Comparison of Renal Function between Robot-Assisted and Open Partial Nephrectomy as Determined by Tc 99m-DTPA Renal Scintigraphy

We compared postoperative renal function impairment between patients undergoing robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) and those undergoing open partial nephrectomy (OPN) by using Tc-99m diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) renal scintigraphy. Patients who underwent partial nephrectomy by a single surgeon between 2007 and 2013 were eligible and were matched by propensity score, based on age, tumor size, exophytic properties of tumor, and location relative to the polar lines. Of the 403 patients who underwent partial nephrectomy, 114 (28%) underwent RAPN and 289 (72%) underwent OPN. Mean follow-up duration was 35.2 months. Following propensity matching, there were no significant differences between the two groups in tumor exophytic properties (P = 0.818) or nephrometry score (P = 0.527). Renal ischemic time (24.4 minutes vs. 17.8 minutes, P < 0.001) was significantly longer in the RAPN group than in the OPN group, while the other characteristics were similar. Multivariate analysis showed that greater preoperative renal unit function (P = 0.011) and nephrometry score (P = 0.041) were independently correlated with a reduction in glomerular filtration rate. The operative method did not correlate with renal function impairment (P = 0.704). Postoperative renal function impairment was similar between patients who underwent OPN and those who underwent RAPN, despite RAPN having a longer ischemic time.

Effects of statin use on the response duration to androgen deprivation therapy in metastatic prostate cancer

PURPOSE: To determine whether statin use delays the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) in patients with metastatic prostate cancer treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 171 patients with metastatic prostate cancer at the time of diagnosis who were treated with ADT between January 1997 and December 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were classified into two groups: the nonstatin use group (A group) and the statin use group (B group). Multivariate analysis was performed on statin use and other factors considered likely to have an effect on the time to progression to CRPC. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 67.1+/-9.1 years, and the mean follow-up period was 52 months. The mean initial prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level was 537 ng/mL. Of the 171 patients, 125 (73%) were in group A and 46 (27%) were in group B. The time to progression to CRPC was 22.7 months in group A and 30.5 months in group B, and this difference was significant (p=0.032). Blood cholesterol and initial PSA levels did not differ significantly according to the time to progression to CRPC (p=0.288, p=0.198). Multivariate analysis using the Cox regression method showed that not having diabetes (p=0.037) and using a statin (p=0.045) significantly increased the odds ratio of a longer progression to CRPC. CONCLUSIONS: Statin use in metastatic prostate cancer patients appears to delay the progression to CRPC. Large-scale, long-term follow-up studies are needed to validate this finding.