295 and rs6983267 risk variants were found to be associated with the presence of PCa in univariate analysis. rs6983267 genotype remained significantly linked to a positive biopsy (odds ratio [OR] = 1.66, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06-2.59, P = 0.026) in multivariable analysis, but rs1447295 genotype did not (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 0.89-2.43, P = 0.13).When biopsy outcome was stratified according to Gleason score, risk variants of rs1447295 were associated with aggressive disease (Gleason score ≥7) in univariate and multivariable analysis (OR = 2.05 95% CI: 1.10-3.79, P = 0.023). rs6983267 GG genotype was not related to aggressiveness. The results did not reach significance concerning rs4054823 for any analysis. This inaugural prospective evaluation thus confirmed potential usefulness of genotyping PCa assessment. Ongoing clinical evaluation of larger panels of SNPs will detail the actual impact of genetic markers on clinical practice.

Outcome of transcatheter arterial embolization for bladder and prostate hemorrhage.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the efficacy and outcomes of transcatheter arterial embolization for intractable bladder or prostate bleeding after failed conservative treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied the records of 2 women and 18 men with a mean +/- SD age of 73 +/- 17.2 years referred between 1999 and 2008 for selective pelvic angiography after failed conventional therapy. Embolization was feasible in 18 patients, including bilateral and unilateral embolization in 13 and 5, respectively. It consisted of superselective distal particulate or glue embolization of the vesical or prostatic arteries in 11 patients, selective proximal coil or gelatin sponge particle occlusion of the anterior division of the internal iliac artery in 2, the 2 techniques in 3 and coil blockade in 2. Clinical bleeding control and post-embolization angiography findings were used to assess outcomes. RESULTS: The technical success rate was 90% (18 of 20 cases). Bleeding was controlled after the first procedure in 15 of 18 patients (83.3%) and after a repeat procedure in the remaining 3. The periprocedural mortality rate was 20% (4 of 20 patients) and all deaths were related to underlying conditions. No major complications related to catheterization occurred. Late bleeding recurrence was reported in 4 of the 14 survivors (28.6%). Mean post-embolization followup was 16 months (range 15 days to 56 months). During followup 6 more patients died, including 2 of repeat bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: Selective angiographic embolization is safe and effective to control refractory, life threatening bladder or prostate bleeding. This procedure should be considered the treatment of choice since it usually obviates the need for emergency surgery in these severely ill patients.