European urology
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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.
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Editorial Comment
Improving outcome of surgical procedures is not possible without adequate quality measurement.
Outcome measurement allows for acknowledging differences in quality and must be used as a basis for quality assessment, regardless of what procedure is to be assessed and improved. As urologists, we should actively take the lead to guide this necessary and inevitable process.
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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.