BJU international
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To outline the development of the 'Timing of Androgen Deprivation' (TOAD) protocol, a collaborative randomised clinical trial under the auspices of the Cancer Council Victoria, the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group, and the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand (USANZ), which opened to recruitment in 2004. ⋯ The question of timing of ADT remains relevant in the current era of newer and more varied treatment methods. Even with the advent of novel chemotherapy and the biological agents that are undergoing investigation for progressively earlier disease stages, the dilemma of when to commence palliative treatment in an asymptomatic patient will remain, unless or until these agents are shown to increase overall survival. The TOAD trial will contribute to answering at least in part, some of these questions.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomised controlled trial comparing use of lignocaine periprostatic nerve block alone and combined with diclofenac suppository for patients undergoing transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy.
To examine whether or not the combination of diclofenac suppository with peri-prostatic nerve block (PPNB) was effective in reducing the degree of pain experienced during transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy in a randomised single-blind placebo-controlled trial. ⋯ The use of a diclofenac suppository with PPNB did not show any clinically meaningful effect in decreasing pain or improving tolerability of TRUS-guided prostate biopsy and is not recommended. PPNB TRUS-guided biopsy is extremely well tolerated, with >80% of patients electing for subsequent LA biopsy if required.
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To describe the characteristics of patients with and without positive surgical margins (PSMs) and to analyse the impact of PSMs on secondary cancer treatment after radical prostatectomy (RP), with short-term follow-up. ⋯ These data indicate an important association between hospital status and PSMs, with patients who underwent RP in private hospitals less likely than those in public hospitals to have a PSM. Patients treated in lower-volume hospitals were more likely to have a PSM and less likely to receive additional treatment after surgery in the initial 12 months, and robot-assisted RP was associated with fewer PSMs than was open RP in this non-randomized observational study. PSM status and pathological T3 disease are both important and independent predictors of secondary cancer treatment for patients undergoing RP. A robot-assisted RP approach appears to decrease the likelihood of subsequent treatment, when compared with the open approach.
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To analyse the impact of the uro-oncology multidisciplinary meeting (MDM) at an Australian tertiary centre on patient management decisions, and to develop criteria for patient inclusion in MDMs. ⋯ The uro-oncology MDM alters management plans in about one-quarter of cases. Additionally, MDMs also serve other purposes, such as cross-referral or consideration for clinical trials. Patients should be discussed in MDMs if multimodal therapy may be required, clinical trial eligibility is being considered or if metastasis or recurrence is noted.