Small cell carcinoma of the prostate after low-dose-rate brachytherapy: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Small cell carcinoma of the prostate is a rare condition with important differences from prostatic adenocarcinoma in terms of clinical and prognostic characteristics. A low prostate-specific antigen and a symptomatic patient, including paraneoplastic symptoms, characterize small cell carcinoma of the prostate. Diagnosis is made on the basis of prostate biopsy, and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography is often used for staging because up to 60% of patients present with de novo metastatic disease. Patients with metastatic disease are usually treated with platinum-based cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens similar to those used for small cell carcinoma of the lung. However, prognosis remains poor, with a median overall survival of 9 to 17 months despite therapy. CASE PRESENTATION: This report describes a case of an 80-year-old Caucasian patient with lymph node and bone metastatic small cell carcinoma of the prostate following low-dose-rate brachytherapy for a low-risk prostate carcinoma and treated with chemotherapy and immunotherapy. CONCLUSION: Low-dose-rate brachytherapy might be an etiology of small cell prostate cancer.

Impact of Lymph Node Burden on Survival of High-risk Prostate Cancer Patients Following Radical Prostatectomy and Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection.

AIM: To determine the impact of the extent of lymph node invasion (LNI) on long-term oncological outcomes after radical prostatectomy (RP). MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, we examined the data of 1,249 high-risk, non-metastatic PCa patients treated with RP and pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) between 1989 and 2011 at eight different tertiary institutions. We fitted univariate and multivariate Cox models to assess independent predictors of cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS). The number of positive lymph node (LN) was dichotomized according to the most informative cutoff predicting CSS. Kaplan-Meier curves assessed CSS and OS rates. Only patients with at least 10 LNs removed at PLND were included. This cutoff was chosen as a surrogate for a well performed PNLD. RESULTS: Mean age was 65 years (median: 66, IQR 60-70). Positive surgical margins were present in 53.7% (n = 671). Final Gleason score (GS) was 2-6 in 12.7% (n = 158), 7 in 52% (n = 649), and 8-10 in 35.4% (n = 442). The median number of LNs removed during PLND was 15 (IQR 12-17). Of all patients, 1,128 (90.3%) had 0-3 positive LNs, while 126 (9.7%) had ≥4 positive LNs. Patients with 0-3 positive LNs had significantly better CSS outcome at 10-year follow-up compared to patients with ≥4 positive LNs (87 vs. 50%; p < 0.0001). Similar results were obtained for OS, with a 72 vs. 37% (p < 0.0001) survival at 10 years for patients with 0-3 vs. ≥4 positive LNs, respectively. At multivariate analysis, final GS of 8-10, salvage ADT therapy, and ≥4 (vs. <4) positive LNs were predictors of worse CSS and OS. Pathological stage pT4 was an additional predictor of worse CSS. CONCLUSION: Four or more positive LNs, pathological stage pT4, and final GS of 8-10 represent independent predictors for worse CSS in patients with high-risk PCa. Primary tumor biology remains a strong driver of tumor progression and patients having ≥4 positive LNs could be considered an enriched patient group in which novel treatment strategies should be studied.

Sense and nonsense of an extended pelvic lymph node dissection in prostate cancer.

Lymph node metastases associated with prostate cancer (PCa) has been shown to be a poor prognostic factor. The role of pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) itself in relation to survival remains unclear, however. A Medline search was conducted to address this issue. The following conclusions were drawn. Only recently, improved survival due to completion of radical prostatectomy (RP) (compared to abandoning RP) in known or presumed lymph-node-positive patients has been shown. Lymph node sampling can only be considered representative if an adequate number of nodes is removed. While several authors have suggested that a therapeutic benefit in patients undergoing RP is not provided by PLND, the reliability of these studies is uncertain. Contrary to this, several studies have indicated the possibility of long-term survival even in the presence of limited lymph node metastases. The role and timing of initiation of adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in patients who have node-positive disease after RP is controversial. Recent studies suggest that delaying ADT may not adversely impact survival.

Ureteral stents do not cause bacterial infections in children after ureteral reimplantation.

OBJECTIVES: To determine, in a prospective study, the incidence of bacterial colonization and the risk of bacterial infection of indwelling double-J stents in children undergoing ureteral reimplantation. In a balance between the safety and comfort of the child, the need for postoperative stenting of the reimplanted ureters has been discussed. It is unknown whether an indwelling double-J stent after ureteral reimplantation would be a risk factor for postoperative urinary tract infection. METHODS: From 2005 to 2010, 209 children (138 girls and 71 boys; median age 3.8 years) with vesicoureteral reflux underwent unilateral or bilateral cross-trigonal ureteral reimplantation (352 ureters). All children received a single dose of gentamicin (2 mg/kg body weight) and a preoperative bladder rinse with 10% polividone-saline solution. A transurethral catheter was also left postoperatively for 2 (unilateral) or 3 (bilateral) days. The ureter was stented with a 8-22 cm multilength catheter. At 3 weeks postoperatively, the ureteral catheters were removed and investigated for bacterial colonization. RESULTS: Of the 209 children, 10 (4.8%) developed a urinary tract infection within the first 6 weeks after ureteral reimplantation. Of the remaining 199 children without any symptoms, 13 (6.5%) had a positive urine culture at removal of the catheters. Of the 199 children without any symptoms, 90 (45.2%) had a positive culture of one or more segments of the double-J catheter. CONCLUSIONS: Although the colonization rate of ureteral stents in our study was 42.9%, the rate of urinary tract infection during the first 6 weeks after ureteral reimplantation using indwelling ureteral stents was only 4.6%. We have concluded that the clinical significance of bacterial colonization of an indwelling ureteral stent is low, and therefore, ureteral stents can be used safely.

Repeat transobturator tape after failed mid-urethral sling procedure: follow-up with questionnaire-based assessment.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if repeat transobturator tape (TOT) is feasible after failed initial synthetic mid-urethral sling (MUS) for stress urinary incontinence, and to ascertain objective physician-determined outcome as well as subjective questionnaire-based outcome for this procedure. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between February 2005 and February 2008, a total of 21 patients underwent repeat TOT procedure after failed sling treatment. Initial sling procedures were all synthetic MUS, i.e. tension-free vaginal tape in 5 cases and TOT in 16 cases. RESULTS: At a mean follow-up of 16 months, physician-determined cure was achieved in 55% of patients, improvement in 15% and failure in 30%. Outcome deduced from the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire at a mean follow-up of 17 months showed 53% of patients to be cured and 5% of patients to be improved, but failure was noted in 42% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Repeat TOT after failed synthetic MUS treatment is a feasible procedure with minor morbidity. Repeat TOT provides a reasonable physician-determined success rate, but a lower patient self-reported success rate can be deduced from questionnaires. The transobturator approach seems to show poorer outcomes than the retropubic approach in repeat sling surgery.

A pretreatment table for the prediction of final histopathology after radical prostatectomy in clinical unilateral T3a prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Partin tables are the most widely used tool to predict histopathologic stage after radical prostatectomy (RP) in organ-confined tumors. Such a predictive table in clinical T3 disease is still lacking. Our objective was to create a reference table for clinical unilateral T3a prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 1987 and 2004, 200 patients with clinical unilateral T3a disease underwent a RP and bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy at our institution. No patient had received neoadjuvant treatment. Patients were divided into three prostate-specific antigen (PSA) subgroups (10-20 ng/ml, and >20 ng/ml) and two biopsy Gleason sum (GS) subgroups (or=7 [4+3]). These parameters were used in the table as predictors for final histopathology. Margin and nodal status were also recorded. The multinomial log-linear regression analysis was used to construct the table. RESULTS: The table stratifies patients into six demarcated risk groups. In the first group, consisting of patients with PSA 20 and GS >or=7 (4+3), understaging was as high as 68% (44% pT3b and 22% pT4). Receiver operating characteristic analyses showed good accurate predictive ability of the table for seminal vesicle involvement and adjacent structure involvement, with moderate predictive ability for extraprostatic extension only. CONCLUSIONS: We present a table combining preoperative serum PSA and biopsy GS to predict histopathologic results in clinical unilateral T3a prostate cancer. The table may provide a basis for decision-making and patient counseling before treating this cancer.