Diagnosis and Treatment of a Mixed Epithelial Stromal Tumor of the Seminal Vesicle: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review of mixed epithelial stromal tumor of the seminal vesicle (SV) to characterize the diagnosis and treatment of this rare condition. METHODS: "Seminal vesicle mixed epithelial stromal tumor" OR "seminal vesicle cystadenoma" were searched on PubMed/MEDLINE for relevant articles through 6 September 2021. Articles were eligible if they were in English, accessible via our university library services, and if the abstract was concordant with the content of the publication. Reference lists of included articles were reviewed to identify additional relevant articles. RESULTS: In total, 66 articles were identified, of which 34 (N = 36 patients) were included. The most common presenting symptoms were lower urinary tract symptoms (33%, 12/36), dysuria (22%, 8/36), lower abdominal pain (17%, 6/36), and hematuria (17%, 6/36). However, there were eight cases (23%, 8/36) of asymptomatic incidental SV tumors. A biopsy was performed in 47% of cases (17/36), of which 53% (9/17) showed benign findings, 29% (5/17) were inconclusive, and 18% (3/17) SV cystadenoma. Surgical resection was performed using open (57%, 20/35), laparoscopic (26%, 9/35), or robotic (17%, 6/35) techniques. The majority (94%, 34/36) of the SV tumors were low-grade. Long-term follow-up was reported for 15 patients in which two patients (13%, 2/15) had tumor recurrence. CONCLUSION: High rate of inconclusive biopsy of SV tumors suggests that routine biopsy is of questionable utility. Surgical excision frequently relieves symptoms and confirms accurate pathologic diagnosis. After tumor removal, patients should be surveilled with cross-sectional imaging of the pelvis given the possibility of tumor recurrence.

TRAIL-coated leukocytes to kill circulating tumor cells in the flowing blood from prostate cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Radical surgery is the first line treatment for localized prostate cancer (PC), however, several studies have demonstrated that surgical procedures induce tumor cell mobilization from the primary tumor into the bloodstream. METHODS: The number and temporal fluctuations of circulating tumor cells (CTC), cancer associated fibroblasts (CAF) and CTC cluster present in each blood sample was determined. RESULTS: The results show that both CTC and CTC cluster levels significantly increased immediately following primary tumor resection, but returned to baseline within 2 weeks post-surgery. In contrast, the CAF level decreased over time. In patients who experienced PC recurrence within months after resection, CTC, CAF, and cluster levels all increased over time. Based on this observation, we tested the efficacy of an experimental TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-based liposomal therapy ex-vivo to induce apoptosis in CTC in blood. The TRAIL-based therapy killed approximately 75% of single CTCs and CTC in cluster form. CONCLUSION: Collectively, these data indicate that CTC cluster and CAF levels can be used as a predictive biomarker for cancer recurrence. Moreover, for the first time, we demonstrate the efficacy of our TRAIL-based liposomal therapy to target and kill prostate CTC in primary patient blood samples, suggesting a potential new adjuvant therapy to use in combination with surgery.

Risk Factors for Polypropylene Midurethral Sling Extrusion: A Case-Control Study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors associated with surgical revision of midurethral sling (MUS) due to mesh extrusion. MATERIALD AND METHODS: This is a case-control study identifying women who underwent primary surgical revision of polypropylene MUS for vaginal mesh extrusion from 2001 to 2016. Cases of surgical revision were compared to a randomly selected control group in a 1:5 ratio. Patient demographics and clinical characteristics were compared and multivariate logistic regression modeling was performed to analyze the relationships between risk factors and vaginal mesh extrusion. RESULTS: In total, 64 cases were identified and compared to 400 controls. The average subject was 51.7 years old (range, 30-78) with a body mass index (BMI) of 27.9 kg/m2 (range, 23.6-30.2) at the time of surgical revision. The median time to MUS revision was 318 days (interquartile range, 144-1355 days). Surgical revision was associated with current smokers (odds ratio [OR] = 5.43 [95% confidence interval [CI] 2.86, 10.31]), a BMI under 30 kg/m2 (OR = 4.37 [95% CI = 2.05, 9.36]), age under 55 years (OR = 2.02, [95% CI = 1.13, 3.61]), a retropubic sling (OR = 2.10 [95% CI = 1.14, 3.88]), and fibromyalgia (OR = 3.33 [95% CI 1.12, 9.95]). CONCLUSION: Smoking status, age under 55 years, BMI below 30 kg/m2, fibromyalgia, and retropubic approach were factors associated with surgical revision of MUS due to vaginal mesh extrusion. These findings may improve counseling and patient selection.

Strategies to Encourage Medical Student Interest in Urology.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Urology residency positions have steadily increased but applications have remained stagnant. This is an alarming trend given the aging general population and thus increased need for urologists. The purpose of this review is to describe barriers and suggest strategies to encourage medical students to pursue urology. RECENT FINDINGS: Barriers to interest in urology include educational factors, such as timing of exposure to urology in medical school, USMLE scores, research experience, and deciding in time for an early match, as well as socioeconomic barriers, such as cost, being underrepresented in medicine, and gender. Steps the urological community can take include increasing involvement in medical school curricula, increasing faculty mentor availability, and broadening students' range of urological experiences. Strategies to encourage interest in urology fall into three categories: creating interest, supporting interest, and removing barriers for students considering urology. Ultimately, the goal is to garner excellent residents in a field that must expand to meet the needs of a growing and aging population.

Robot-assisted Placement of Pelvic Tissue Expander for Radiation After Prostatectomy and Cystectomy for Treatment of Prostate Cancer Biochemical Recurrence.

OBJECTIVE: To present a robot-assisted surgical technique for overcoming challenges of a patient with prior pelvic surgeries and bowel in the radiation target. METHODS: A 72-year-old male required treatment for biochemically recurrent prostate cancer. In 2006, he presented with Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) 5.74 ng/mL, Gleason 3 + 3 prostate cancer. He underwent a robot-assisted radical prostatectomy for pT2aNx adenocarcinoma with negative margins. In 2008, he was found to have muscle-invasive high-grade papillary urothelial carcinoma and underwent robot-assisted radical cystectomy and ileal conduit for pT2bN0 urothelial carcinoma. In 2017, he had prostate cancer biochemical recurrence, with a PSA of 0.27 ng/mL. Pelvic CT showed small bowel in his prostatic bed behind the pubic bone. A robot-assisted lysis of adhesions and placement of a tissue expander in the prostatic fossa was performed. Three robotic ports and 1 assistant port were utilized. The sigmoid and small bowel were displaced during lysis of adhesions. The deflated tissue expander was inserted through the midline trocar site, inflated intra-abdominally, and filled with 330 cc of saline. The tissue expander was secured with proline sutures in a dependent position. The patient subsequently underwent Intensity-modulated radiation therapy of 66 Gy to the prostatic fossa. Eleven days after finishing intensity-modulated radiation therapy, he underwent successful laparoscopic removal of the tissue expander. PSA nadir was <0.02 ng/mL. RESULTS: The patient tolerated intensity-modulated radiation therapy without complications. There were no gastrointestinal complaints following radiation therapy. CONCLUSION: Robotic placement of a tissue expander in patients who have undergone multiple pelvic surgeries is feasible and may reduce radiation morbidity.

Intermediate follow-up after endovascular aneurysm repair: can we forgo CT scanning in certain patients?

Current recommendations for follow-up after endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms (EVAR) include yearly computed tomographic (CT) scans after the first year. We hypothesize that this is unnecessary for patients who have aneurysm sacs that are stable or shrinking at 1 year and no evidence of endoleak. To explore this hypothesis, we reviewed the records of all patients undergoing EVAR at our institution who were implanted with grafts that are currently commercially available and had a minimum of 18 months' follow-up. Of 415 patients who underwent EVAR over an 8-year period, 93 met the entry criteria. At a mean follow-up of approximately 3 years, secondary interventions were required in 13%, 39%, and 25% of patients undergoing EVAR with Zenith, AneuRx, and Excluder devices, respectively, and secondary interventions after the first year were required in 3%, 22%, and 8% of such grafts, respectively. Seventy-one patients (76%) had aneurysm sacs that were stable or shrinking at 1 year and no endoleak. Only two of these patients subsequently required reintervention. Both patients had AneuRx grafts, and both problems could have easily been identified without CT scanning. Our data support the hypothesis that patients who meet these criteria at 1 year are unlikely to have problems that cannot be identified by ultrasound and/or clinical evaluation alone and, thus, that CT scans are not necessary after this point, especially in patients with Zenith or reengineered Excluder devices.