European urology
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Although prostate cancer (PCa) screening reduces the incidence of advanced disease and mortality, trade-offs include overdiagnosis and resultant overtreatment. ⋯ Screening reduces spread and death from prostate cancer (PCa) but overdiagnoses some low-risk tumors that may not have caused harm. Because treatment has potential side effects, it is critical that not all patients with PCa receive aggressive treatment.
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Biomarkers based on detecting prostate cancer (PCa)-specific transcripts in blood are associated with inferior outcomes, but their validation in a clinical context is lacking. ⋯ This validated RT-PCR assay detecting prostate-specific RNA in whole blood is prognostic for survival and may assess patient risk in tandem with CellSearch CTC enumeration. Its clinical utility is being prospectively explored.
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Comparative Study
What is the most bothersome lower urinary tract symptom? Individual- and population-level perspectives for both men and women.
No study has compared the bothersomeness of all lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) using a population-based sample of adults. Despite this lack of evidence, investigators have often cited their LUTS of interest as the "most bothersome" or "one of the most bothersome." ⋯ Urinary urgency was the most common troubling symptom in a large population-based study; however, for individuals, urgency incontinence was the most likely to be rated as bothersome.
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The diagnostic performance of a genetic score based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is unknown in the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) range of 1-3 ng/ml. A substantial proportion of men in this PSA span have prostate cancer (PCa), but biomarkers to determine who should undergo a prostate biopsy are lacking. ⋯ A risk score based on SNPs predicts biopsy outcome in previously unbiopsied men with PSA 1-3 ng/ml. Introducing a genetic-based risk stratification tool can increase the proportion of men being classified in line with their true risk of PCa.
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Pilot studies have demonstrated the utility of indocyanine green (ICG) sentinel lymphadenectomy for prostate cancer. Prior work has used ICG with radiocontrast agents injected at a separate procedure and relied on assistant-controlled fluorescence systems, making the technique costly and cumbersome. ⋯ FERRP is safe, feasible, and allows for reliable prostate tissue marking and identification of sentinel lymphatic drainage in the majority of patients. ICG sentinel nodes are highly sensitive but relatively nonspecific for the detection of nodal metastasis.