Journal Reviews
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,...
Is TRUS and biopsy obsolete as a diagnostic test for prostate cancer: refining the perineal biopsy technique?
Whilst there has been a dramatic shift in how patients are investigated for potential prostate cancer, transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) and biopsy remains the most commonly used technique for tissue sampling. In this single centre, retrospective analysis, 634 men, over a...
Impact of prostatic apex in continence after RARP
This article investigates the impact of prostatic apical shape from preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on early recovery of urinary continence after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). It is a retrospective study of 1011 patients at a tertiary centre. Patients were...
Cryotherapy in prostate cancer
This review of the literature aims to summarise what is known in regards to outcomes in patients undergoing cryotherapy in a number of settings: whole gland, salvage and targeted focal therapy. It highlights that more prostate cancers are being diagnosed...
Impact of adjuvant radiation therapy on urinary continence recovery after radical prostatectomy
The functional side-effects of both radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy for prostate cancer are well known. The aim of this study was to evaluate if there was a significant worsening in recovery of urinary continence in those undergoing radical prostatectomy followed...
Patient-reported outcomes after prostate cancer treatment
This study used the survivorship (LIVESTRONG) care plan tool to identify patient-reported toxicities that occurred following treatment for prostate cancer. All patients had undergone treatments, which were considered to have similar oncological endpoints. The tool asked patients questions with regard...
