NIRS: Past, Present, and Future in Functional Urology.

Purpose of Review: Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-invasive optical technique that uses near infrared light to detect the oxygenation status and hemodynamics of various organs. This article reviews the use of NIRS for the non-invasive assessment of lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD). Applications include assessment of bladder outlet obstruction, overactive and underactive bladder, neurogenic LUTD, pediatric LUTD, interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome, and pelvic floor dysfunction. In addition, the article describes how NIRS is elucidating more about the brain-bladder connection. Technological advancements enabling these applications are also discussed. Recent Findings: While evidence exists for the application of NIRS throughout a wide range of LUTD, most of these studies are limited by small sample sizes without matched controls. Investigators have experienced problems with reproducibility and motion artifacts contaminating the data. The literature is also becoming dated with use of older technology. Summary: NIRS holds potential for the non-invasive acquisition of urodynamic information over time scales and activities not previously accessible, but it is not yet ready for use in routine clinical practice. Advances in wearable technology will address some of the current limitations of NIRS, but to realize its full potential, larger scale validation studies will be required. Moreover, multidisciplinary collaboration between clinicians, scientists, engineers, and patient advocates will be critical to further optimize these systems.

Bringing Jewish Ritual circumcision (Brit Milah) Into the Operating Room: An Analysis of Surgical Outcomes and Satisfaction Across Families and Society of Pediatric Urology members.

OBJECTIVE: To assess caregiver satisfaction, procedural outcomes and practitioner opinion regarding a novel program designed for patients to undergo a deferred Jewish ritual circumcision (Brit Milah) in the operating room (OR), combined with other indicated surgical procedures. METHODS: All patients undergoing Brit Milah in the OR at our institution between 2013 and 2019 were included. Surveys were administered to assess caregiver satisfaction and Society for Pediatric Urology member practice patterns. A retrospective case-control series was completed to compare complication rates and operative times for procedures with and without Brit Milah. RESULTS: Forty-four intraoperative Brit Milah patients were identified. The mean procedure time for a distal hypospadias repair with Brit Milah was 66.0 minutes, compared to 62.4 minutes without (P = .57). No complications were attributable to the addition of Brit Milah. The caregiver survey had a 100% response rate. The modal response for satisfaction with the perioperative experience was 5 of 5 (ie, highly satisfied), with 100% of respondents very likely to recommend the program. 132 active Society for Pediatric Urology members responded to the survey (34.1% response rate) with 44% regularly allowing Brit Milah in the OR at their institution. 90.5% received positive caregiver feedback and 64% believe it is important to offer. CONCLUSION: This novel program incorporating Brit Milah into the OR yields high caregiver satisfaction, no additional OR time or postoperative complications, and provides an opportunity to combine family-centered care with cultural competence.

Monitoring Breast Cancer Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Using Ultrasound Strain Elastography.

Strain elastography was used to monitor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in 92 patients with biopsy-proven, locally advanced breast cancer. Strain elastography data were collected before, during, and after NAC. Relative changes in tumor strain ratio (SR) were calculated over time, and responder status was classified according to tumor size changes. Statistical analyses determined the significance of changes in SR over time and between response groups. Machine learning techniques, such as a naïve Bayes classifier, were used to evaluate the performance of the SR as a marker for Miller-Payne pathological endpoints. With pathological complete response (pCR) as an endpoint, a significant difference (P < .01) in the SR was observed between response groups as early as 2 weeks into NAC. Naïve Bayes classifiers predicted pCR with a sensitivity of 84%, specificity of 85%, and area under the curve of 81% at the preoperative scan. This study demonstrates that strain elastography may be predictive of NAC response in locally advanced breast cancer as early as 2 weeks into treatment, with high sensitivity and specificity, granting it the potential to be used for active monitoring of tumor response to chemotherapy.

International Multicenter Validation of an Intermediate Risk Subclassification of Prostate Cancer Managed with Radical Treatment without Hormone Therapy.

PURPOSE: The NCCN Guidelines® recently endorsed a subclassification of intermediate risk prostate cancer into favorable and unfavorable subgroups. However, this subclassification was developed in a treatment heterogeneous cohort. Thus, to our knowledge the natural history of androgen deprivation treatment naïve favorable and unfavorable intermediate risk prostate cancer cases remains unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Groups at 3 academic centers pooled data on patients with intermediate risk prostate cancer treated with radical monotherapy (dose escalated external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy or radical prostatectomy) without combined androgen deprivation treatment. We used the cumulative incidence with competing risk analysis to estimate biochemical recurrence, distant metastasis and prostate cancer specific mortality. RESULTS: A total of 2,550 men at intermediate risk were included in study, of whom 1,063 and 1,487 were at favorable and unfavorable risk, respectively. Of the men 1,149 underwent radical prostatectomy, 1,143 underwent dose escalated external beam radiotherapy and 258 underwent brachytherapy. Median followup after the different treatments ranged from 60.4 to 107.4 months. The 10-year cumulative incidence of distant metastasis in the favorable vs unfavorable risk groups was 0.2% (95% CI 0.2-0.2) vs 11.6% (95% CI 7.7-15.5) for radical prostatectomy (p <0.001), 2.8% (95% CI 0.8-4.8) vs 13.5% (95% CI 9.6-17.4) for dose escalated external beam radiotherapy (p <0.001) and 3.5% (95% CI 0-7.4) vs 10.2% (95% CI 4.3-16.1) for brachytherapy (p = 0.063). The 10-year rate of prostate cancer specific mortality in the favorable vs unfavorable risk groups was 0% (95% CI 0-0) vs 3.7% (95% CI 1.7-5.7) for radical prostatectomy (p = 0.016), 0.5% (95% CI 0.5-0.5) vs 5.6% (95% CI 3.6-7.6) for dose escalated external beam radiotherapy (p = 0.015) and 0% (95% CI 0-0) vs 2.5% (95% CI 0.5-4.5) for brachytherapy (p = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: This multicenter international effort independently validates the prognostic value of the intermediate risk prostate cancer subclassification in androgen deprivation treatment naïve cases across all radical treatment modalities. It is unlikely that treatment intensification would meaningfully improve oncologic outcomes in men at favorable intermediate risk.