BJU international
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What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) was historically considered to be an aggressive disease resistant to conventional anticancer therapy. Within the last decade the outlook has changed beyond recognition; docetaxel chemotherapy is now firmly established as a well-tolerated treatment with significant survival benefits. Building on this, more recently there have been several landmark developments using various approaches in patients whose disease has progressed despite previous chemotherapy. ⋯ If chemotherapy is offered early in the post-docetaxel pathway, the patient may still be able to benefit from non-chemotherapeutic options subsequently. However, if this stage of management begins with a non-chemotherapeutic option, there is a risk that the patient's performance status will decline before he has an opportunity to benefit from chemotherapy. Further studies and ongoing clinical experience are likely to clarify this important issue, and help clinicians to maximise the survival of men with mCRPC post-docetaxel.
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To look at the role and safety of ureteroscopy for stone management in obese patients. ⋯ Retrograde stone treatment using ureteroscopy is a safe and efficient modality for treating obese patients with urinary tract calculi with an increased efficiency with smaller stones less than 2 cm in size.
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What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Finasteride (Proscar) and dutasteride (Avodart) are 5-α reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs) used to treat LUTS in men with benign prostatic enlargement. Because these drugs suppress androgens, the theory has been put forward that 5-ARIs might prevent the development of prostate cancer. Careful analysis of two randomized controlled trials, however, showed that, in the clinical setting, this was not the case, and that these drugs can increase the occurrence of more aggressive high-grade disease. Because of this, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did not approve 5-ARIs for the primary prevention of prostate cancer and notified healthcare professionals about a change in the 'Warnings and Precautions' for these drugs. Interest remains among some for using 5-ARIs in men diagnosed with very low-risk prostate cancer to delay the progression from clinically indolent disease to clinically significant disease requiring treatment. The present study investigated whether 5-ARI use among men with very low-risk prostate cancer in an active surveillance (AS) programme would reduce the number of cancers reclassified to clinically significant disease on surveillance biopsy. Our results do not support the use of 5-ARIs for slowing or preventing cancer progression in men with low-risk prostate cancer, but do suggest that men with very low-risk prostate cancer who take 5-ARIs for LUTS are unlikely to be at increased risk for the development of high grade disease during AS. ⋯ Treatment with 5-ARIs did not significantly alter the outcome of biopsy reclassification by grade in men with very low-risk prostate cancer.
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Comparative Study
Flexible ureterorenoscopy versus extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy for treatment of lower pole stones of 10-20 mm.
What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Shock wave lithotripsy and flexible ureterorenoscopy are acceptable treatment options for lower pole stones smaller than 10 mm, while percutaneous nephrolithotomy is the favoured treatment for stones larger than 20 mm. For treatment of lower pole stones of 10-20 mm, flexible ureterorenoscopy has a significantly higher stone-free rate and lower retreatment rate than shock wave lithotripsy. ⋯ For treatment of lower pole stones of 10-20 mm, F-URS provided significantly higher stone-free rate and lower retreatment rate compared with ESWL. The incidence of complications after F-URS was not significantly more than after ESWL.
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What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? One area of particular growth for robotic surgery has been partial nephrectomy. Despite a perceived notion that robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy is more easily adaptable compared to laparoscopic partial nephrectomy, there is nonetheless an associated learning curve. Validated training models with a corresponding assessment method for robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy were previously unavailable. We have designed and validated a RAPN surgical model appropriate for resident and fellow training. ⋯ Our novel ex vivo RAPN surgical model has demonstrated face, content and construct validity. Future development of this model should include simulation of haemostasis management and renal reconstruction.