Background:
No published studies have specifically assessed whether treatment modifications to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer (PCa) are frequently carried out in routine ...clinical practice. The current study was conducted to determine what proportion of patients who had initiated hormone therapy with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue then had their treatment regimen modified during the first 24 months.
Methods:
A prospective, noninterventional study was carried out in routine clinical practice in France. Patients with locally advanced or metastatic PCa were followed up for 2 years after treatment initiation with a GnRH analogue. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with a modification to their initial hormone therapy.
Results:
In total, 1301 patients were enrolled into the study by 204 physicians, and the primary endpoint could be evaluated for 891 patients. The GnRH analogue treatment was initiated for metastatic PCa (24.2%), locally advanced PCa without planned local treatment (20.6%), locally advanced PCa in association with radiotherapy (31.6%), and biochemical recurrence after local treatment (21.4%). Hormonal treatment was modified in 43.8% (390/891) of patients during the 24-month follow-up period after GnRH analogue initiation. In 61.3% of cases (239/390), the type of modification involved a change of GnRH analogue formulation or switch to another GnRH analogue. A total of five significant predictive factors for GnRH analogue treatment modification were identified: metastatic stage; physician sector; physician speciality; presence or absence of urinary symptoms; and intermittent versus continuous ADT.
Conclusions:
This study shows that in 43.8% of the patients with advanced PCa, ADT is modified in the first 2 years after initiation in routine clinical practice. Predictive factors for alteration of ADT were metastatic stage and the choice of an intermittent schedule.
Introduction
Despite no consensus on the optimal management of recurrent prostate cancer after primary radiation or HIFU therapy, salvage prostatectomy (sRP) is reserved for only 3% of patients ...because of technical challenges and frequent post-operative complications. We assessed outcomes after sRP in a series of patients with localized PCa and that had received radiation therapy or HIFU as a first-line treatment.
Materials and methods
Data from nine French referral centers on patients treated with sRP between 2005 and 2017 were collected. Pre- and post-operative data, including oncological and functional outcomes after first treatment and sRP, were analyzed to determine the predictors for biochemical recurrence (BCR) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) after sRP.
Results
First-line treatments were external beam-radiation therapy (EBRT) for 30 (55%), brachytherapy (BT) for 10 (18%), and high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for 15 (27%). Median (IQR) PSA at diagnosis was 6.4 (4.9–9.5) ng/mL, median PSA at nadir was 1.9 (0.7–3.0) ng/mL, and median (IQR) to first BCR was 13 (6–20) months. Of the 55 patients, 44 (80%) received robot-assisted salvage radical prostatectomy and 11 (20%) received salvage retropubic radical prostatectomy. Restoration of continence was achieved in 90% of preoperatively continent patients; 24% that had received nerve-sparing (NS) procedures were potent after surgery. Prolonged catheterization due to anastomotic leakage was the most common complication. Age, preoperative clinical stage, NS procedure, and a pathological Gleason score were predictors for BCR.
Conclusions
sRP was safe, feasible, and effective using either an open or robot-assisted approach, in experienced hands. Age, preoperative clinical stage, NS procedure, and pathological GS were linked with BCR after sRP.
Preoperative radiotherapy (RT) is commonly used for the treatment of various malignancies, including sarcomas, rectal, and gynaecological cancers, but it is preferentially used as a competitive ...treatment to radical surgery in uro-oncology or as a salvage procedure in cases of local recurrence. Nevertheless, preoperative RT represents an attractive strategy to prevent from intraoperative tumor seeding in the operative field, to sterilize microscopic extension outside the organ, and to enhance the pathological and/or imaging tumor response rate. Several clinical works support this research field in uro-oncology. In this review article, we summarized the oncologic impact and safety of preoperative RT in localized prostate and muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Preliminary studies suggest that both modalities can be complementary as initial primary tumor treatments and that a pre-operative radiotherapy strategy could be beneficial in a well-defined population of patients who are at a very high-risk of local relapse. Future prospective trials are warranted to evaluate the oncologic benefit of such a combination of local treatments in addition to new life-prolonging systemic therapies, such as immunotherapy, and new generation hormone therapies. Moreover, the safety and the feasibility of salvage surgical procedures due to non-response or local recurrence after pelvic RT remain poorly evaluated in that context.
Purpose
Prognostic impact of lymphadenectomy during radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract (UTUC) is controversial. Our aim was to assess the impact of ...lymph node status (LNS) on survival in patients treated by RNU.
Methods
In our multi-institutional, retrospective database, 714 patients with non-metastatic UTUC had undergone RNU between 1995 and 2010. LNS was tested as prognostic factor for survivals through univariate and multivariable Cox regression analysis.
Results
Median age was 70 years interquartile range (IQR), 60–75 with median follow-up of 27 months (IQR, 10–50). Overall, lymphadenectomy was performed in 254 patients (35.5 %). Among these patients, 204 (80 %) had negative lymph nodes (pN0) and 50 (20 %) had positive lymph nodes (pN1/2). The 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) was 81 % 95 % confidence interval (CI), 73–88 % for pN0 patients, 85 % (95 % CI, 80–90 %) for pNx patients and 47 % (95 % CI, 24–69 %) for pN1/2 patients (
p
< 0.001). Metastasis-free survival (MFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were significantly lower in pN1/2 patients than in pN0 and pNx patients (
p
< 0.05). On multivariable analysis, LNS did not appear as an independent prognostic factor for CSS, OS or MFS (
p
> 0.05). In case of lymph node involvement, extra-nodal extension was marginally associated with worse CSS (log rank
p
= 0.07). The retrospective design was the main limitation.
Conclusion
LNS is helpful for survival stratification in patients treated with RNU for UTUC. However, LNS did not appear as an independent predictor of survival in this retrospective series and needs to be investigated in a large multicentre, prospective evaluation.
This study assessed the contribution of ahyaluronic acid (HA) injection between the rectum and the prostate to reducing the dose to the rectal wall in stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).
As ...part of a phase 2 study of hypofractionated radiation therapy (62 Gy in 20 fractions), the patients received a transperineal injection of 10 cc HA between the rectum and the prostate. A dosimetric computed tomographic (CT) scan was systematically performed before (CT1) and after (CT2) the injection. Two 9-beam intensity modulated radiation therapy-SBRT plans were optimized for the first 10 patients on both CTs according to 2 dosage levels: 5 × 6.5 Gy (PlanA) and 5 × 8.5 Gy (PlanB). Rectal wall parameters were compared with a dose-volume histogram, and the prostate-rectum separation was measured at 7 levels of the prostate on the center line of the organ.
For both plans, the average volume of the rectal wall receiving the 90% isodose line (V90%) was reduced up to 90% after injection. There was no significant difference (P=.32) between doses received by the rectal wall on CT1 and CT2 at the base of the prostate. This variation became significant from the median plane to the apex of the prostate (P=.002). No significant differences were found between PlanA without HA and PlanB with HA for each level of the prostate (P=.77, at the isocenter of the prostate).
HA injection significantly reduced the dose to the rectal wall and allowed a dose escalation from 6.5 Gy to 8.5 Gy without increasing the dose to the rectum. A phase 2 study is under way in our department to assess the rate of acute and late rectal toxicities when SBRT (5 × 8.5 Gy) is combined with an injection of HA.
Objectives
According to the current upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas (UTUC) guidelines, ureteroscopic evaluation (URS) is recommended to improve diagnostic accuracy and obtain a grade (by ...biopsy or cytology). However, URS may delay radical surgery e.g., nephroureterectomy (RNU). The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of URS implementation before RNU on patient survival.
Methods
A French multicentre retrospective study including 512 patients with nonmetastatic UTUC was conducted between 1995 and 2011. Achievement of ureteroscopy (URS), treatment time (time between imaging diagnosis and RNU), tumour location, pT–pN stage, grade, lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and the presence of invaded surgical margins (R+) were evaluated as prognostic factors for survival using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Cancer-specific survival (CSS), recurrence-free survival (RFS) and metastasis-free survival (MFS) were calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method.
Results
A total of 170 patients underwent ureteroscopy prior to RNU (URS+ group), and 342 did not undergo URS (URS−). The median treatment time was significantly longer in the URS+ group (79.5 vs. 44.5 days,
p
= 0.04). Ureteroscopic evaluation was correlated with ureteral location and lower stage and tumour grade (
p
= 0.022, 0.005, 0.03, respectively). Tumour stage, LVI+ and R+ status were independently associated with CSS (
p
= 0.024, 0.049 and 0.006, respectively). The 5-year CSS, RFS and MFS did not differ between the two groups (
p
= 0.23, 0.89 and 0.35, respectively). These results were confirmed for muscle-invasive (MI) UTUC (
p
= 0.21, 0.44 and 0.67 for CSS, RFS and MFS, respectively).
Conclusions
Despite the increased time to radical surgery, diagnostic ureteroscopy can be systematically performed for the appraisal of UTUC to refine the therapeutic strategy without significantly affecting oncological outcomes, even for MI lesions.
There are no countrywide data regarding the utilization of same-day-discharge (SDD) surgery for robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). We aimed to evaluate the annual number of SDD RARP ...procedures in France and to compare postoperative outcomes in SDD versus non-SDD centers. Data for all 9651 patients undergoing RARP in France in 2020 were extracted from the central database of the national healthcare system. Endpoints were length of hospital stay, patient age, center volume, lymph node dissection, and the hospital readmission rate. Overall, 184 SDD cases (1.9%) were reported in 14.2% of RARP centers. The annual RARP and SDD RARP caseload ranged from 41 to 485, and from one to 47, respectively, in SDD centers. SDD was significantly associated with higher-volume centers (p < 0.001). No difference in readmission rate (7.9% vs 5.1%; p = 0.141) was observed for SDD versus non-SDD centers. Direct stay costs were estimated at €1457 in SDD centers compared to €2021 in non-SDD centers. The main limitation is the lack of detailed patient characteristics and readmission causes. This annual nationwide analysis suggests that SDD RARP remains infrequently used in routine practice in France despite being associated with comparable short-term outcomes after RARP and potential cost benefits.
We evaluated the use of robot-assisted removal of the prostate (RARP) with same-day hospital discharge in France for men with prostate cancer. In 2020, only 1.9% of the 9651 RARP procedures involved same-day discharge, even though the data show that this approach has lower costs and comparable safety.
The evolution in the past decade of recommendations for prostate cancer (PCa) management, from screening to surgical treatment, may have affected the radical prostatectomy (RP) landscape. However, ...comprehensive data at a national level remain scarce. We extracted 5-yr data for RP patients in France from the central database of the national health care system. The primary endpoints were surgical approach (open ORP, laparoscopic LRP, and robot-assisted RP RARP), length of stay (LOS), and complication and readmission rates. The annual number of RPs was stable during the study period. The proportion of RARPs increased from 39.8% in 2015 to 52.6% in 2019, whereas the proportion of ORPs decreased from 34.4% to 24.5%. LOS continuously decreased over time irrespective of the surgical approach. The proportion of centres in the highest quartile of hospital volume increased from 22.0% to 28.3% (p = 0.006). LOS and complication and readmission rates were significantly lower (p < 0.001) in the LRP cohort at each time point. National trends confirmed that RARP progressively replaced ORP, with a stable number of annual RPs over time. Greater centralisation and better early postoperative outcomes were observed with laparoscopy.
We reviewed French data for patients undergoing removal of the prostate for prostate cancer between 2015 and 2019. We found that robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery has increased over time and the length of hospital stays has decreased. Rates of complications and readmission were lower with minimally invasive surgery.
We found a significant association between vasectomy and any-grade, localized, and advanced prostate cancer. However, the effect estimates were increasingly close to null when examining studies of ...robust design and high quality. Future well-designed studies with attention to potential residual confounders, which were not taken into account in large cohort studies, are needed.
Previous reports have shown an association between vasectomy and prostate cancer (PCa). However, there exist significant discrepancies between studies and systematic reviews due to a lack of strong causal association and residual confounding factors such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening.
To assess the association between vasectomy and PCa, in both unadjusted and PSA screen-adjusted studies.
We performed a systematic review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses. The PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched in January 2022 for studies that analyzed the association between vasectomy and PCa.
A total of 37 studies including 16 931 805 patients met our inclusion criteria. A pooled analysis from all studies showed a significant association between vasectomy and any-grade PCa (odds ratio OR 1.23; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.10–1.37; p < 0.001; I2 = 96%), localized PCa (OR 1.08; 95% CI, 1.06–1.11; p < 0.00001; I2 = 31%), or advanced PCa (OR 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02–1.13; p = 0.006; I2 = 0%). The association with PCa remained significant when the analyses were restricted to studies with a low risk of bias (OR 1.06; 95% CI, 1.02–1.10; p = 0.02; I2 = 48%) or cohort studies (OR 1.09; 95% CI, 1.04–1.13; p < 0.0001; I2 = 64%). Among studies adjusted for PSA screening, the association with localized PCa (OR 1.06; 95% CI, 1.03–1.09; p < 0.001; I2 = 0%) remained significant. Conversely, vasectomy was no longer associated with localized high-grade (p = 0.19), advanced (p = 0.22), and lethal (p = 0.42) PCa.
Our meta-analysis found an association between vasectomy and any, mainly localized, PCa. However, the effect estimates of the association were increasingly close to null when examining studies of robust design and high quality. On exploratory analyses including studies, which adjusted for PSA screening, the association for aggressive and/or advanced PCa diminished.
In this study, we found an association between vasectomy and the risk of developing localized prostate cancer without being able to determine whether the procedure leads to a higher prostate cancer incidence.
Despite recent improvements in survival, metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancers (mCRPCs) remain lethal. Alterations in genes involved in the homologous recombination repair (HRR) pathway ...are associated with poor prognosis. Poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors (PARPis) have demonstrated anti-tumoral effects by synthetic lethality in patients with mCRPCs harboring HRR gene alterations, in particular
. While both olaparib and rucaparib have obtained government approvals for use, the selection of eligible patients as well as the prescription of these treatments within the clinical urology community are challenging. This review proposes a brief review of the rationale and outcomes of PARPi treatment, then a pragmatic vision of PARPi use in terms of prescription and the selection of patients based on molecular screening, which can involve potential genetic counseling in the case of associated germinal alterations.