Rates of Positive Abdominal Computed Tomography and Bone Scan Findings Among Men with Cambridge Prognostic Group 4 or 5 prostate cancer: A Nationwide Registry Study.

European and American guidelines recommend abdominal computed tomography (CT) and bone scans for staging of high-risk prostate cancer (PC). To improve clinical risk stratification of nonmetastatic PC a new, five-tier risk classification system has been developed, the Cambridge Prognostic Groups (CPG), in which "high-risk" PC is divided into favourable CPG 4 and unfavourable CPG 5. We used the National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden (NPCR) to define the rates of positive CT and bone scan findings among men with CPG 4 or 5 cancer. Among men with CPG 4 and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) <50 ng/ml, only 3.6% (95% confidence interval 2.9-4.5%) of the CT scans showed regional lymph-node metastasis (N1M0), while 6.2% (95% confidence interval 5.4-7.0%) of the bone scans were positive. Rates for both were higher in the subgroups with PSA 50-99 ng/ml (10% and 15%) and with CPG 5 disease. The low positivity rate questions routine use of CT for men with CPG 4 cancer and PSA <50 ng/ml, particularly considering the poor sensitivity and specificity for detection of lymph node metastasis. The positivity rate was higher for bone scans, and as current clinical practice relies on trials using bone scans for staging (eg, to define low- versus high-volume metastatic disease), continued routine use of bone scans seems justified. Patient summary: Our analysis of data from the National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden showed that for men with favourable high-risk prostate cancer (Cambridge Prognostic Group 4), the rate of positive computed tomography (CT) scans was low. This result suggests that CT scans may not be necessary for detecting cancer spread in men with Cambridge Prognostic Group 4 prostate cancer .

Sun protection behaviour in organ transplant recipients and non-transplant patients attending a dermatology outpatient clinic in Sweden: A questionnaire survey.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Organ transplant recipients (OTRs) are at high risk of developing skin cancer and are therefore advised to protect their skin against ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Specialized OTR clinics with dermatological follow-up may improve sun habits among OTRs. In this study, we compared self-reported sun exposure and sun protection behaviour between OTRs and non-transplant patients (non-TPs) and between OTRs with and without special dermatological follow-up. METHODS: Patients from Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden, completed a sun exposure questionnaire. Between 2011 and 2015, 282 OTRs transplanted in the period 1976-2014 and 414 non-TPs were recruited among dermatological outpatients. Participants were stratified into five groups by their status as OTRs or non-TPs and by attendance to dermatological follow-up. RESULTS: More non-TPs than OTRs reported one or more sunburns in the past year, 46% vs. 20%, P < .0001). More OTRs with than OTRs without dermatological follow-up reported frequent use of sunscreens (63% vs 44%, P = .006). More OTRs with follow-up used one or more sun protection measure such as covering clothes, than other OTRs (54% vs 34%, P = .016). CONCLUSION: In this study, OTRs reported less sun exposure than non-TPs. Specialized dermatological follow-up seems to improve sun protection behaviour among OTRs. We suggest that specialized OTR clinics should be more broadly implemented.

Degree of differentiation of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: a comparison between a Swedish cohort of organ transplant recipients and immunocompetent patients.

BACKGROUND: Organ transplant recipients (OTRs) have a very high risk of developing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). Immunosuppressed OTRs may have a higher proportion of poorly differentiated cSCC than non-OTRs. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the degree of differentiation of cSCCs in OTRs compared with immunocompetent individuals. PATIENTS/METHODS: Data from the Swedish Cancer Registry were crosschecked with data from the Transplant registry of the Transplant Institute at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. All OTRs with a diagnosis of cSCC, basosquamous carcinoma, and/or cSCC in situ established at the Department of Dermatology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, during 2002-2015 were included. The control group consisted of non-OTRs with the same diagnoses during the same time period. RESULTS: During 2002-2015, 82 OTRs diagnosed with 515 tumors and 883 non-OTRs with 1,247 tumors were included. OTRs developed 0.47 tumors/year vs 0.10 tumors/year for non-OTRs, but no significant differences were observed in the degree of tumor differentiation of invasive cSCCs between OTRs and non-OTRs (P = 0.4). The distribution of poorly, moderately, and well-differentiated invasive cSCCs among OTRs and non-OTRs were 8.5% vs 12.5%, 22.1% vs 29.9%, and 69.4% vs 57.6%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: OTRs do not develop a higher proportion of poorly differentiated cSCCs than non-OTRs.