Search

Objective: To investigate the risk factors affecting cancer-specific survival (CSS) in nonresponsive disease to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) among patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) who were treated with NAC and radical cystectomy (RC)., Methods: Patients with MIBC who underwent NAC and RC were retrospectively examined. By comparing clinical and pathological stages, patients whose pathological stage was lower than clinical stage were categorized as "NAC-responsive" and the remainder as "NAC-non-responsive." Apart from pathologic staging, variables compared between groups included age, gender, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score, clinical stages, NAC type and cycle number, durations between MIBC diagnosis and NAC initiation and RC, presence of hydronephrosis, number of lymph nodes removed, and variant histology of urothelial bladder cancer. CSS analysis was performed by construction of Kaplan-Meier survival curves and multivariable Cox regression was performed to identify the prognosticators in the NAC-non-responsive-group., Results: Ninety-two patients were included with a mean age was 61.5 ± 8.5 years, of whom 84.8% were men. The NAC regimen used was predominantly gemcitabine-cisplatin (88%) and the median cycle number was 4. Fifty-six (60.9%) patients were NAC-non-responsive. There was a significantly lower proportion of patients receiving ≥4 cycles (46.4% vs. 66.7%) and a higher rate of patients with ECOG score ˃1 (33.9% vs. 11.1%) in the NAC-non-responsive-group compared to the NAC-responsive-group (both P < 0.05). Other variables were similar between groups. In multivariable analysis, only ypN+ was found to be an independent prognosticator for CSS in NAC-non-responsive-group (HR: 2.725, CI95%:1.017-7.303)., Conclusion: Although higher ECOG scores and lower cycle numbers appears to be associated factors in NAC-non-responsive disease, only ypN(+) status was a prognosticator for CSS in this population., 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 and objective Bladder cancer (BC) is a common urothelial neoplasm, with non-muscle invasive forms comprising about 75% of cases and generally having better outcomes than muscle-invasive types. Accurate preoperative grading and staging of BC are essential for appropriate treatment planning. This study investigates the efficacy of computerized tomography (CT) in correlating the morphological features of tumors to predict the histopathological grades of BC.  Materials and methods This retrospective cohort involved 100 patients diagnosed with non-muscle invasive BC, who underwent transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TUR-BT) between January 2010 and August 2021. CT imaging, utilizing a 128-slice CT scanner, was employed to measure the tumor height (H) and contact length (CL). The study considered morphometric parameters across axial, coronal, and sagittal planes. Statistical analyses were conducted, comparing radiological findings with histopathological evaluations. Tumor grading was determined according to the 2004/2016 WHO classification. Results Among the 100 patients with primary bladder tumors, 15 were female and 85 were male, with a mean age of 65.28 ± 7.11 years. Furthermore, 58 had high-grade bladder tumors, while 42 had low-grade bladder tumors. Across all planes, high-grade tumors exhibited higher values for the tumor H, CL, and the tumor height-to-contact length (H/CL) ratio compared to low-grade tumors (p<0.05). Notably, the specificity, sensitivity, and diagnostic accuracy of the tumor CL were higher than those of the tumor H and the tumor H/CL ratio. A tumor CL exceeding 19.1mm measured in the axial plane demonstrated 83% sensitivity and specificity for high-grade tumors. Conclusion The measured CL of the tumor in the axial plane on computerized tomography urography has high sensitivity and specificity in detecting high-grade tumors., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Health Sciences University, Istanbul Health Practice and Research Center Clinical Research and Ethics Committee issued approval Decision No: 2901, dated 13.08.2021. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Eroglu et al.)

Purpose: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted PET/CT is a well-established imaging method in prostate cancer (PC) for both staging and restaging, and also for theranostic applications. An alternative imaging method is crucial for 15% PSMA-negative cases. We aimed to investigate the contribution of 68 Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT to PC imaging., Patients and Methods: Thirty-six patients diagnosed with PC were included. Patients underwent both 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT and 68 Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT imaging within 1 week. In staging group, primary tumor uptake values were compared, and also correlations were done with histopathological findings, MRI findings, and total PSA levels. In biochemical recurrence group, the uptake values in prostatic region and metastases were evaluated to define the local recurrence or metastatic disease., Results: In staging group, PSMA PET showed increased uptake in the primary lesion area in 14/27 (52%) patients, whereas 20/27 (74%) patients were positive in FAPI-04 PET. FAPI-04 positivity was found to be quite high, such as 54%, in PSMA-negative patients. A significant difference was observed between ISUP grade 1-3 patients and ISUP grade 4-5 patients in FAPI-04 PET ( P = 0.03). Local recurrence was detected in 3 patients, pelvic lymph node metastasis in 1 patient, and sacrum metastasis in 1 patient in biochemical recurrence group, and all of the lesions had more intense uptake in PSMA PET than FAPI-04 PET., Conclusions: FAPI PET imaging seems to have a potential to contribute PSMA PET imaging with FAPI positivity in more than half of PSMA-negative cases. Also, FAPI-targeted radionuclide therapy may be a promising method in patients resistant to PSMA-targeted therapy., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest and sources of funding: none declared., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Abstract: Urethral metastasis of bladder cancer after surgery is rare. We present a 63-year-old man who had surgery for invasive bladder carcinoma and prostate adenocarcinoma 4 years ago and referred for urethral hemorrhage. 18 F-FDG PET/CT was performed for restaging and showed intense linear 18 F-FDG activity in the proximal urethra. The patient underwent urethrectomy, and histopathology determined urethral metastasis., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest and sources of funding: none declared., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the adjuvant treatment preferences and effects on disease progression in patients with pathologically positive lymph node prostate cancer., Methods: Patients who underwent radical prostatectomy from the prostate cancer database of the Turkish Urooncology Association with lymph node involvement were included in the study. Database includes prostate cancer patients from many experience Urooncology centers of Turkey. Adjuvant treatment approaches and the factors that effect the PSA recurrrence was analysed., Results: Postoperative median 2 (1-3) lymph nodes were found to be positive, and the median lymph node density was reported as 0.13 (0.07-0.25). Seventy-four percent of patients received adjuvant treatment postoperatively. Seventy four of the patients (46.54%) received hormonal therapy in combination with radiotherapy; 47 of them (29.55%) received only hormonal treatment and 20(12.57%) only received radiotherapy. The number of lymph nodes removed was less in the group requiring adjuvant treatment, and this group had a higher rate of surgical margin positivity and seminal vesicle invasion. In addition, adjuvant treatment group had a statistically significant higher lymph node density. There was no significant difference in Kaplan-Meier method comparing 5-year PSA recurrence-free survival in patients with and without adjuvant therapy. When the patient clustered as non-adjuvant, only hormonal therapy and hormonal therapy with radiotherapy, a significant survival advantage was found in the hormonal therapy with radiotherapy group compared to the other two groups (p=0.043)., Conclusion: No significant difference was found between two groups in terms of time until PSA recurrence during our follow-up. In subgroup analysis survival advantage was found in the hormonal therapy with radiotherapy group compared to non-adjuvant and only hormonal therapy groups.

Abstract: Primary renal well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors (WDNETs), also called renal carcinoids, are extremely rare. Since first described in 1966, approximately 100 cases have been reported in the literature. However, there have been no cases shown by PET/CT to date. We presented a patient with primary renal WDNET who had undergone both 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT for diagnosis and staging. This case illustrated that 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT scanning could play a role in the diagnosis, staging, and follow-up of primary renal WDNETs., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest and sources of funding: none declared., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Functions attributed to androgens have increased, ranging from the role in hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and reproductive behaviors to modulation of cognition, mood and some other functions. Sex differences and changes in circulating sex hormones affect human sensory function. In the literature, authors reported this kind of influence for olfaction predominantly in females., Objective: To investigate the effects of low testosterone levels on olfactory functions in males, in this prospective clinical study., Methods: Male patients diagnosed with prostate cancer were included. Thirty-nine patients with prostate cancer whose testosterone levels were lower than 50ng/dL due to castration, were the study group. Thirty-one patients with prostate cancer who were not castrated with testosterone levels higher than 50ng/dL were selected as the control group. Acoustic rhinometry and peak nasal inspiratory flow tests were performed for all participants; and for evaluation of olfactory function, both groups completed the Connecticut chemosensory clinical research center olfactory test., Results: The mean ages of the patients and controls were 69.6±7.2 (57-89) and 66.3±5.8 (50-78) years, respectively (p=0.039). There was a significant difference between groups in terms of testosterone levels (p<0.0001). The multivariate logistic regression revealed testosterone level as the only predictive factor determining the difference between the groups. In terms of olfactory parameters, all scores were lower in the emasculated group (butanol threshold test p=0.019, identification p=0.059, and Connecticut center score p=0.029) There was a significant correlation between testosterone levels and olfactory parameters (p=0.023; p=0.025 for identification and Connecticut center scores, respectively)., Conclusion: Low testosterone levels in males have negative effects on olfactory functions. Further molecular research is required to understand the connection between testosterone and olfaction., (Copyright © 2020 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Micropapillary urothelial carcinoma is an aggressive variant of urothelial carcinoma. Evidence suggests that the relationship between the tumor and inflammatory cells is important in tumor progression and the treatment response. We evaluated the stromal lymphoid response in micropapillary urothelial carcinomas and compared it with conventional urothelial carcinomas., Material and Method: Among bladder transurethral resection materials diagnosed as 'invasive urothelial carcinoma' between January 2010-March 2017, cases with at least 5% micropapillary urothelial carcinoma were evaluated for age, gender, grade, stage, micropapillary urothelial carcinoma percentage, presence/percentage of accompanying conventional urothelial carcinoma/urothelial carcinoma variants, in situ urothelial carcinoma/micropapillary urothelial carcinoma, lymphovascular invasion, necrosis, and stromal lymphoid response. Stromal lymphoid response was scored as 0-1-2-3. All parameters were evaluated in 50 pure conventional urothelial carcinomas., Results: Among 47 micropapillary urothelial carcinomas, 41 were male. The mean age was 69 years. pT1/pT2 was 23/24. Six cases were pure MPUC. Lymphovascular invasion was present in 8, necrosis in 9 cases. Stromal lymphoid response was present and scored as 1-2-3 in 32 micropapillary urothelial carcinomas (68.1%) and 48 conventional urothelial carcinomas (96%). Micropapillary urothelial carcinomas had significantly higher lymphovascular invasion and pT2 rates and lower stromal lymphoid response., Conclusion: Low stromal lymphoid response in micropapillary urothelial carcinomas can be responsible for the poor clinical outcome and impaired response to treatment of these tumors. This is the first study in the English literature to demonstrate a lower stromal lymphoid response rate in micropapillary urothelial carcinomas compared to conventional urothelial carcinomas.

Objectives: The aim of the study is to investigate the predictive value of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) as an oxidative stress indicator in renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury., Methods: Forty female Wistar Albino rats were divided into 5 groups: Group-1, sham; group-2, 20 min I/R, group-3, 30 min I/R; group-4, 40 min I/R; and group-5, 60 min I/R. Blood samples were taken, and nephrectomy was performed in the sham group before ischemia was induced. At the end of the defined periods for each group, reperfusion was achieved and a blood sample was taken and nephrectomy was performed. At the end of the 6-hour reperfusion period, the blood sample was taken again and the other kidney is removed. IMA in serum and total anti-oxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index in both serum and tissue were examined., Results: Serum IMA values were significantly different between the groups (p = 0.009), and there was a significantly difference in TOS values between ischemic serum (p = 0.024) and tissue samples (p = 0.02). However, there was no significant difference in serum and tissue TAS values after ischemia (p = 0.9). Serum IMA, TOS and TAS and tissue TOS and TAS values after reperfusion were not significantly different. There was a significant correlation between tubular damage and ischemia duration in histopathological examination of renal tissue after I/R (p < 0.0001)., Conclusion: Serum IMA values increased in parallel with the duration of ischemia, and this increase was supported by histopathological damage findings., (© 2019 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of intratunical injection of platelet rich plasma (PRP) for the treatment of Peyronie's disease (PD) in a rat model., Materials and Methods: Twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats (300-350 g) were randomly divided into 4 groups: sham, PD, PD + PRP, and PRP. The PD + PRP groups received intratunical injections with 0.1 mL PRP on day 15 (treatment) or day 0 (PRP effect). Forty-five days following transforming growth factor-beta 1 injection, rats underwent pathological examination. Tissues were evaluated histologically for fibrosis grade (Haematoxylin & Eosin staining), collagen/smooth muscle ratio (Masson Trichrome staining) and type III/type I collagen ratio (Picro-sirius red staining). Statistical analysis was performed by Kruskal-Wallis and chi-square followed by the Mann-Whitney U test for post hoc comparisons., Results: Significant changes were found in all 3 groups compared to the sham group (p < 0.0001 for fibrosis, p = 0.001 for collagen/smooth muscle ratio and p = 0.003 for type III/type I collagen ratio). The values in the PRP group and the findings in the PD group are similar (p = 0.122 for fibrosis, p = 0.221 for collagen/smooth muscle ratio and p = 1.0 for type III/type I collagen ratio)., Conclusion: This is the first study of PRP on PD. As a result of pathological examinations, PRP shows PD-like effects in rats. PRP may be a cheap, easily accessible, and an effective disease model for PD treatment research., (© 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma with mucin secretion is an unexpected situation. Primary renal adenocarcinoma and various metastatic carcinomas should be considered in the differential diagnosis. Prognostic significance is not yet fully known due to the limited number of reported cases, and these lesions have been grouped under unclassified renal cell carcinoma. In our study, clear cell renal cell carcinoma with significant luminal mucin secretion is discussed with its histological, histochemical and immunohistochemical features.

Introduction: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) ligand PET/CT is an emerging modality to detect the metastatic disease, especially in intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer (PCa). In this study, we analyzed the contribution of Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in staging and therapy management of newly diagnosed PCa., Materials and Methods: A total of 78 patients with biopsy-proven PCa who were referred for Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT for primary staging were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into risk groups according to the D'Amico risk stratification criteria. All of the patients had undergone pelvic MRI, and 65 patients had bone scintigraphy also. The findings of Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT were compared with these conventional imaging (CI) methods for staging of the disease. The relations between SUVmax of the primary tumors and Gleason scores (GSs), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, and metastatic extent of the disease were analyzed., Results: Of 78 patients, 5 patients were in low-risk group, 18 patients were in intermediate-risk group, and 55 patients were in high-risk group. Metastatic disease was found in 40 (51.2%) of 78 patients in Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT. Ten patients had regional lymph node metastases, and 30 patients had distant metastases. Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT changed the staging in 44 (56.4%) of 78 patients compared with CI. There was significant difference between the SUVmax of the tumors with GSs of 6 and 7 compared with GSs of 8, 9, and 10 (P = 0.003). The SUVmax were significantly different between the patients with no metastasis (n = 38) and patients with regional lymph node metastases or distant metastases (n = 40; 16.1 ± 10.9, 28.7 ± 25.8, P = 0.003, respectively). There was significant difference between the SUVmax of patients with PSA level less than 10 ng/mL compared with patients with PSA level of 10 or greater and less than 20 ng/mL and PSA 20 ng/mL or greater (P = 0.009). A weak correlation between PSA and primary tumor SUVmax was also found (r = 0.21)., Conclusions: Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT is an important imaging modality for primary evaluation of newly diagnosed PCa changing the disease stage substantially. Also the SUVmax of the primary tumor has a relation with GS, metastatic extent of disease, and PSA levels defining the prognosis.

Background: We investigated the correlation between the sampled number of cores in rebiopsy and the cancer detection rate (CDR)., Materials and Methods: Two hundred and twelve patients with normal rectal examination who had undergone rebiopsy in the past 5 years were examined retrospectively. Moreover, 68% of them had undergone 12 cores (Group 1) while 32% had undergone 20 cores (Group 2). Both groups were compared with respect to the CDR., Results: There was no difference between groups in terms of age, total prostate-specific antigen, and prostate volume ( P > 0.05). Forty-one (19%) of 212 patients were diagnosed with cancer, and the CDR was significantly higher in Group 2 (30.9% vs. 13.9%, P = 0.004). This rate increased from 6.5% to 20% ( P = 0.025) and from 0% to 33.3% ( P = 0.023), respectively, with 12-core and 20-core rebiopsies in patients whose initial pathology indicated benign and high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN). Furthermore, cancer was detected in 24 (40%) of 60 patients who were diagnosed with atypical small acinar proliferation (ASAP) in the initial biopsy. However, despite being higher in 20-core biopsy group (47.6% vs. 35.9%), this was not statistically significant ( P = 0.377)., Conclusions: At least 20 cores should be sampled in rebiopsy, especially in the patients diagnosed with benign and HGPIN. However, we believe that standard systematic sampling will be sufficient for the patients diagnosed with ASAP., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of 68 Ga-PSMA PET in predicting lymph node (LN) metastases in primary N staging in high-risk and very high-risk nonmetastatic prostate cancer in comparison with morphological imaging., Methods: This was a multicentre trial of the Society of Urologic Oncology in Turkey in conjunction with the Nuclear Medicine Department of Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul University. Patients were accrued from eight centres. Patients with high-risk and very high-risk disease scheduled to undergo surgical treatment with extended LN dissection between July 2014 and October 2015 were included. Either MRI or CT was used for morphological imaging. PSMA PET/CT was performed and evaluated at a single centre. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were calculated for the detection of lymphatic metastases by PSMA PET/CT and morphological imaging. Kappa values were calculated to evaluate the correlation between the numbers of LN metastases detected by PSMA PET/CT and by histopathology., Results: Data on 51 eligible patients are presented. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of PSMA PET in detecting LN metastases in the primary setting were 53%, 86% and 76%, and increased to 67%, 88% and 81% in the subgroup with of patients with ≥15 LN removed. Kappa values for the correlation between imaging and pathology were 0.41 for PSMA PET and 0.18 for morphological imaging., Conclusions: PSMA PET/CT is superior to morphological imaging for the detection of metastatic LNs in patients with primary prostate cancer. Surgical dissection remains the gold standard for precise lymphatic staging.

The aim of our study was to investigate the postmortem levels of glucose and glycogen in hepatic, renal, muscle, and brain tissues and then examine the changes in those levels that could be useful for estimating postmortem interval. We established an animal model. Seventy female BALB/c albino mice were used in this study. After being sacrificed, the mice were randomly divided into six groups according to time elapsed since death (Group 1: 0 h; Group 2: 12 h; Group 3: 24 h; Group 4: 36 h; Group 5: 48 h; and Group 6: 60 h). Glucose levels were significantly different between groups for all tissues studied. Slope of the change per unit time was higher for the hepatic glucose levels. Based on these results, it is possible to estimate postmortem interval using postmortem glucose levels in hepatic tissue. Tissue-specific assessment may contribute valuable information to postmortem interval studies., (© 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.)