Evaluation of the optimal strategy in men with a single unilateral suspicious lesion on MRI undergoing transperineal MRI/ultrasound fusion prostate biopsy.

BACKGROUND: Targeting biopsy (TBx) of suspicious lesions combined with random systematic biopsy (SBx) improves detection rates of prostate cancer (PCa) during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/ultrasound (US) fusion prostate biopsy. However, this combination increases the number of biopsy cores, prolongs the procedure time, and increases complications and costs, leading to the overdiagnosis of clinically insignificant PCa (ciPCa). This study aims to evaluate the optimal sampling design to achieve a detection rate of clinically significant PCa (csPCa) equal to standard TBx with SBx with fewer biopsy cores. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Of 508 consecutive men who underwent transperineal MRI/US fusion prostate biopsy at our center between January 2020 and December 2022, 364 patients with a single unilateral suspicious lesion on MRI were included in the study. Three biopsy strategies were randomly selected to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of PCa detection: (1) TBx with ipsilateral SBx, (2) TBx with contralateral SBx, and (3) TBx only. The PCa detection sensitivity for selected biopsy strategies was compared with the reference standards. The significance of differences in cancer detection between sampling schemes was determined using McNemar's test. RESULTS: PCa was diagnosed in 182 of 364 men using TBx with bilateral SBx. International Society of Urological Pathology grade group (ISUP GG) ≥ 2 and ISUP GG ≥ 3 PCa was detected in 84/364 (23.1%) and 42/364 (11.5%), respectively, while ISUP GG 1 PCa was diagnosed in 98/364 (26.9%). Combining TBx with ipsilateral SBx detected 94.5% of all, 98.8% of ISUP GG ≥ 2, 100% of ISUP GG ≥ 3, and 89.8% of ISUP GG 1 PCa. TBx with contralateral SBx detected fewer csPCa (91.7% vs. 98.8%, p = 0.03), as did TBx alone (90.5 vs. 98.8, p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that TBx with ipsilateral SBx performed around the multiparametric MRI-suspected lesion in transperineal MRI/US biopsy of the prostate achieves a very high detection rate for csPCa (ISUP ≥ 2) without compromising the detection of increased risk PCa (ISUP ≥ 3). In addition, this strategy reduces the number of biopsy cores by 8-10 per patient, procedure time, and pathology processing costs and decreases ciPCa detection.

Molecularly Confirmed Female Donor-Transmitted Lobular Breast Cancer to Male following Renal Transplantation.

INTRODUCTION: Lobular breast cancer represents 10%-15% of breast cancers in women but is virtually nonexistent in men, related to the typical absence of the anatomic breast lobule structure in male breast tissue. We describe donor-transmitted metastatic lobular carcinoma to a male after kidney transplantation. Determining whether a post-transplant cancer is transplant associated, donor transmitted, or donor derived is significant for treatment, prognosis, and possibly management of other organ recipients. CASE REPORT: A 74-year-old Caucasian male presented to the emergency department with lower abdominal pain and macro-hematuria. Past medical history included two renal transplantations. Computed tomography identified a 4-5-cm space-occupying lesion in the native left kidney. A left native nephrectomy was performed. Histology pathologic examination demonstrated lobular (as opposed to ductal) breast carcinoma. Fluorescent in situ hybridization probes to identify X- and Y-chromosomes showed tumor cells with an XX genotype, whereas the surrounding host cells were of XY genotype. These findings confirmed the female-sex origin (donor) of the tumor within the XY native male (current patient) tissues. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Due to discordance between the donor and recipient sex, fluorescent in situ hybridization as a molecular technique correctly identified the origin of an individual's cancer in the post-transplant setting. The metastatic breast cancer behaved more indolently than usually seen. Expanded criteria donors (ECD) are those who cannot donate under standard criteria for organ transplantation; expanded criteria widen the potential organ donor pool at the expense of increased risk for post-transplant complications (e.g., graft failure, the transmission of malignancy). The case provides a potential area of future research into considering allowing ECDs with a distant history of cancer with very low transmission risk when the biochemical environment of the recipient would, in the unlikely event of transmission, induce the tumor to pursue an indolent clinical course.

Risk for probable post-partum depression among women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aim of the current study was to assess the risk for post-partum depression among women delivering during the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to the risk among women delivering before the COVID-19 pandemic. A cohort study was performed among women delivering singletons at term which were recruited in the maternity wards of the Soroka University Medical Center. Recruitment was done during the COVID-19 strict isolation period (March 18 and April 29, 2020). Women delivering during the COVID-19 pandemic completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the results were compared to women delivering at the same medical center before the COVID-19 pandemic. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to control for potential confounders. A total of 223 women who delivered during the COVID-19 strict isolation period were recruited. Women delivering during the COVID-19 pandemic had lower risk of having a high (> 10) or very high (≥ 13) EPDS score as compared with women delivering before the COVID-19 pandemic (16.7% vs 31.3%, p = 0.002, and 6.8% vs 15.2%, p = 0.014, for EPDS ≥ 10 and EPDS ≥ 13, respectively). These results remained similar in the multivariable logistic regression models, for both EPDS score ≥ 10 and EPDS score ≥ 13, while controlling for maternal age, ethnicity, marital status, and adverse pregnancy outcomes (adjusted OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.23-0.70, p = 0.001 and adjusted OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.15-0.74, p = 0.007 for EPDS score > 10 and > 13, respectively). In our population, delivering during the COVID-19 pandemic was independently associated with lower risk of post-partum depression.

The Association between Depressive State and Maternal Cognitive Function in Postpartum Women.

OBJECTIVE: Maternal amnesia is a transitional cognitive impairment occurring during pregnancy and the postpartum period. We evaluated the prevalence and extent of this suggested cognitive decline and the role of postpartum depression. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was performed in women during the immediate postpartum period. Eligible women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Cognitive function was assessed using an objective neurocognitive test (Symbol Digit Modalities Test, SDMT90, and SDMT4) and a subjective self-estimation questionnaire (Attention Function Index [AFI]). RESULTS: A total of 120 women completed the study questionnaires; 33.3% (40 women) exhibited signs of postpartum depression (EPDS ≥10). The subjective AFI test results correlated with the objective SDMT90 test results (r 2 = 0.2, p = 0.039). Depressed mothers scored significantly lower in the subjective AFI test (67.69 ± 12.01 in the study vs. 79.05 ± 14.3 in the comparison group; p < 0.001) and nearly significantly lower in the objective SDMT test (p = 0.057). In the multi-variable model, maternal depression was independently associated with the subjective AFI score (ß = -13.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -19.1 to -8.2, p < 0.001) but not with the objective SDMT score (ß = -3.48; 95% CI -8.3 to 1.3, p = 0.15), while controlling for maternal age, gestational age, and ethnicity. CONCLUSION: Postpartum depression is common and appears to predominantly affect maternal self-assessment of cognitive ability, rather than a true cognitive impairment.

Genome-wide measurement of RNA secondary structure in yeast.

The structures of RNA molecules are often important for their function and regulation, yet there are no experimental techniques for genome-scale measurement of RNA structure. Here we describe a novel strategy termed parallel analysis of RNA structure (PARS), which is based on deep sequencing fragments of RNAs that were treated with structure-specific enzymes, thus providing simultaneous in vitro profiling of the secondary structure of thousands of RNA species at single nucleotide resolution. We apply PARS to profile the secondary structure of the messenger RNAs (mRNAs) of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and obtain structural profiles for over 3,000 distinct transcripts. Analysis of these profiles reveals several RNA structural properties of yeast transcripts, including the existence of more secondary structure over coding regions compared with untranslated regions, a three-nucleotide periodicity of secondary structure across coding regions and an anti-correlation between the efficiency with which an mRNA is translated and the structure over its translation start site. PARS is readily applicable to other organisms and to profiling RNA structure in diverse conditions, thus enabling studies of the dynamics of secondary structure at a genomic scale.

Müllerian duct cyst: Case report with updates in cellular origin, corresponding immunohistochemistry, and contrast to prostatic utricle cyst.

A 20-year-old male presented to the emergency department with lower abdominal pain, urinary retention, and constipation. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a large cyst on the posterior aspect of the prostate gland; he was ultimately diagnosed with a Müllerian duct cyst (MDC). Although much has been written on the radiologic diagnosis of such cysts, there is a paucity of recent literature concerning the pathological diagnosis. While older studies debated the Müllerian origin of a midline cyst abutting the poster prostate, we believe that with the advent of monoclonal PAX8 (which was positive in this lesion) and monoclonal PAX2 (which was negative), we have strong evidence that the present cyst is indeed of Müllerian origin. Further, there is debate in the literature as to whether MDC is synonymous or distinct from prostatic utricle cyst. We present an interdisciplinary analysis as to the merits and weaknesses of both sides of the debate and how data gathered from the current case could be used in a future, larger study to arrive at a more definitive conclusion.

The use of prostate specific antigen density to predict clinically significant prostate cancer.

The purpose of this study was to assess the predictive value of prostate specific antigen density (PSAD) for detection of clinically significant prostate cancer in men undergoing systematic transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy. We retrospectively analyzed data of men who underwent TRUS-guided prostate biopsy because of elevated PSA (≤ 20 ng/ml) or abnormal digital rectal examination. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to compare PSA and PSAD performance and chi-square automatic interaction detector methodologies were used to identify predictors of clinically significant cancer (Gleason score ≥ 7 or international society of urological pathology grade group ≥ 2). Nine-hundred and ninety-two consecutive men with a median age of 66 years (IQR 61-71) were included in the study. Median PSAD was 0.10 ng/ml2 (IQR 0.10-0.22). Prostate adenocarcinoma was diagnosed in 338 men (34%). Clinically significant prostate adenocarcinoma was diagnosed in 167 patients (50% of all cancers and 17% of the whole cohort). The AUC to predict clinically significant prostate cancer was 0.64 for PSA and 0.78 for PSAD (P < 0.001). The highest Youden's index for PSAD was at 0.20 ng/ml2 with 70% sensitivity and 79% specificity for the diagnosis of clinically significant cancer. Men with PSAD < 0.09 ng/ml2 had only 4% chance of having clinically significant disease. The detection rate of clinically significant prostate cancer in patients with PSAD between 0.09 and 0.19 ng/ml2 was significantly higher when prostate volume was less than 33 ml. In conclusion, PSAD was a better predictor than PSA alone of clinically significant prostate cancer in patients undergoing TRUS-guided biopsy. Patients with PSAD below 0.09 ng/ml2 were unlikely to harbor clinically significant prostate cancer. Combining PSAD in the gray zone (0.09-0.19) with prostate volume below 33 ml adds diagnostic value of clinically significant prostate cancer.

The Association between Delivery during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Immediate Postpartum Maternal Cognitive Function.

Survivors of the 2003 SARS epidemic were found to have higher rates of adverse mental conditions. This study aimed to assess cognitive function in women delivering during the COVID-19 pandemic, as compared to women who delivered before the COVID-19 pandemic. A cohort study was performed during the immediate postpartum period of women delivering singletons at term. Cognitive function was assessed using an objective neurocognitive test (Symbol Digit Modalities Test SDMT90, SDMT4) and a subjective self-estimation questionnaire (Attention Function Index AFI). The exposed group was recruited during the COVID-19 outbreak in Israel (May 2020), whereas the comparison group consisted of women delivering at the same medical center before the COVID-19 pandemic (2016-2017). Multivariable regression models were constructed to control potential confounders. There were 79 parturients recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic and compared with 123 women who delivered before the COVID-19 pandemic. Women delivering during the COVID-19 pandemic scored lower in the subjective AFI test compared to the unexposed group (70.0 ± 15.4 vs. 75.1 ± 14.7, p = 0.018). However, no significant difference was found in the objective SDMT tests scores. These results remained similar in the multivariable regression models when controlling for maternal age, ethnicity and time from admission to assessment, for AFI, SDMT90 and SDMT4 scores (p = 0.014; p = 0.734; p = 0.786; respectively). While no significant difference was found in objective tests, our findings propose that the exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic is independently associated with a significant decrease in subjective maternal cognitive function during the immediate postpartum period.