Journal Reviews
How often are instruments changed in RALP & RAPN?
This study investigates how often the robotic instruments are exchanged during robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) and robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN). They presently come with a life span of 10 uses but whether all instruments are used fully on 10 different...
Importance of PSA variation – an analysis of PLCO trial data
This study looks specifically at the group of patients in the intervention arm of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening trial (PLCO), to investigate variations in prostate specific antigen (PSA) level. They have specifically included only patients who...
Metabolic syndrome and prostate cancer recurrence in a veterans’ cohort
This study explored the relationship between metabolic syndrome and localised prostate cancer recurrence in patients who had received active treatment (external beam radiation therapy – EBRT, radical retropubic prostatectomy – RRP, or brachytherapy). The definition of metabolic syndrome adopted was...
Activity of enzalutamide in men with mCRPC is affected by prior treatment with abiraterone and / or docetaxel
This study reported on the real-world clinical outcomes of patients at seven academic institutions who were treated with enzalutamide, with the primary objective being to assess the effect of prior therapies (namely abireterone and docetaxel). Three hundred and ten patients...
BCG maintenance therapy not superior to induction alone
With the ongoing shortage of BCG remaining an issue for urologists in the UK and further afield, this topical paper presented the results of the CUETO study evaluating the outcome of a modified three-year BCG maintenance regimen versus induction therapy...
RARP – novel uroflow stop test
More and more centres are doing robotic assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) surgery for cancer of the prostate .This study from Montreal, Canada describes a simple and novel test to predict recovery of urinary continence after RARP. The uroflow stop test...
Near-infrared fluorescence in robotic surgery
This is a systematic review and critical analysis of the current evidence on the applications of near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) in robotic urologic surgery. It uses indocyanine green (ICG), a sterile water-soluble dye which has been tested in various fields. In...
Rectal swab guided antibiotics for TRUS biopsy
This is a single centre retrospective study to examine the effect of rectal swab culture-directed prophylaxis on the incidence of prostate biopsy associated infections. Secondary objectives were to determine the rate of fluoroquinolone resistance and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase production in local...
Performance status may alter outcomes in those treated with abiraterone
The drug therapies available for those with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer have increased over the past few years. Abiraterone, a CYP17 inhibitor, has been proven effective in phase three trials, however those with poor performance status were largely under-represented in...
Urology MDTs: what members think
This study aimed to examine the functionality of urology cancer multidisciplinary team meetings (MDTs). Evidence has suggested that urology MDTs are not as well structured as other surgical disciplines. MDT members were asked their views on if there were any...
Robot assisted radical prostatectomy – could it be gold standard?
Prostate cancer (PCa) is still the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men in the United States. Most of the PCa are organ confined at the time of diagnosis. To watch (observation / active surveillance) or fry (radiotherapy) or...
BCG strain differences have an impact on clinical outcome in bladder cancer immunotherapy
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) has been part of the treatment algorithm for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) for a number of years. In this single centre, prospective, randomised trial, two of the most commonly available strains, BCG Connaught and BCG Tice,...
