Urologic oncology
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Systemic therapy for metastatic urothelial carcinoma has seen minimal progress and no new approved therapies in the past 20 years. However, with the approval of the checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab in May 2016, immunotherapy inserted itself into the standard clinical dogma. ⋯ Current and ongoing trials are investigating ways to increase response rates with rational combinations as well as to uncover predictive biomarkers to identify patients most likely to benefit. In this review, we present updated data regarding immunotherapeutic agents in clinical trials as well as ongoing studies investigating novel designs, intriguing combinations, and alternative immunotherapy strategies.
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To investigate decision-making role preferences and their association with the evaluation of information received in a sample of low-risk and intermediate-risk prostate cancer (Pca) survivors. ⋯ Assessment of role preferences and tailored information provision could improve satisfaction with information received and perhaps may ultimately lead to improved patient participation in treatment decision-making.
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To evaluate the associations between long-term serum levels of platinum (se-Pt) and neurotoxicity and ototoxicity (NTX), endocrine gonadal function (endocrine-GF), and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in testicular cancer survivors. ⋯ Median 19 years after treatment, increasing quartiles of se-Pt are associated with increasing SCIN score, tinnitus, hearing impairment, and increasing LH levels. However, these associations remained significant only for tinnitus and LH when adjusting for administered cisplatin dose.
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To date, only a few studies have demonstrated the prognostic value of pretreatment serum albumin in bladder urothelial carcinoma (BUC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the pretreatment albumin/globulin ratio (AGR) and the survival of patients with BUC treated with radical cystectomy (RC). ⋯ High AGR is a strong independent predictor of long-term RFS and CSS in patients with BUC undergoing RC. Additionally, among patients with normal albumin (≥40g/l) levels, patients with higher globulin, but lower AGR have worse survival. The pretreatment AGR is an easily accessible and cheap to use for predicting mortality in patients with BUC treated by RC.
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Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) comprises a wide spectrum of tumors with different behaviors and prognoses. It follows that the surveillance for these tumors should be adapted according to the risks of recurrence and progression and should be dynamic in design. ⋯ Surveillance of NMIBC should follow a risk-adapted approach, with a combination of cystoscopy, cytology, and upper tract imaging. The aim of this approach is to minimize the therapeutic burden of a disease with high recurrence rates without missing progressing tumors. When designing a diagnostic pathway, first-line diagnostic imaging tests should have high sensitivity to ensure disease positives are included in the test population for further investigation. Second-line investigations should be highly specific, to ensure false-positives are minimized.