[Right-sided or left-sided donor nephrectomy-is this really relevant?] / Rechts- oder linksseitige Donornephrektomie ­ ist das wirklich relevant?

BACKGROUND: In the context of living donation, the protection of the donor and the outcome are very important aspects. However, the side selection of the donor nephrectomy is also decisive. In this work, the basics of side selection and the question of whether there are differences regarding the left-sided or right-sided donor nephrectomy are considered. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Living kidney donation data of our center between December 2004 and July 2019 were evaluated in terms of withdrawal side, complications and outcome, as well as the current literature in PubMed. Finally, the results from our center are compared with the current literature. RESULTS: During the investigation period, 152 live donations were carried out in our center. In these cases 66 patients had a left-sided and in 86 cases a right-sided donor nephrectomy. One transplant vein thrombosis occurred in each group. Complications and outcome were similar for the recipient in both groups. It was noticed in the current literature that generally more left-sided donor nephrectomies are performed, most likely due to the preference of the surgeon. Although a low significantly increased risk of transplant vein thrombosis after right-sided donor nephrectomy is described, all authors agree that right-sided donor nephrectomy is a safe procedure with good outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Our own results and the current literature show that the right-sided donor nephrectomy is a safe procedure with only a slightly increased risk of complications compared to the left side and therefore can be recommended. It is clearly safe for the donor and organ, with an equivalent outcome for the recipient. The results are also dependent on the experience of the surgeon.

[Current political aspects of transplantation medicine in Germany: Organ donation in contradiction?] / Aktuelle politische Aspekte der Transplantationsmedizin in Deutschland: Organspende im Widerspruch?

Despite the claimed high organ donation willingness in Germany, the real numbers for organ donation are far below the international average. About 8000 patients in Germany are waiting for a transplant kidney, of which only a fraction, after years of waiting, can be treated with a suitable transplant. Further changes to the transplantation law to improve organ donation in Germany were recently adopted. However, it remains the demand for a reorganization of organ donation towards the opting out solution. The political decision on this is at the time of delivery of the article.

[Knowledge and early detection of testicular germ cell cancer among adolescents and young adults]. / Kenntnisstand und Früherkennung maligner Keimzelltumoren des Hodens unter Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen.

INTRODUCTION: Malignant testicular germ cell tumors are the most common tumor disease in young men, affecting not only the period of his reproductive phase but also creating a complex life situation. Therapy includes the risk of development of second neoplasia and sequelae. However, particularly in this age group, knowledge about this disease and risk factors is sparse, and preventive examinations are not available or are not or insufficiently used. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In order to evaluate the state of knowledge on testicular tumors in adolescents, a knowledge survey was conducted at 6 high schools in Hamburg from January to April 2019 among pupils of grades 11 and 12. This was carried out with a questionnaire comprising 15 items, which was analyzed and also evaluated on a gender-specific basis. Only fully completed questionnaires were considered. RESULTS: The overall proportion of correctly answered questions was 60.04%. Broken down by gender, the proportion was 60.18% for female pupils and 59.14% for male pupils, while the gender ratio was 52.2 and 47.8% for female pupils. Special questions on testicular tumors were answered correctly by 59.71% of the female students and 54.8% of the male students, while general questions on the structure and function of the male sexual organs were answered 4.51% better by the male students with 64.9%. These were statistically significant in both cases. CONCLUSION: The survey shows a gender-specific knowledge deficit on testicular tumors, which is more pronounced among boys. As intensified knowledge transfer on this topic alone is insufficient, a preventive examination should be established especially for boys. This would enable individual, risk-commensurate and needs-adapted monitoring and early detection of testicular tumor disease, but also of other health issues in male adolescents.

[Innovations in personalized medicine : Molecular characterization of liquid biopsy-fake or fact?] / Innovation in der individualisierten Medizin : Molekulare Charakterisierung der "liquid biopsy" ­ Fake oder Fakt?

The molecular characterization of biomarkers will be fundamental for personalized medicine. New therapeutic targets have been identified in urological tumors (mainly in prostate cancer) and are currently being investigated in clinical trials. Tissue biopsies are associated with high costs, morbidity of the biopsy sample, and only allow analysis of a point-shaped part of the tumor. The liquid biopsy of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) are noninvasive ways to detect specific changes in the tumor. There are still a few challenges to overcome, e. g., the stability and origin of the CTCs and cfDNA. The detection methods are not yet standardized which makes quality management more difficult. The main applications of liquid biopsy have led to a boom in the field of molecular diagnostics, which does not always have to do with the extended understanding of the individual analytes, but much more on the better sensitivity of the technologies. Despite the tremendous progress made in recent years in the field of liquid biopsy, this has not led to clinical implementation. There is still a lack of validated treatment guidelines in which the results of liquid biopsies can be integrated.

[Radiation cystitis : Pathophysiology and treatment]. / Radiogen bedingte Zystitis : Pathophysiologie und Therapie.

Radiation cystitis (RC) is a common side-effect of radiation to the pelvis. Their clinical appearance as well as their degree of expression is manifold, as are the therapeutic options. However, in the absence of randomized examinations, recommendations are difficult. We differentiate between oral, systemic therapies, intravesical instillations and interventions as well as interventional, radiological and, as an ultima ratio, surgical treatments. This article provides an overview of the different treatment options with particular emphasis on the conservative-interventional therapy options.

Homozygous G/G variant of SNP309 in the human MDM2 gene is associated with earlier tumor onset in Caucasian female renal cell carcinoma patients.

Human mouse double minute 2 (Mdm2) plays an essential role in the regulation of the tumor suppressor p53. The G/G variant of SNP309 was shown to increase Mdm2 mRNA/protein expression and to be associated with an increased risk and earlier onset of different cancers in Asian populations. However, the frequency and impact of these G/G variants have not been studied in Caucasian renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients. Therefore, we analyzed an unselected German cohort of 197 consecutive RCC patients and detected the G/G variant in 18 (9.1%) patients, the G/T variant in 116 (58.9%) patients and the T/T variant in 63 (32.0%) patients. Studying the association between age at tumor onset and SNP309 genotypes, no correlation was detected in the entire RCC cohort or among the male RCC patients. However, the female G/G patients (median age 59.5 years) were diagnosed 13.5 years earlier than the T/T females (median age 73 years). When separating all females into two groups at their median age (68 years), 7 and 1 patients with the G/G variant and 9 and 13 patients with the T/T variant were noted in these age groups (P=0.024). To study the age dependency of tumor onset further, a second, age-selected cohort of 205 RCC patients was investigated, which comprised especially young and old patients. Interestingly, the G/G type occurred more often at lower tumor stages and tumor grades compared with higher stages (P=0.039 and 0.004, respectively). In females, the percentage of the G/G variant was only slightly higher in the younger age group, whereas in males, the percentage of the G/G variant was remarkably higher in the younger age group (19.4% vs 8.0%). In summary, female Caucasian RCC patients with the MDM2 SNP309 G/G genotype showed significantly earlier tumor onset than patients with the wild-type T/T genotype.

[Living kidney donation - an overview]. / Lebendnierenspende - ein aktueller Überblick.

BACKGROUND: The living kidney donation has become increasingly important in recent years. Because of the decreasing number of postmortem donors, there has been a dramatic increase in morbidity and mortality due to the long waiting times for patients on dialysis. By timely living donation after dialysis entry or even preemptively, this can be avoided. AIM: In addition, the living donor has better graft function and better graft survival which is due to the predictability of the donation, the optimal conditioning of donor and recipient, and the short ischemia time. To protect the donor, to provide legal protection, and to avoid abuse, the German legislature reacted with the Transplantation Act and its amendment. The recent recommendations for donor evaluation from the Amsterdam Forum have been used by the Federal Medical Council to revise current guidelines and guidelines for living donation will be drawn up. CONCLUSION: The focus of these efforts is standardization of the procedure and protection of the kidney donor. This is also reflected in the recommendations for organ removal technique and the selection of the organ to be used for kidney donation.

Minilaparoscopic-assisted laparoendoscopic single-site bilateral nephrectomies in postrenal transplant recipient: case report.

We present our first minilaparoscopic-assisted laparoendoscopic single-site bilateral nephrectomies (b-LESS-N) performed in a patient with bilateral atrophic kidney, right malignant renal tumor of 4.5 cm that developed in a native kidney after multiple bilateral renal transplantations and renovascular hypertension. The mean operative time was 233 minutes, with a mean blood loss of 180 mL. A single umbilical incision (5.5 cm) was performed to remove both kidneys. No significant difference in glomerular filtration rate was observed postoperatively. The postoperative recovery was uneventful with favorable short-term outcomes and high patient satisfaction. The 10-month follow-up showed effective arterial pressure improvement, absence of tumor relapse, and stable graft function. We believe that b-LESS-N for renal cancer after a renal transplantation can be performed without increased risks for the patients or for the transplanted kidney.