The impact of day of surgery on the length of stay for major urological procedures.

INTRODUCTION: Surgery performed later in the week has been associated with longer length of stay (LOS). The aim of this study was to assess if the day of the surgery impacted the LOS for two major urological procedures in a tertiary referral university teaching hospital. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of two major urological procedures consecutively performed by a single surgeon in our unit from March 2012 to December 2015. Patient demographics, histopathological characteristics, operative details, and LOS were obtained from the patients' medical records. Procedures performed on Monday or Tuesday were defined as early in the week and procedures performed on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday were defined as late in the week. RESULTS: During the study period, 140 open radical prostatectomy (ORP) and 42 open partial nephrectomy (OPN) procedures were performed. There was a significant difference in median LOS for major urological procedures performed early in the week compared to late in the week (3 [3-4] days vs. 4 [4-5] days; p= 0.0001). There was a significant difference in median LOS for ORP performed early in the week compared to late in the week (3 [3-4] days vs. 4 [4-5] days; p= 0.0004). There was a similar significant difference in OPN performed early in the week compared to late in the week (4 [3-5.5] days vs. 5 [4-5] days; p= 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: The day of surgery impacts LOS for major urological procedures. Major procedures should be performed early in the week, when it is feasible to facilitate prompt safe discharge and better use of hospital resources.

Association of cancer with moderately impaired renal function at baseline in a large, representative, population-based cohort followed for up to 30 years.

Patients with chronic renal failure show a greater incidence of malignancies. We evaluated whether moderately impaired renal function at baseline influenced risk of all cancers during long-term follow in young persons. Our cohort included 33,346 subjects, aged 26-61 years at baseline, in a representative, population-based study enrolling subjects from 1974 to 1992. Median follow-up time was 28 years. Plasma creatinine was analyzed as a single measure at baseline. Incident cases of cancer were identified from the Swedish Cancer Registry. We studied 24,552 subjects from the cohort. To account for the unique sampling design, participants were divided by sex and age at baseline into 1,132 older men (age 60), 14,254 younger men (age 40-52), 7,498 older women (age 47-57) and 1,688 younger women (age 35-43). Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated using the CKD-EPI formula. Patients were classified as having either normal to mildly impaired kidney function (eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) ), or moderate kidney dysfunction (eGFR<60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) ). We calculated the risk of all cancers using competing risks regression. Overall, 6,595 participants were diagnosed with cancer, and 854 subjects (3.5%) had moderately impaired renal dysfunction at baseline. There was a significant association between moderately decreased GFR and subsequent risk of kidney cancer in younger men (hazard ratio, 3.38; 95% CI, 1.48 to 7.71; p = 0.004). However, we found no association with overall long-term cancer risk. Our confirmation of an association between moderately impaired renal function and risk of kidney cancer in younger men requires further exploration of high-risk groups and biological mechanisms.

Is simple nephrectomy truly simple? Comparison with the radical alternative.

BACKGROUND: The Oxford English dictionary defines the term "simple" as "easily done" and "uncomplicated". We tested the validity of this terminology in relation to open nephrectomy surgery. METHODS: Retrospective review of 215 patients undergoing open, simple (n = 89) or radical (n = 126) nephrectomy in a single university-affiliated institution between 1998 and 2002. Operative time (OT), estimated blood loss (EBL), operative complications (OC) and length of stay in hospital (LOS) were analysed. Statistical analysis employed Fisher's exact test and Stata Release 8.2. RESULTS: Simple nephrectomy was associated with shorter OT (mean 126 vs. 144 min; p = 0.002), reduced EBL (mean 729 vs. 859 cc; p = 0.472), lower OC (9 vs. 17%; 0.087), and more brief LOS (mean 6 vs. 8 days; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: All parameters suggest favourable outcome for the simple nephrectomy group, supporting the use of this terminology. This implies "simple" nephrectomies are truly easier to perform with less complication than their radical counterpart.

Evaluation of prediagnostic prostate-specific antigen dynamics as predictors of death from prostate cancer in patients treated conservatively.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) dynamics have been proposed to predict outcome in men with prostate cancer. We assessed the value of PSA velocity (PSAV) and PSA doubling time (PSADT) for predicting prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) in men with clinically localized prostate cancer undergoing conservative management or early hormonal therapy. From 1990 to 1996, 2,333 patients were identified, of whom 594 had two or more PSA values before diagnosis. We examined 12 definitions for PSADT and 10 for PSAV. Because each definition required PSA measurements at particular intervals, the number of patients eligible for each definition varied from 40 to 594 and number of events from 10 to 119. Four PSAV definitions, but no PSADT, were significantly associated with PCSM after adjustment for PSA in multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression. All four could be calculated only for a proportion of events, and the enhancements in predictive accuracy associated with PSAV had very wide confidence intervals. There was no clear benefit of PSAV in men with low PSA and Gleason grade 6 or less. Although evidence that certain PSAV definitions help to predict PCSM in the cohort exist, the value of incorporating PSAV in predictive models to assist in determining eligibility for conservative management is, at best, uncertain.

Update on the management of T1 renal cortical tumours.

There are a range of treatment strategies for the management of patients with small incidental renal cortical tumours including active surveillance, radiofrequency ablation, cryotherapy, radical nephrectomy and partial nephrectomy. A large number of such tumours are benign and might therefore be over-treated with radical nephrectomy. There are emergent short-term oncological and clinical outcomes for cryotherapy and radiofrequency ablation, and recent studies have illustrated the benefits of partial nephrectomy for minimizing the risk of progression to chronic kidney disease. The outcomes of these different treatment methods are discussed.

Prostate specific antigen velocity does not aid prostate cancer detection in men with prior negative biopsy.

PURPOSE: Prostate specific antigen velocity has been proposed as a marker to aid in prostate cancer detection. We determined whether prostate specific antigen velocity could predict repeat biopsy results in men with persistently increased prostate specific antigen after initial negative biopsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified 1,837 men who participated in the Göteborg or Rotterdam section of the European Randomized Screening study of Prostate Cancer and who underwent 1 or more subsequent prostate biopsies after an initial negative finding. We evaluated whether prostate specific antigen velocity improved predictive accuracy beyond that of prostate specific antigen alone. RESULTS: Of the 2,579 repeat biopsies 363 (14%) were positive for prostate cancer, of which 44 (1.7%) were high grade (Gleason score 7 or greater). Prostate specific antigen velocity was statistically associated with cancer risk but had low predictive accuracy (AUC 0.55, p <0.001). There was some evidence that prostate specific antigen velocity improved AUC compared to prostate specific antigen for high grade cancer. However, the small increase in risk associated with high prostate specific antigen velocity (from 1.7% to 2.8% as velocity increased from 0 to 1 ng/ml per year) had questionable clinical relevance. CONCLUSIONS: Men with prior negative biopsy are at lower risk for prostate cancer at subsequent biopsies with high grade disease particularly rare. We found little evidence to support prostate specific antigen velocity to aid in decisions about repeat biopsy for prostate cancer.

Partial nephrectomy for selected renal cortical tumours of ≥ 7 cm.

OBJECTIVE: To examine our institutional experience in patients treated with partial nephrectomy (PN) for renal cortical tumours (RCTs) of ≥ 7 cm, as PN is an accepted surgical approach for appropriate RCTs of < 7 cm but there are limited data on the use of PN for larger tumours. PATIENTS AND METHODS: After Institutional Review Board approval, we examined our prospectively collected surgical database for patients treated with PN for RCTs of ≥ 7 cm between 1989 and 2008. Pertinent demographic, clinical, surgical and pathological data were reviewed. RESULTS: In all, 34 patients (37 renal units) were identified for analysis with a median (interquartile range, IQR) age of 63 (52-71) years, median (IQR) tumour size of 7.5 (7.2-9.0) cm with the largest tumour being 19 cm. In 31 renal units (28 patients, 84%) carcinoma was evident, with 16 renal units (43%) having conventional clear cell carcinoma, followed by papillary in eight renal units (21%). Currently, 20 of these 28 patients (71%) are disease free, three are alive with metastatic disease (two had known preoperative metastatic disease), three died from disease and two died from other causes. The median (IQR) preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate was 65 (55-73) mL/min/1.73 m(2) , compared with 55 (47-74) mL/min/1.73 m(2) after PN (P= 0.003, paired Student's t-test). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that PN for RCTs of ≥ 7 cm can be safely performed and provide effective tumour control for selected patients. PN should be considered for patients with appropriate tumours, solitary kidneys or pre-existing renal insufficiency.

Prostate-specific antigen velocity for early detection of prostate cancer: result from a large, representative, population-based cohort.

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that changes in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) over time (ie, PSA velocity [PSAV]) aid prostate cancer detection. Some guidelines do incorporate PSAV cut points as an indication for biopsy. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether PSAV enhances prediction of biopsy outcome in a large, representative, population-based cohort. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: There were 2742 screening-arm participants with PSA <3 ng/ml at initial screening in the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer in Rotterdam, Netherlands, or Göteborg, Sweden, and who were subsequently biopsied during rounds 2-6 due to elevated PSA. MEASUREMENTS: Total, free, and intact PSA and human kallikrein 2 were measured for 1-6 screening rounds at intervals of 2 or 4 yr. We created logistic regression models to predict prostate cancer based on age and PSA, with or without free-to-total PSA ratio (%fPSA). PSAV was added to each model and any enhancement in predictive accuracy assessed by area under the curve (AUC). RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: PSAV led to small enhancements in predictive accuracy (AUC of 0.569 vs 0.531; 0.626 vs 0.609 if %fPSA was included), although not for high-grade disease. The enhancement depended on modeling a nonlinear relationship between PSAV and cancer. There was no benefit if we excluded men with higher velocities, which were associated with lower risk. These results apply to men in a screening program with elevated PSA; men with prior negative biopsy were not evaluated in this study. CONCLUSIONS: In men with PSA of about ≥3 ng/ml, we found little justification for formal calculation of PSAV or for use of PSAV cut points to determine biopsy. Informal assessment of PSAV will likely aid clinical judgment, such as a sudden rise in PSA suggesting prostatitis, which could be further evaluated before biopsy.

Prostate kallikrein markers in diagnosis, risk stratification and prognosis.

The kallikrein, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), is one of the world's most frequently used disease biomarkers. After almost two decades of research and clinical experience, the diagnostic and monitoring limitations of PSA are beginning to be understood. Most physicians are aware of PSA's low specificity for cancer among older men with benign prostatic conditions; fewer are aware of recent data, which show that a prior negative biopsy or a prior PSA value below the threshold for biopsy might compromise the predictive accuracy of PSA even further. Furthermore, a subtle increase in serum PSA level during early middle age is strongly correlated with clinically important prostate cancer. We review current and past reports on the prostate kallikreins PSA and hK2 in relation to pathology and epidemiology.

Systematic review of pretreatment prostate-specific antigen velocity and doubling time as predictors for prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: Pretreatment prostate-specific antigen (PSA) dynamics (PSA velocity and PSA doubling time) are widely advocated as useful prognostic markers in prostate cancer. We aimed to assess the published evidence for the clinical utility of PSA dynamics in this population. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of studies published before March 2007 in which a PSA dynamic (velocity or doubling time) was calculated in patients before definitive treatment, a subsequent event (such as biopsy or recurrence) was ascertained, and the association between the two was analyzed. Our principal end point was the type of analysis reported, particularly whether the predictive accuracy of a statistical model that included both absolute PSA level and a PSA dynamic was compared with that of a model that included only PSA. RESULTS: Eighty-seven articles were eligible for analysis. The most common end points were biopsy (42 articles), and either recurrence (14 articles) or metastases or death (14 articles) after definitive therapy. Although PSA dynamics were generally found to be associated with outcome, only one article compared predictive accuracy of models with and without a PSA dynamic: this reported that PSA velocity improved prediction slightly (from 0.81 to 0.83), but was subject to verification bias. No article used decision analytic methods to examine the clinical impact of PSA dynamics. CONCLUSION: There is little evidence that calculation of PSA velocity or doubling time in untreated patients provides predictive information beyond that provided by absolute PSA level alone. We see no justification for the use of PSA dynamics in clinical decision making before treatment in early-stage prostate cancer.