The role of radical prostatectomy as an initial approach for the treatment of high-risk prostate cancer

CONTEXT

The treatment of high-risk prostate cancer requires a multimodal approach to improve control of the disease. There is still no consensus as to the initial strategy of choice. The aim of this study is to review the results of radical prostatectomy as first step in management of patients with high-risk disease.

ACQUISITION OF EVIDENCE

A search was conducted on PubMed of English and Spanish texts. We included those studies that reported the results of radical prostatectomy in patients with high-risk prostate cancer, as well as those that compared radical prostatectomy with other treatment alternatives. The last search was conducted in November 2015.

SYNTHESIS OF THE EVIDENCE

The advantages of radical prostatectomy include a better pathological analysis, more accurate staging, better local control of the disease and better follow-up and adjuvant therapy strategies. When compared with external radiation therapy plus hormonal blockade, the patients who underwent prostatectomy had greater chances of healing and longer cancer-specific survival. The patients who most benefit from this approach are younger, have fewer comorbidities and no evidence of organ metastases.

CONCLUSIONS

The available scientific evidence to date is not without bias and confounders; however, they appear to favour radical prostatectomy as the initial approach of choice for high-risk prostate cancer.

[Management of malignant ureteral obstruction.]

OBJECTIVE

To describe the different therapeutic alternatives in malignant ureteral obstruction (MUO), and to analyze short and long-term results.

METHODS

We conducted a bibliographic search about MUO in Spanish and English languages in PubMed and Google Scholar. We examined the most relevant reviews, original manuscripts and their respective citations. Last search was on April 2016.

RESULTS

Polymeric double J stent is the cheapest and most accessible internal urinary diversion, but has also the shortest duration. Early and late failure rates were 0-35% and 14-49% respectively. Mean time to late failure was 3-12 months. Percutaneous nephrostomy is the safest alternative in terms of failure rates, though it has frequent complications such as tube dislodgement, and may have a negative effect on quality of life. The only metallic double J stent with enough bibliographic background is the Resonance® stent. Early failure was 0-15% and late failure 4-41%, with a mean time to late failure of 2.6-13 months. Regarding metallic stents, Memokath 051® has obtained the best results, with 0-5% early failure rates, 19-49% late failures and mean time to late failure of 7-11 months. In patients with polymeric double J stent failure, patients benefited from tandem double J stents, metallic double J catheters or metallic stents, avoiding the need of a percutaneous nephrostomy. The evidence level was low in all cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Results in MUO are very heterogeneous and have a low evidence level. Factors that influence results include stent characteristics, status and prognosis of the obstructive condition and probably patient and physician's preferences. Polymeric double J stents seem to have higher early and late failure rates than metallic double J catheters and metallic stents. Even though, the difference is not clearly evident. Prospective, multicenter, multidisciplinary trials are necessary to elucidate convenience and adequate selection of each type of stent.

Proximal location of explanted midurethral slings is associated with urinary storage symptoms

AIM

To examine the location of midurethral slings (MUS) at the time of excision to determine associations between presenting symptoms and sling location at explant.

METHODS

We performed an IRB approved, retrospective review of MUS explants between January 2011 and March 2016. Symptoms and physical examination findings were compared between women with slings explanted from the mid-urethra (MU) and women with slings explanted from the proximal urethra/bladder neck (PU/BN).

RESULTS

We included 95 consecutive women who underwent MUS explant in the analysis. Presenting symptoms included pain in 69 women (72.6%), urinary urgency in 66 (66.5%), voiding dysfunction in 55 (57.9%), urge urinary incontinence (UUI) in 41 (43.2%), stress urinary incontinence in 34 (35.8%), and recurrent urinary tract infections in 22 (23.2%). At sling explant, 2 (2.1%) slings were found at the distal urethra, 33 (34.7%) at the MU and 60 (63.2%) at the PU/BN. Women with slings explanted from the PU/BN were more likely to present with urgency (78.3% vs 54.5%; P = 0.017) and UUI (53.3% vs 27.3%; P = 0.015) and less likely to present with pain on examination (48.3% vs 75.8%; P = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of MUS requiring explant in this cohort were found at the PU/BN. The most common presenting symptom before MUS explant was pain, followed by urgency and voiding dysfunction. PU/BN location of MUS is likely a factor in the development of urgency and UUI in women who ultimately undergo explant.

Bladder inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor: report of four cases

Background

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) of the bladder (BIMT) is a rare entity with non-specific symptoms and particular histological features. Though bladder location is very uncommon, it arises from the bladder submucosal stroma as a polypoidal growth and is easily mistaken clinically, radiologically and histologically with a malignant neoplasm. The main treatment is surgical resection. To our knowledge, few reports of this pathology have been duly informed in Latin America to date.

Case presentation

We present four case male patients evidencing bladder tumor initially treated with transurethral bladder resection, diagnosing BIMT. They had shown tumor recurrence and laparoscopic treatment were decided without evidence of new recurrence.

Conclusion

Due to the few reports of this pathology, specially in South America, it is important to know its therapeutic management and follow-up.