Upfront Androgen Receptor-Axis-Targeted Therapies in Men with De Novo High-Volume Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer.

PURPOSE: The extent of effectiveness of upfront androgen receptor-axis-targeted therapies (ARAT) versus total androgen blockade (TAB) in improving prostate cancer-specific survival (CSS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in a real-world sample of Japanese patients with high-volume mHSPC remains unclear. We, therefore, investigated the efficacy and safety of upfront ARAT versus bicalutamide for de novo high-volume mHSPC in Japanese patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a multicenter retrospective study that analyzed CSS, clinical PFS, and adverse events (AEs) in 170 patients with newly diagnosed high-volume mHSPC. Fifty-six patients were treated with upfront ARAT, and 114 of them were prescribed bicalutamide in addition to ADT between January 2018 and March 2021. The primary and secondary endpoints were CSS and PFS, respectively. A 1:1 nearest neighbor propensity score matching (PSM) with a caliper of 0.2 was performed to match the ARAT group to TAB patients. RESULTS: During the follow-up for a median of 21.5 months, the median CSS was not reached and 37 months in the upfront ARAT and total androgen blockade (TAB) groups, respectively (log-rank test: P = 0.006) by propensity score matching (PSM). Moreover, while the PFS of ARAT was unreached, the median PFS of TAB was 9 months (log-rank test: P < 0.001). Nine patients discontinued ARAT owing to grade ≥ 3 AEs; one patient who was treated with TAB had a grade 3 AE. CONCLUSION: Upfront ARAT significantly prolonged the CSS and PFS of patients with high-volume mHSPC better than TAB, although ARAT was associated with a higher rate of grade ≥ 3 AEs. Upfront ARAT can be more beneficial for patients with de novo high-volume mHSPC than TAB.

Laparoscopy-Assisted Cutaneous Vesicostomy in Combination with Radical Nephrectomy in an Adult Patient with Neurogenic Bladder and Difficulty with Permanent Urinary Catheterization.

Background: Cutaneous vesicostomy is a urinary diversion for chronic urinary retention caused by neurogenic bladder. In this procedure, urine is drained directly from the bladder into a pouch attached to the lower abdomen, where the use of a catheter is unnecessary. Although complications of this procedure have been described, such as stoma stenosis, bladder prolapse, bladder calculi, and peristomal dermatitis, it is useful for patients who have difficulty with permanent bladder catheterization. The laparoscopy-assisted technique for cutaneous vesicostomy has not been described in the existing literature. In this report, we describe the case of an adult patient with chronic urinary retention caused by a neurogenic bladder who underwent laparoscopy-assisted cutaneous vesicostomy. Case Presentation: A 61-year-old man with intellectual disability was referred to our department because of macroscopic hematuria and urinary retention. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography images showed excessive bladder dilation and bilateral hydronephrosis. A left kidney tumor was found incidentally. We diagnosed left renal carcinoma and chronic urinary retention caused by a neurogenic bladder. We suspected that the hematuria resulted from the renal cancer or from mucosal or submucosal vessel injury caused by excessive dilation of the bladder. Because of the patient's intellectual disability, self-intermittent catheterization or management of a urethral catheter was not possible. Therefore, we performed left radical nephrectomy laparoscopically followed by laparoscopy-assisted cutaneous vesicostomy under general anesthesia. By using laparoscopy, we could construct the vesicostomy in the bladder dome with less tension, and no stomal complications had occurred at 7 months postoperatively. Conclusion: Laparoscopy-assisted cutaneous vesicostomy was a safe and feasible surgical technique in our adult patient with chronic urinary retention. This procedure may be considered effective for patients having difficulty with permanent urinary catheterization.

Two-step technique of early adrenal artery ligation in open adrenalectomy of giant right adrenal pheochromocytomas: Three case reports.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical manipulation of a pheochromocytoma carries the risk of releasing catecholamines into bloodstream leading to severe intraoperative hypertension. CASE PRESENTATION: We present three patients with right adrenal pheochromocytoma over 10 cm diameter: a 40-year-old woman, 63-year-old man, and 66-year-old woman. They were diagnosed by 123I-MIBG scintigraphy and received preoperative antihypertensive treatment with 16 mg/day of doxazosin. Open adrenalectomy was performed with early right adrenal artery ligation between the inferior vena cava and ventral aorta (Step 1) as well as between the tumor and upper pole of the right kidney (Step 2). There was no severe intraoperative hypertension, and no recurrence was observed over 33 months, postoperatively. CONCLUSION: Early adrenal artery ligation may stop tumor blood supply and significantly reduce the catecholamine release. Our technique was thought to be safe and useful for preventing severe intraoperative hypertension in giant right adrenal pheochromocytoma.