Journal Reviews
LARP – three instrument techniques to reduce costs
The cost of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LARP) is high because of both the initial installation cost and, more importantly, high running costs. The main reason for the latter is the limited number of usage of the instruments; generally, each instrument...
Results from the REDUCE study
Subjects in this paper were part of the Reduction by Dutasteride of PCa Events (REDUCE) study, a clinical trial enrolling men who had undergone a single negative prostate biopsy within six months of enrollment and subjecting them to a repeat...
Cord compression in cancer
This article will be of great interest to uro-oncologists. Vertebral metastasis occurs in 3-5% of all cancers (most commonly in prostate, breast and lung cancer). It can cause pain, vertebral collapse and cord compression. Data from the National Institute for...
MSKCC prostate cancer screening guidelines – is it the way forward?
The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) developed prostate cancer screening recommendations first in 2011 as a response to three limitations of previous screening guidelines: insufficient evidence base, failure to link screening with treatment, and lack of risk stratification. To...
Comparing intravesical chemohyperthermia with Mitomycin C versus BCG in treating bladder cancer
In the advent of the recent Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) crisis, the importance of alternative adjuvant treatments for intermediate- and high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) has been highlighted. Chemohyperthermia (CHT) has emerged as an option, however there remains a lack of...
NICE - what we need to know?
The National institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) reached 17 years old in April 2016. As clinicians, we are reading and discussing NICE guidelines on a daily basis in multidisciplinary team meetings. NICE is always in the news, whether...
ASAP: is a repeat biopsy necessary?
This study examined the validity of current US and European guidelines on the management of patients diagnosed with atypical small acinar proliferation (ASAP). Current guidance states that these patients should undergo repeat biopsy within three to six months due to...
Active surveillance for renal neoplasms
Renal oncocytomas are the second most common benign renal tumours and they originate from the collecting tubules. They appear genotypically very similar to chromophobe renal cell carcinomas (chRCC), which also contain eosinophilic cells. Oncocytomas are often found incidentally on routine...
Predicting bone scan positivity in non-metastatic CRPC
There is evidence that suggests that early treatment with chemotherapy, immunotherapy or hormone therapy leads to a better response in patients with asymptomatic metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). This study aimed to predict bone scan positivity in patients with...
Rectal swab testing before prostate biopsy
This study explored the real terms value of rectal swab testing and targeted antibiotic prophylaxis in patients undergoing transrectal ultrasound prostate biopsy in view of increasing bacterial resistance to fluoroquinolones (17.6% in North America, 40% in Hong Kong). The authors...
The potential of statin use in castrate resistant prostate cancer treatment
One of the mechanisms by which prostate cancer achieves castrate resistance is through de novo intratumoral production of androgens. Reactivation of androgen receptors results in promotion of cell survival and proliferation pathways despite castrate serum testosterone levels. As androgen synthesis...
Smoking and urological health
European Urology Focus is a new sister journal to European Urology. It is peer-reviewed and will be published six times per year in electronic format. The first issue deals with smoking and urological diseases. It makes for very interesting reading...
