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Objective: To assess the association of being overweight or obese with Nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) recurrence, stage progression, and grade progression., Methods: Patients with NMIBC were included and categorized into 3 groups based on their body mass index (BMI): normal weight, overweight, and obese. Recurrence was defined as any histologically proven bladder cancer on subsequent transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT). Progression was defined as upgrading from low to high grade, upstaging to pT1 from pTa, or to muscle-invasion from pT1 disease., Results: A total of 457 patients were analyzed, 135 (29.5%) had normal weight, 192 (42.6%) were overweight, and 130 (28.4%) were obese, with a median BMI of 27.1 (24.4-30.7) Kg/m2. The study found no significant difference in the time to recurrence, stage progression, and grade progression within the BMI categories (P < .05). Additionally, no increased risk was observed in BMI categories (Obesity recurrence HR: 1.067, CI 95%: 0.783-1.453; Obesity stage progression HR: 1.315, 95% CI: 0.635-2.724; Obesity grade progression HR: 0.586, 95% CI: 0.195-1.760)., Conclusions: In our cohort, body weight category showed no association with NMIBC recurrence, stage progression, or grade progression. These findings highlight the need to identify other potential risk factors that could improve NMIBC risk stratification. Further studies are warranted to validate our results and explore additional predictors of NMIBC outcomes., Competing Interests: Disclosure All authors have no conflict of interests to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding: The authors have disclosed that they have no significant relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this article.

Introduction: Active surveillance (AS) is a safe strategy for small renal masses (SRM) suspicious of renal cell carcinoma. In this study we analyze real world outcomes of active surveillance SRM from 5 tertiary Spanish centers, assessing clinical, radiological, and pathological characteristics, as well as therapeutic options., Methods: A multicenter retrospective review was conducted including patients on AS from January 2012 to September 2024. We analyzed the indication for AS, initial lesion size, growth rate (GR), and progression on active surveillance. Cox regression analysis was performed to identify predictor of deferred intervention (DI)., Results: A total of 384 patients with renal tumors were included in AS, with an initial mean tumor size of 20.5mm. With a mean follow-up period of 43 months, the average GR across the cohort was 1.4 mm/y. About 15% of patients (n = 59) received active treatment (partial nephrectomy 56%, radical nephrectomy 16%, and radiofrequency 28%). Age, tumor size and tumor growth were factors correlated with delayed intervention, and only initial tumor size was correlated with GR. Pathological analysis after active treatment showed high grade clear cell carcinoma in 43.5% of cases with a GR of > 5 mm/y, as compared to 19.4% of oncocytomas in slow growing lesions. No disease progression nor cancer-specific deaths were observed in our series., Conclusions: In our multicenter cohort, AS is a valid option for SRMs without affecting oncological outcomes, with clinical factors such as age, tumor size, GR and initial biopsy influencing decisions on intervention., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Open ureteroenteric reimplantation (OUER) of ureteroenteric strictures (UESs) is related to important morbidity. Robot-assisted ureteroenteric reimplantation (RUER) has been proposed to provide similar outcomes with lower morbidity. We aimed to compare perioperative and functional outcomes between RUER and OUER., Methods: A retrospective multicenter study of 80 patients, who underwent 82 ureteroenteric reimplantations (17 OUER vs 65 RUER) at 8 institutions between 2009-2021 for benign UESs after radical cystectomy. All the open procedures were performed by the same center in order to compare the robotic approach with a standardized technique. Data were reviewed for demographics, stricture characteristics, and perioperative outcomes. Complication and stricture recurrence rates were compared between both groups., Results: Among 82 reimplantations, 44 were left sided (54%) and 12 bilateral (14%). Median time from cystectomy to diagnosis of stricture was 6 months (range 3-18). Baseline characteristics (gender, age, BMI, side, type of urinary diversion and previous abdominal radiotherapy) were comparable between RUER and OUER groups, except for ASA score and rates of prior robotic cystectomy. The 30-day overall postoperative complication rate was 37% in RUER compared to 70.6% in OUER (p = 0.026). Patients who underwent a RUER had statistically significant lower rate of intraoperative blood transfusion (0% vs 12%, p = 0.041), urinary tract infection (12% vs 53%, p < 0.001), bowel injury (0% vs 12%, p = 0.041) and high-grade complications (Clavien III-IV) (4.6% vs 23.5%, p = 0.031). RUER patients had shorter median length of hospital stay (3 days IQR[1-6] vs 6 IQR[3-9], p = 0.018) and lower readmission rate (4.6% vs 29.4%, p = 0.008). After a median follow-up of 23.5 months (8.7-43), 80% of RUER cases were stricture free compared to 90% of OUER (p = 0.42)., Conclusions: RUER achieved a success rate comparable to that of open revisions and may provide some advantages in terms of perioperative outcomes. Prospective and larger studies are warranted to prove its superiority compared to the standard open technique., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: In patients with prostate cancer (PCa), focal therapy with High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) combined with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) surgery has been used to improve immediate post-operative voiding symptoms. Our study aimed to evaluate the functional outcomes of patients undergoing simultaneous holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) + HIFU and compare them to those who underwent HoLEP for bladder outlet obstruction secondary to BPH., Methods: We performed retrospective review of patients who underwent HoLEP + HIFU or HoLEP between June 2017 and May 2024. The nearest neighbor method with age and prostate volume were used to propensity match HoLEP + HIFU patients with HoLEP only patients in a 1:2 ratio. Demographics, functional characteristics, and complications of patients who underwent HoLEP + HIFU were compared with patients undergoing only HoLEP for BPH., Results: A total of 99 patients were analyzed, of which 33 patients underwent combined HIFU with HoLEP. Patients undergoing HIFU + HoLEP experienced higher rates of acute urinary retention (p = 0.016) and transient urinary incontinence, along with a delayed recovery of full continence, compared to those who underwent HoLEP alone. Postoperative urinary tract infection (UTI), urethral stricture, bladder neck stenosis (BNS), and continence rate were similar between the groups., Conclusion: Patients undergoing HoLEP + HIFU seems to have a higher risk of post-operative acute urine retention and delayed recovery from transient urinary incontinence, compared to HoLEP alone. The addition of HIFU to HoLEP does not influence the rate of UTI, urethral stricture, BNS, or improvement of voiding parameters up to one year follow up., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background and Objective: Prostate cancer (PC) heterogeneity can result in sampling discrepancies during biopsy, leading to inaccurate molecular classifications that affect treatment decisions. We evaluated transcriptomic profile variability between multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI)-targeted biopsy (TBx) and systematic biopsy (SBx) methods using the Decipher GRID platform., Methods: The study included 205 men from the MAST trial. We analyzed 408 biopsy samples, of which 149 were TBx and 259 were SBx samples. Three prognostic signatures-the Decipher genomic classifier (DGC), cell cycle progression (CCP), and Genomic Prostate Score-were assessed in relation to grade group (GG) and MRI phenotype. Multivariable linear regression was conducted to adjust for the confounding effects of GG and tumor purity., Key Findings and Limitations: Unpaired analysis revealed that TBx samples had higher derived GPS and CCP scores than SBx samples (p < 0.05), but the difference was no longer significant after multiple-test adjustment. There was no significant difference in scores between SBx and TBx samples in the subgroup with GG 1 disease. For TBx cores, higher genomic scores were associated with higher Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) scores in the overall cohort, but not in the GG 1 subgroup. Multivariable analysis revealed significant associations between DGC and CCP scores and PI-RADS scores (p < 0.01). Higher DGC score concordance between TBx and SBx lesions was observed in the low-risk subgroup. A limitation of the study is the small sample size, so further validation is required., Conclusions and Clinical Implications: TBx samples yield higher genomic scores than SBx samples, with grade influencing the association between PI-RADS score and genomic risk. For the GG 1 subgroup, there was no correlation between PI-RADS and genomic scores. These findings need further validation to assess the impact of TBx on genomic risk assessment in active surveillance., Patient Summary: We examined the effectiveness of two different biopsy methods in assessing the risk of prostate cancer (PC) progression. We found that while biopsy samples guided by MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans often showed higher genetic risk scores than biopsy samples without MRI guidance, the difference was not significant for men with lower-grade PC. Our findings suggest that MRI targeting for biopsy might not always provide additional information about cancer aggressiveness for patients with low-risk PC., (Copyright © 2024 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To examine prostate cancer (PCa) screening disparities among ethnic groups in the U.S. using the All of Us database., Material and Methods: White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian males ≥ 40 years old were included, excluding diagnosis's that conflict with PCa screening. We analyzed prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening rates by age based on American Urological Association guidelines, using multivariable logistic regression (MLR) and a Cox time-to-event models that considered race, age, income, education, insurance, and home ownership as independent variables. Initial screening ages and biopsy rates were also compared., Results: Of 56,473 individuals, 18,088 had PSA measurements: 74% White, 15% Black, 9% Hispanic, and 2% Asian. Hispanic (20%) and Black (21%) minorities were less likely to undergo PSA screening compared to White men (39%, P < 0.001). However, minorities had their initial PSA earlier with their first test from 53-54 years old compared to White men at 58 years (P < 0.001). MLR revealed race, age, income, education, insurance type, and home ownership as screening predictors (P < 0.001). Screened Black men had higher odds of an elevated PSA (P < 0.001), but the likelihood of receiving a biopsy postelevated PSA did not significantly differ from White men (P = 0.821). Additionally, those screened at age ≥ 70 were more likely to be White, have at least a college education, and be homeowners (P < 0.001)., Conclusions: White men, despite starting at a later age, are screened with PSAs more frequently than minorities, and often undergo screening at older ages outside the recommended guidelines. Black men did not have a higher rate of biopsy after having an elevated PSA compared to White men., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors Jonathan T. Ryan, William Jin, Joao G. Porto, Dinno Mendiola, Tarek Ajami, Hui Yu, Brandon Mahal, and Sanoj Punnen declare that they have no conflict of interest relevant to this article., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and Objective: Focal therapy is increasingly being used as a treatment for localized prostate cancer (PC). Our aim was to evaluate oncological outcomes, recurrence patterns, and survival after high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), to discuss the lessons learned from our experience, and to propose strategies to enhance patient selection for HIFU treatment., Methods: Between 2016 and 2023, 113 patients underwent focal HIFU treatment for PC. Follow-up included prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measurement every 3 mo, magnetic resonance imaging, and a control biopsy performed at 6 or 12 mo. Recurrence was categorized on the basis of location (infield or out-of-field) and Gleason grade group (clinically significant [CS] vs non-CS) with stratification by National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk groups. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to analyze survival outcomes, recurrence rates, and the need for retreatment., Key Findings and Limitations: Median follow-up was 29 mo and 92 patients (81%) had PSA follow-up for at least 12 mo. Local recurrence was observed in 34 patients (37%), which was CS in 16 (17%). The CS recurrence-free survival rate at 3 yr was worse for subgroups with high-risk or unfavorable intermediate-risk disease in comparison to the group with favorable intermediate-risk PC (40% and 53% vs 85%; log-rank p < 0.01), with a higher rate of out-of-field recurrence in the high-risk group. The Kaplan-Meier retreatment-free survival rate estimate was 71% at 3 yr. Sixteen patients (17%) underwent salvage local treatment. Study limitations include the small cohort size and relatively short follow-up., Conclusions and Clinical Implications: HIFU is a promising alternative for localized PC in well-selected patients. However, patients with high-risk or unfavorable intermediate-risk PC are more likely to experience treatment failure., Patient Summary: We examined cancer control outcomes after high-intensity focused ultrasound for localized prostate cancer. We found that the rate of cancer recurrence was higher for patients with higher-risk disease. However, this treatment is a feasible and acceptable option for patients with intermediate risk., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) is classified into 2 prognostically distinct types: human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated and HPV-independent. However, the impact of p53 status on prognosis remains controversial. We correlated HPV and p53 status with the prognosis of a large series of patients with PSCC. p53 was analyzed according to a recently described immunohistochemical (IHC) pattern-based framework that includes 2 normal and 4 abnormal patterns and closely correlates with TP53 mutational status. A total of 122 patients with surgically treated PSCC in 3 hospitals were included. Based on HPV in situ hybridization and p16 and p53 IHC, the tumors were classified into 3 subtypes: HPV-associated, HPV-independent/p53 normal, and HPV-independent/p53 abnormal. All patients were followed up for at least 22 months (median: 56.9 months). Thirty-six tumors (29%) were HPV-associated, 35 (29%) were HPV-independent/p53 normal, and 51 (42%) were HPV-independent/p53 abnormal. Disease-related deaths were observed in 3/36 (8%), 0/35 (0%) and 14/51 (27%) of the patients, respectively ( P < 0.001). A total of 7/14 deaths in the latter group were patients with tumors showing p53 abnormal patterns not recognized in the classic p53 IHC interpretation (basal, null, and cytoplasmic). According to our multivariate analysis, HPV-independent/p53 abnormal tumors and advanced stage were associated with impaired disease-specific survival (hazard ratio = 23.4, 95% CI = 2.7-3095.3; P = 0.001 and 16.3, 95% CI = 1.8-2151.5; P = 0.008, respectively). In conclusion, compared with patients with HPV-associated and HPV-independent/p53-normal PSCC, patients with HPV-independent/p53 abnormal PSCC have worse clinical outcomes. p53 IHC results define 2 prognostic categories in HPV-independent PSCC: HPV-independent/p53-normal tumors as low-risk tumors, whereas HPV-independent/p53-abnormal tumors as aggressive neoplasms., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding: The authors have disclosed that they have no significant relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this article., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: The recommendation to perform biopsy of PIRADS 3 lesions has not been adopted with strength as compared to higher scored lesions on multiparametric MRI. This represents a challenging scenario and an unmet need for clinicians to apply a risk adapted approach in these cases. In the present study, we examined clinical and radiologic characteristics in men with PI-RADS 3 index lesions that can predict csPCa on mpMRI-target biopsy., Methods: Revision of a prospective database with patients who underwent targeted and systematic biopsies from 2015 to 2023 for PI-RADS 3 lesions identified on mpMRI. Baseline variables were collected, such as PSA density (PSAd), 4Kscore, prostate size, and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value of the lesion on mpMRI. Logistic regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and decision curve analyses (DCA) assessing the association between clinic-radiologic factors and csPCa were performed., Results: Overall, 230 patients were included in the study and the median age was 65 years. The median prostate size and PSA were 50 g and 6.26 ng/mL, respectively. 17.4% of patients had csPCa, while 27.5% had Gleason group 1. In univariable logistic analyses, we found that age, BMI, prostate size, PSAd, ADC, and 4Kscore were significant csPCa predictors (P < 0.05). PSAd showed the best prediction performance in terms of AUC (= 0.679). On multivariable analysis, PSAd and 4Kscore were associated with csPCa. The net benefit of PSAd combined with clinical features was superior to those of other parameters. Within patients with PSAd < 0.15, 4Kscore was a statistically significant predictor of csPCa (OR = 3.25, P = 0.032)., Conclusion: PSAd and 4Kscore are better predictors of csPCa in patients with PIRADS 3 lesions compared to ADC. The predictive role of 4Kscore is higher in patients with low PSAd. These results can assist practitioners in the risk stratification of patients with equivocal lesions to determine the need of biopsy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The need for increased clinical efficacy and efficiency has been the main force in developing artificial intelligence (AI) tools in medical imaging. The INCISIVE project is a European Union-funded initiative aiming to revolutionize cancer imaging methods using AI technology. It seeks to address limitations in imaging techniques by developing an AI-based toolbox that improves accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, interpretability, and cost-effectiveness., Objective: To ensure the successful implementation of the INCISIVE AI service, a study was conducted to understand the needs, challenges, and expectations of health care professionals (HCPs) regarding the proposed toolbox and any potential implementation barriers., Methods: A mixed methods study consisting of 2 phases was conducted. Phase 1 involved user experience (UX) design workshops with users of the INCISIVE AI toolbox. Phase 2 involved a Delphi study conducted through a series of sequential questionnaires. To recruit, a purposive sampling strategy based on the project's consortium network was used. In total, 16 HCPs from Serbia, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Spain, and the United Kingdom participated in the UX design workshops and 12 completed the Delphi study. Descriptive statistics were performed using SPSS (IBM Corp), enabling the calculation of mean rank scores of the Delphi study's lists. The qualitative data collected via the UX design workshops was analyzed using NVivo (version 12; Lumivero) software., Results: The workshops facilitated brainstorming and identification of the INCISIVE AI toolbox's desired features and implementation barriers. Subsequently, the Delphi study was instrumental in ranking these features, showing a strong consensus among HCPs (W=0.741, P<.001). Additionally, this study also identified implementation barriers, revealing a strong consensus among HCPs (W=0.705, P<.001). Key findings indicated that the INCISIVE AI toolbox could assist in areas such as misdiagnosis, overdiagnosis, delays in diagnosis, detection of minor lesions, decision-making in disagreement, treatment allocation, disease prognosis, prediction, treatment response prediction, and care integration throughout the patient journey. Limited resources, lack of organizational and managerial support, and data entry variability were some of the identified barriers. HCPs also had an explicit interest in AI explainability, desiring feature relevance explanations or a combination of feature relevance and visual explanations within the toolbox., Conclusions: The results provide a thorough examination of the INCISIVE AI toolbox's design elements as required by the end users and potential barriers to its implementation, thus guiding the design and implementation of the INCISIVE technology. The outcome offers information about the degree of AI explainability required of the INCISIVE AI toolbox across the three services: (1) initial diagnosis; (2) disease staging, differentiation, and characterization; and (3) treatment and follow-up indicated for the toolbox. By considering the perspective of end users, INCISIVE aims to develop a solution that effectively meets their needs and drives adoption., (©Iman Hesso, Lithin Zacharias, Reem Kayyali, Andreas Charalambous, Maria Lavdaniti, Evangelia Stalika, Tarek Ajami, Wanda Acampa, Jasmina Boban, Shereen Nabhani-Gebara. Originally published in JMIR Cancer (https://cancer.jmir.org), 10.10.2024.)

Background: In patients treated with partial nephrectomy, prior evidence showed that peri-operative outcomes, such as complications and ischemia time, improved as a function of the surgical experience of the surgeon, but data on functional outcomes after surgery are still scarce. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data of 4011 patients with a single, unilateral cT1a-b renal mass treated with laparoscopic or robot-assisted partial nephrectomy. The operations were performed by 119 surgeons at 22 participating institutions between 1997 and 2022. Multivariable models investigated the association between surgical experience (number of prior operations) and acute kidney injury (AKI) and recovery of at least 90% of baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 1 yr after partial nephrectomy. The adjustment for case mix included age, Body Mass Index, preoperative serum creatinine, clinical T stage, PADUA score, warm ischemia time, pathologic tumor size, and year of surgery. Results: A total of 753 (19%) and 3258 (81%) patients underwent laparoscopic and robot-assisted partial nephrectomy, respectively. Overall, 37 (31%) and 55 (46%) surgeons contributed only to laparoscopic and robotic learning curves, respectively, whereas 27 (23%) contributed to the learning curves of both approaches. In the laparoscopic group, 8% and 55% of patients developed AKI and recovered at least 90% of their baseline eGFR, respectively. After adjusting for confounders, we did not find evidence of an association between surgical experience and AKI after laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (odds ratio [OR]: 0.9992; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.9963, 1.0022; p = 0.6). Similar results were found when 1-year renal function was the outcome of interest (OR: 0.9996; 95% CI: 0.9988, 1.0005; p = 0.5). Among patients who underwent robot-assisted partial nephrectomy, AKI occurred in 11% of patients, whereas 54% recovered at least 90% of their baseline eGFR. On multivariable analyses, the relationship between surgical experience and AKI after surgery was not statistically significant (OR: 1.0015; 95% CI: 0.9992, 1.0037; p = 0.2), with similar results when the outcome of interest was renal function one year after surgery (OR: 1.0001; 95% CI: 0.9980, 1.0022; p = 0.9). Virtually the same findings were found on sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: In patients treated with laparoscopic or robot-assisted partial nephrectomy, our data suggest that the surgical experience of the operating surgeon might not be a key determinant of functional recovery after surgery. This raises questions about the use of serum markers to assess functional recovery in patients with two kidneys and opens the discussion on what are the key steps of the procedure that allowed surgeons to achieve optimal outcomes since their initial cases.

Purpose: The aim of the present study is to assess the role of indocyanine green (ICG) to evaluate distal ureteral vascularity during robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) with intracorporeal urinary diversion and its impact on the incidence of benign ureteroenteric strictures (UES)., Methods: The study included patients who underwent RARC for bladder cancer between 2018 and 2023. All patients included underwent intracorporeal urinary diversion with ileal conduit or neobladder. Bricker technique was performed in all ureteroenteric anastomosis. ICG was employed during the study period to evaluate ureteral vascularity. We divided patients into 2 groups depending on the utilization of ICG during surgery and compared demographic, clinicopathological and perioperative outcomes, including benign UES rates., Results: We identified 221 patients that underwent RARC with intracorporeal urinary diversion. Ileal conduit was performed in 173 (78.3%) patients and neobladder in 48 (21.7%) cases. A total of 142 (64.3%) and 79 (35.7%) patients were in the non-ICG and ICG group, respectively. With a median follow-up of the entire cohort of 21.1 months, there were no differences in the rate of benign UES after RARC between the non-ICG and the ICG group (p = 0.901). In the non-ICG group, 26 (18.3%) patients developed benign UES and in the ICG group 15 (19.0%) patients. Most of the strictures appeared in the left ureter in both groups (80.8% non-ICG vs. 66.7% ICG, p = 0.599). Median time to stricture diagnosis was 4 months (IQR 3-7.25) for the non-ICG and 3 months (IQR 2-5) for the ICG group (p = 0.091). The ICG group had a slightly greater length of ureter resected compared with the non-ICG group (1.5 vs. 1.3 cm, p = 0.007)., Conclusion: In our experience, choosing to use ICG intraoperatively to evaluate distal ureteral vascularity may not reduce the rate of benign UES after robot-assisted radical cystectomy with intracorporeal urinary diversion and Bricker ureteroileal anastomosis., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of combined High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) and Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (HoLEP) in treating patients with both localized prostate cancer (PCa) and prostate > 60 g., Methods: All patients who underwent HIFU for treatment of localized PCa were prospectively enrolled in our study. We reviewed records of patients undergoing procedures from January 2016 to January 2023. For patients with prostate sizes > 60 g, HoLEP was offered before HIFU to prevent worsened urinary symptoms post-treatment. Oncological outcomes-prostatic-specific (PSA) kinetics, recurrence rates, treatment failure - and functional results-Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM), International Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS), and urinary complications were compared between patients undergoing combined HoLEP and HIFU with those underwent HIFU-monotherapy., Results: Among 100 patients, 74 underwent HIFU-monotherapy and 26 underwent the combined HoLEP and HIFU. The majority had intermediate-risk PCa (67%). Pathologic assessment of HoLEP specimens showed no tumor evidence in 57% of cases. In comparison to the HIFU-only group, the combined group exhibited significantly lower PSA metrics across various intervals, however, no differences were found regarding overall and infield recurrences and treatment failure rates. While the combined treatment initially resulted in higher incontinence rates and shorter catheterization durations (P < 0.001), no significant difference in IPSS was observed during subsequent follow-ups., Conclusion: HoLEP and HIFU can be safely combined for the treatment of PCa in patients with >60 g prostate volume without compromising early oncological outcomes thereby expanding the therapeutic scope of HIFU in treating patients with localized PCa and large adenomas., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Deterioration of renal function is associated with increased all-cause mortality. In renal masses larger than 4 cm, whether partial versus radical nephrectomy (PN vs. RN) might affect long-term functional outcomes is unknown. This study tested the association between PN versus RN and postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI), recovery of at least 90% of the preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 1 year, upstaging of chronic kidney disease (CKD) one stage or more at 1 year, and eGFR decline of 45 ml/min/1.73 m 2 or less at 1 year., Methods: Data from 23 high-volume institutions were used. The study included only surgically treated patients with single, unilateral, localized, clinical T1b-2 renal masses. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed., Results: Overall, 968 PN patients and 325 RN patients were identified. The rate of AKI was lower in the PN versus the RN patients (17% vs. 58%; p < 0.001). At 1 year after surgery, for the PN versus the RN patients, the rate for recovery of at least 90% of baseline eGFR was 51% versus 16%, the rate of CKD progression of ≥ 1 stage was 38% versus 65%, and the rate of eGFR decline of 45 ml/min/1.73 m 2 or less was 10% versus 23% (all p < 0.001). Radical nephrectomy independently predicted AKI (odds ratio [OR], 7.61), 1-year ≥ 90% eGFR recovery (OR, 0.30), 1-year CKD upstaging (OR, 1.78), and 1-year eGFR decline of 45 ml/min/1.73 m 2 or less (OR, 2.36) (all p ≤ 0.002)., Conclusions: For cT1b-2 masses, RN portends worse immediate and 1-year functional outcomes. When technically feasible and oncologically safe, efforts should be made to spare the kidney in case of large renal masses to avoid the hazard of glomerular function loss-related mortality., (© 2024. Society of Surgical Oncology.)

Objective: This study aims to investigate the impact of risk group classification, restaging transurethral resection (re-TURBT), and adjuvant treatment intensity on recurrence and progression risks in high-grade Ta tumours in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC)., Materials and Methods: Data from a comprehensive bladder cancer database were utilized for this study. Patients with primary high-grade Ta tumours were included. Risk groups were classified according to AUA/SUO criteria. Tumour characteristics and patient demographics were analysed using descriptive statistics. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to assess the effect of re-TURBT and other clinical/treatment-related predictors on recurrence- and progression-free survivals. The survivals by selected predictors were estimated using Kaplan-Meier method, and groups were compared by the log-rank test., Results: Among 218 patients with high-grade Ta bladder cancer, those who underwent re-TURBT had significantly better 5-year recurrence-free survival (71.1% vs. 26.8%, p  = 0.0009) and progression-free survival (98.6% vs. 73%, p  = 0.0018) compared with those with initial TURBT alone. Full BCG treatment (induction and maintenance) showed lower recurrence risk, especially in high-risk patients. However, residual disease at re-TURBT did not significantly affect recurrence risk., Conclusions: This study highlights the significance of risk group classification, the role of re-TURBT, and the intensity of adjuvant treatment in the management of high-grade Ta tumours. A risk-adapted model is crucial to reduce the burden of unnecessary intravesical treatment and endoscopic procedures., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 The Authors. BJUI Compass published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of BJU International Company.)

Background: Cancer poses significant challenges for healthcare professionals across the disease pathway including cancer imaging. This study constitutes part of the user requirement definition of INCISIVE EU project. The project has been designed to explore the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies in cancer imaging to streamline diagnosis and management. The study aimed to map cancer care pathways (breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancers) across INCISIVE partner countries, and identify bottle necks within these pathways., Methods: Email interviews were conducted with ten oncology specialised healthcare professionals representing INCISIVE partner countries: Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Italy, Finland, the United Kingdom (UK) and Serbia. A purposive sampling strategy was employed for recruitment and data was collected between December 2020 and April 2021. Data was entered into Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to allow content examination and comparative analysis., Results: The analysed pathways all shared a common characteristic: inequalities in relation to delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment. All the studied countries, except the UK, lacked official national data about diagnostic and therapeutic delays. Furthermore, a considerable variation was noted regarding the availability of imaging and diagnostic services across the seven countries. Several concerns were also noted for inefficiencies/inequalities with regards to national screening for the four investigated cancer types., Conclusions: Delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment are an ongoing challenge and a source for inequalities. It is important to have systematic reporting of diagnostic and therapeutic delays in all countries to allow the proper estimation of its magnitude and support needed to address it. Our findings also support the orientation of the current policies towards early detection and wide scale adoption and implementation of cancer screening, through research, innovation, and technology. Technologies involving AI can have a great potential to revolutionise cancer care delivery., Policy Summary: This study highlights the widespread delay in cancer diagnosis across Europe and supports the need for, systematic reporting of delays, improved availability of imaging services, and optimised national screening programs. The goal is to enhance cancer care delivery, encourage early detection, and implement research, innovation, and AI-based technologies for improved cancer imaging., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The transplant community is focused on prolonging the ex vivo preservation time of kidney grafts to allow for long-distance kidney graft transportation, assess the viability of marginal grafts, and optimize a platform for the translation of innovative therapeutics to clinical practice, especially those focused on cell and vector delivery to organ conditioning and reprogramming. We describe the first case of feasible preservation of a kidney from a donor after uncontrolled circulatory death over a 73-h period using normothermic perfusion and analyze hemodynamic, biochemical, histological, and transcriptomic parameters for inflammation and kidney injury. The mean pressure and flow values were 71.24 ± 9.62 mmHg and 99.65 ± 18.54 mL/min, respectively. The temperature range was 36.7°C-37.2°C. The renal resistance index was 0.75 ± 0.15 mmHg/mL/min. The mean pH was 7.29 ± 0.15. The lactate concentration peak increased until 213 mg/dL at 6 h, reaching normal values after 34 h of perfusion (8.92 mg/dL). The total urine output at the end of perfusion was 1.185 mL. Histological analysis revealed no significant increase in acute tubular necrosis (ATN) severity as perfusion progressed. The expression of KIM-1, VEGF, and TGFβ decreased after 6-18 h of perfusion until 60 h in which the expression of these genes increased again together with the expression of β -catenin, Ki67, and TIMP1. We show that normothermic perfusion can maintain a kidney graft viable ex vivo for 3 days, thus allowing a rapid translation of pre-clinical therapeutics to clinical practice., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Montagud-Marrahi, Luque, Ros, Ajami, Cuadrado-Payan, Estrella, Arancibia, Sánchez-Etayo, Bohils, Marrero, Fundora, Ramírez-Bajo, Banon-Maneus, Rovira, Larque, Campistol, Diekmann and Musquera.)

Objective: To assess the outcomes of holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) at the extremes of the size spectrum, comparing whether the results are consistent for very large and small prostates., Methods: A retrospective review of 402 patient charts was conducted to compare the outcomes of HoLEP in patients with prostate size ≤40 g (group 1), 41-200 g (group 2), and >200 g (group 3). Various preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative variables were collected., Results: HoLEP showed comparable voiding outcomes among all 3 groups, although patients with small prostates had a higher International Prostate Symptom Score during follow-up (P = .022). We noted a higher rate of perioperative blood transfusion in patients with very large prostates (P = .019) and a higher rate of transient acute urinary retention (AUR) in group 1 when compared to group 3 (P = .048). Patients with smaller prostates had a higher rate of bladder neck stenosis and urethral strictures, but the differences were not found to be statistically significant. The incidence of other complications, length of hospital stay, and catheterization duration did not differ significantly among the groups., Conclusion: HoLEP has consistent and safe outcomes across a wide range of prostate sizes. Although, the risk of blood transfusion is higher in patients with very large prostates and the risk of transient AUR is greater in patients with small glands, the overall efficacy and safety of HoLEP are not significantly influenced by prostate size., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Hemendra Navinchandra Shah received $1000 from Lumenis for mentoring urologists for HoLEP in 2019, and he is principal investigator in studies sponsored by Boston Scientific and Applaud Medical. The other authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The objectives of this study are to evaluate the impact of incidental prostate cancer (iPCa) and its different grade group (GG) on the surgical outcomes of holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) and, furthermore, to assess the independent risk factors associated with the detection of iPCa., Patients or Materials and Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted at a single institution for HoLEP cases that were performed between 2017 and 2022. Patients with a preoperative diagnosis of prostate cancer and those without baseline prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels within 1 year were excluded. Four hundred seventeen patients were divided into three groups: benign prostatic hyperplasia-377; clinically insignificant (GG 1)-29; and clinically significant prostate cancer (GG 2-5)-11. The preoperative parameters analysed included age, body mass index, race/ethnicity, use of 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, PSA, prostate size, PSA density, and history of negative prostate biopsy. To evaluate the association between clinical and demographic variables, a multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analysis was performed. We also assessed intraoperative and post-operative outcomes among these three groups., Results: A total of 417 patients were analysed; 40 (9.6%) patients had iPCa, of which 29 (72.5%) and 11 (27.5%) were clinically nonsignificant and significant prostate cancer, respectively. Of all the demographic and preoperative variables analysed, hypertension was significantly associated with overall prostate cancer diagnosis ( p  < 0.05), and no other variable including patient age, preoperative PSA, PSA density, prostate size, or prior prostate biopsy were associated with increased risk of overall prostate cancer or clinically significant prostate cancer diagnosis. Most cases of iPCa were GG1, and 34 (85%) were managed with active surveillance., Conclusion: The rate of iPCa after HoLEP was 9.6%, with most cases being GG 1 (72.5%) and managed through active surveillance. Age, prostate size, baseline PSA, and prior negative prostate biopsies were not associated with increased risk of iPCa., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Authors. BJUI Compass published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of BJU International Company.)

Background: The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in cancer care has gained unprecedented global attention over the past few decades. This has impacted the way that cancer care is practiced and delivered across settings. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives and experiences of healthcare professionals (HCPs) on cancer treatment and the need for AI. This study is a part of the INCISIVE European Union H2020 project's development of user requirements, which aims to fully explore the potential of AI-based cancer imaging technologies., Methods: A mixed-methods research design was employed. HCPs participating in cancer care in the UK, Greece, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, and Serbia were first surveyed anonymously online. Twenty-seven HCPs then participated in semi-structured interviews. Appropriate statistical method was adopted to report the survey results by using SPSS. The interviews were audio recorded, verbatim transcribed, and then thematically analysed supported by NVIVO., Results: The survey drew responses from 95 HCPs. The occurrence of diagnostic delay was reported by 56% (n = 28/50) for breast cancer, 64% (n = 27/42) for lung cancer, 76% (n = 34/45) for colorectal cancer and 42% (n = 16/38) for prostate cancer. A proportion of participants reported the occurrence of false positives in the accuracy of the current imaging techniques used: 64% (n = 32/50) reported this for breast cancer, 60% (n = 25/42) for lung cancer, 51% (n = 23/45) for colorectal cancer and 45% (n = 17/38) for prostate cancer. All participants agreed that the use of technology would enhance the care pathway for cancer patients. Despite the positive perspectives toward AI, certain limitations were also recorded. The majority (73%) of respondents (n = 69/95) reported they had never utilised technology in the care pathway which necessitates the need for education and training in the qualitative finding; compared to 27% (n = 26/95) who had and were still using it. Most, 89% of respondents (n = 85/95) said they would be opened to providing AI-based services in the future to improve medical imaging for cancer care. Interviews with HCPs revealed lack of widespread preparedness for AI in oncology, several barriers to introducing AI, and a need for education and training. Provision of AI training, increasing public awareness of AI, using evidence-based technology, and developing AI based interventions that will not replace HCPs were some of the recommendations., Conclusion: HCPs reported favourable opinions of AI-based cancer imaging technologies and noted a number of care pathway concerns where AI can be useful. For the future design and execution of the INCISIVE project and other comparable AI-based projects, the characteristics and recommendations offered in the current research can serve as a reference., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

p53 immunohistochemistry (IHC) has been proposed as a surrogate for TP53 mutations in penile squamous cell carcinomas (PSCC). We aimed to evaluate the performance of a pattern-based evaluation of p53 IHC in PSCC. Human papilloma virus (HPV) DNA testing, p16 and p53 IHC, and whole exome sequencing were performed in a series of 40 PSCC. p53 IHC was evaluated following a pattern-based framework and conventional p53 IHC evaluation. Out of 40 PSCC, 12 (30.0%) were HPV-associated, and 28 (70.0%) were HPV-independent. The agreement between the p53 IHC pattern-based evaluation and TP53 mutational status was almost perfect (k = 0.85). The sensitivity and accuracy of the pattern-based framework for identifying TP53 mutations were 95.5% and 92.5%, respectively, which were higher than the values of conventional p53 IHC interpretation (54.5% and 70.0%, respectively), whereas the specificity was the same (88.9%). In conclusions, the pattern-based framework improves the accuracy of detecting TP53 mutations in PSCC compared to the classical p53 IHC evaluation.