Clinical-pathological differences and smoking habit depending on gender in a cohort of patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder: retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: The increased incidence of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder in men is known, generally attributed to greater exposure to the effect carcinogenic products. Although it has been reported that cancer-specific outcome can be particularly adverse in women due to socioeconomic or biological factors, clinical-pathological differences of TCC at the time of diagnosis have not been sufficiently studied. The aim of this study is to analyze whether there are gender-related differences in grade and tumor stage in primary bladder TCC. METHODS: All consecutive primary bladder TCC diagnoses made in our institution between 1990 and 2009 have been included. We retrospectively analyzed age, smoking, symptoms at presentation, tumor grade (WHO 1973), tumor size and number, and TNM stage, comparing men and women. Statistical analysis was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test as non-parametric test and Chi-squared test to compare frequencies. RESULTS: We analyzed 1196 patients (992 males and 204 females) with a 5:1 ratio. We found significant differences in age (69 years vs. 73 years), smoking (46.5% vs. 11.2%)and muscle-invasive stage (12.1% vs. 18.1%). Correcting by tobacco consumption, never-smoker women have larger and more aggressive tumors with a frequency of muscle-invasive disease three times higher than male never-smokers and equaling to male current-smokers. CONCLUSION: TCC of the bladder is more frequent in males than females. In this series, women are older at the time of diagnosis and most often affected by muscle-invasive disease particularly in never-smokers. We need studies to analyze the potential impact of passive smoking to justify these results.

Diferencias clínico-patológicas y tabaquismo en función del sexo en una cohorte de pacientes con carcinoma de células transicionales de vejiga: un estudio retrospectivo / Clinical-pathological differences and smoking habit depending on gender in a cohort of patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder: retrospective study

OBJETIVO: Es conocida la mayor incidencia de carcinoma de células transicionales (CCT) de vejiga en los varones, generalmente atribuida a una mayor exposición al efecto de los carcinógenos. A pesar de que se ha comunicado que la evolución puede ser especialmente adversa en las mujeres debido a factores socioeconómicos o biológicos, no han sido suficientemente estudiadas las diferencias clínico-patológicas del CCT en el momento del diagnóstico entre el hombre y la mujer. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar las diferencias en la exposición al tabaco, el grado y el estadio tumoral del CCT primario de vejiga en función del sexo.MÉTODOS: Se han incluido todos los diagnósticos consecutivos de CCT primario de vejiga realizados en nuestra institución entre 1990 y 2009. Se analizan, de forma retrospectiva, edad, hábito tabáquico, sintomatología, grado tumoral (OMS 1973), tamaño tumoral, multiplicidad y estadio TNM, comparándolas entre hombres y mujeres. Para el análisis estadístico se empleó la U de Mann-Withney como test no paramétrico y el test de Chi-cuadrado para la comparación de frecuencias.RESULTADOS: Se han analizado 1196 pacientes (992 hombres y 204 mujeres) con una razón observada de 5:1. Se han encontrado diferencias significativas en la edad (69 años vs 73 años), hábito tabáquico (46.5% vs 11.2%) y estadio músculo-infiltrante (12.1% vs 18.1%). Corrigiendo por el hábito tabáquico, las mujeres no fumadoras presentan tumores de mayor tamaño y grado con una frecuencia de enfermedad músculo-infiltrante 3 veces superior a los varones no fumadores e igualando a los fumadores.CONCLUSIÓN: El CCT de vejiga tiene mayor incidencia en los varones. En esta serie, las mujeres tenían una edad más avanzada en el momento del diagnóstico y presentan con más frecuencia enfermedad músculo-infiltrante afectando especialmente a las no fumadoras. Hacen falta estudios dirigidos a analizar el potencial impacto del tabaquismo pasivo que justifiquen estos resultados(AU)

OBJECTIVES: The increased incidence of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder in men is known, generally attributed to greater exposure to the effect carcinogenic products. Although it has been reported that cancer-specific outcome can be particularly adverse in women due to socioeconomic or biological factors, clinical-pathological differences of TCC at the time of diagnosis have not been sufficiently studied. The aim of this study is to analyze whether there are gender-related differences in grade and tumor stage in primary bladder TCC.METHODS: All consecutive primary bladder TCC diagnoses made in our institution between 1990 and 2009 have been included. We retrospectively analyzed age, smoking, symptoms at presentation, tumor grade (WHO 1973), tumor size and number, and TNM stage, comparing men and women. Statistical analysis was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test as non-parametric test and Chi-squared test to compare frequencies.RESULTS : We analyzed 1196 patients (992 males and 204 females) with a 5:1 ratio. We found significant differences in age (69 years vs. 73 years), smoking (46.5% vs. 11.2%) and muscle-invasive stage (12.1% vs. 18.1%). Correcting by tobacco consumption, never-smoker women have larger and more aggressive tumors with a frequency of muscle-invasive disease three times higher than male never-smokers and equaling to male current-smokers.CONCLUSION: TCC of the bladder is more frequent in males than females. In this series, women are older at the time of diagnosis and most often affected by muscle-invasive disease particularly in never-smokers. We need studies to analyze the potential impact of passive smoking to justify these results(AU)

[Comparative study of the effect of complete prolonged neoadjuvant hormonal blockade versus standard hormonal blockade]. / Estudio comparativo del efecto del bloqueo hormonal completo neoadyuvante prolongado frente al estándar.

INTRODUCTION: Radical prostatectomy is considered as a curative treatment option in clinically localised prostate cancer patients. Therapy failure is related to positive surgical margins and/or extracapsular extension. The use of neoadjuvant combined androgen blockade (CAB) withdrawal therapy, mainly in cT2 disease, has been shown to decrease positive margin rates. However, CAB therapy remains controversial since there is no proof that this approach confers any benefit in relation to biochemical and clinical disease-free survival. Increasing negatives surgical margins and lower tumour volume (TV) with prolonged CAB therapy has been recently reported. AIM: To analyse the effect of 6 months neoadjuvant CAB therapy in front of 3 months in clinically localised prostate cancer patients submitted to radical prostatectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The pathological stage and TV in forty-two patients treated by 6 months in front of thirty-four patients treated by 3 months were studied. The relationship of clinical stage and initial PSA concentration were analysed. RESULTS: TV was significantly lower in 6 months treated patients (0.97 cc vs. 0.48 cc, p = 0.05). The lowest TV was observed in cT1 patients, but significant differences only were observed in cT2 (1.5 cc vs. 0.86 cc, p = 0.04). No relationship between TV and PSA was obtained. No differences in the incidence of organ-confined disease were seen depending of the CAB length (47% vs. 43%, p = NS). However, increasing incidence of specimen-confined disease was observed in 6 months treated patients (56% vs. 74%, p = 0.05). CONCLUSION: The duration of neoadjuvant CAB can affect both TV and surgical margin status. Lower TV and increasing incidence of specimen-confined disease with 6 months CAB treatment were observed. Patients with palpable disease may be more benefited by this treatment option.

Estudio comparativo del efecto del bloqueo hormonal completo neoadyuvante prolongado frente al estándar / The effect of long-term neoadjuvant combined androgen blockade withdrawal therapy. Comparative study with standard therapy

INTRODUCCIÓN: La prostatectomía radical es considerado un tratamiento curativo del cáncer de próstata clínicamente localizado. El fallo quirúrgico potencial viene dado por la positividad de los márgenes y/o por la extensión extracapsular. Ha sido comunicada una reducción en la incidencia de márgenes quirúrgicos positivos, especialmente en estadios clínicos T2, con el empleo del bloqueo hormonal completo neoadyuvante1. Sin embargo, el bloqueo previo a la cirugía sigue siendo un tratamiento controvertido dado que no ha sido demostrado ningún beneficio en relación con el intervalo libre de progresión ni supervivencia. Recientemente, ha sido comunicada una mayor incidencia de márgenes libres y reducción del volumen tumoral en las piezas de prostatectomía sometidas a bloqueo más prolongado que el estándar de 3 meses. OBJETIVO: Analizar el efecto del bloqueo hormonal neoadyuvante durante 6 meses frente al estándar de 3 meses en pacientes con cáncer de próstata clínicamente localizado y sometidos a prostatectomía radical. PACIENTES Y MÉTODOS: Se estudia el volumen tumoral y el estadio patológico en 42 pacientes sometidos a 6 meses de bloqueo frente a 34 pacientes sometidos a bloqueo estándar de 3 meses. Se analiza la relación existente con el estadio clínico y con la concentración de PSA. RESULTADOS: El volumen tumoral fue significativamente menor en el grupo de pacientes tratado durante 6 meses (0,976 cc vs 0,48 cc, p = 0,05). En función del estadio clínico el menor volumen se observó en los pacientes T1 pero la diferencia fue sólo significativa en los T2 (1,5 cc vs 0,86 cc, p = 0,04). No se observó relación entre el volumen tumoral y la concentración de PSA. Al analizar el estadio patológico, no existieron diferencias en función del tiempo de bloqueo en la incidencia de tumor no confinado (47 por ciento vs 43 por ciento, p N.S.). Sin embargo, se observó un incremento en la incidencia de tumor confinado al espécimen en el grupo sometido a 6 meses de bloqueo (56 por ciento vs 73,7 por ciento, p = 0,05). CONCLUSIÓN: La duración del bloqueo neoadyuvante puede afectar tanto al volumen tumoral como al estado de los márgenes quirúrgicos. Se observa menor volumen tumoral e incremento en la incidencia de tumor confinado al espécimen con un tratamiento más prolongado que el considerado estándar. Los pacientes con tumores palpables parecen beneficiarse en mayor medida de esta modalidad de bloqueo (AU)

A longer duration of neo-adjuvant combined androgen blockade prior to radical prostatectomy may lead to lower tumour volume of localised prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse tumour volume (TV) in clinically localised prostate cancer patients treated with neo-adjuvant combined androgen blockade (CAB) therapy prior to radical prostatectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred consecutive patients treated between 1996 and 2000 were retrospectively analysed. Fifty patients underwent radical prostatectomy alone and 45 were treated with CAB for 1-3 months, 83 for 4-6 months and 22 for more than 6 months before surgery. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the strongest independent prognosticator of organ-confined disease. RESULTS: No evidence of residual cancer was found in 11 specimens (5.6%). Regarding TV, 20 specimens showed less than 0.1cc, 33 between 0.1 and 0.49cc and 86 more than 0.5cc. Smaller TV was found in CAB-treated patients. Significant correlation was observed between treatment duration and TV. In logistic regression analysis, only CAB duration and TV were significantly correlated with organ-confined disease. CONCLUSIONS: Prominent regressive features and lower TV were found after neo-adjuvant CAB. It seems that more prolonged treatment may lead to greater tumoural regression. Only tumour burden and length of CAB therapy were independent variables significantly correlated with pathologically localised prostate cancer.

Effect of antibiotic treatment on serum PSA and percent free PSA levels in patients with biochemical criteria for prostate biopsy and previous lower urinary tract infections.

BACKGROUND: Controversy exists as to the influence of inflammatory foci on total and free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentrations. The objective was to analyze the biological variations of PSA and percent free PSA (%f-PSA) in patients with biochemical criteria for prostate biopsy (PSA higher than 4 ng/mL and normal rectal examination) and compare them with the variation induced by antibiotic treatment in a cohort of patients with a history of lower urinary tract infections and no clinical evidence of prostatitis. METHODS: Ninety patients with a history of lower urinary tract infections, non-suspicious digital rectal examination and PSA between 4 and 20 ng/mL were analyzed. PSA concentration and %f-PSA were determined. Forty-five patients were treated with three weeks of ofloxacin, following which marker determination was repeated. All patients underwent ultrasound-controlled transrectal six-core prostate biopsy. RESULTS: Sixty-seven patients presented benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (30 with prostatitic foci) and 23 cancer. Significant variations in PSA (6.97 ng/mL vs. 5.82 ng/mL, p=0.001) and %f-PSA (14.84% vs. 17.53%, p=0.01) were found only in the treated patients. These differences were significant for patients with BPH-associated prostatitic foci and not for patients with BPH or cancer. The tendency was for PSA to decrease (15 treated patients with PSA <4 ng/mL vs. six non-treated patients) and for %f-PSA to increase. The median variation of %f-PSA was greater than that of PSA. When the cutoff for %f-PSA was set at 25%, 18.9% of unnecessary biopsies after the first determination and 20% after the second could be avoided. By associating the reduction in PSA, up to 46% could be avoided in treated patients. CONCLUSION: Biochemical criteria for prostate biopsy may be modified in patients with a history of lower urinary tract infections due to variations greater than those explained by intraindividual biological variations, and may be influenced by the antibiotic treatment. These results suggest that subclinical inflammatory foci may influence PSA and %f-PSA.

[Management of non-functioning renal graft]. / Actitud ante el injerto renal no funcionante.

On a series of 315 consecutive Renal Transplants (RT), the authors analyze the effects from any situation capable of causing the graft's renal failure, whether accompanied or not of oligoanuria. To begin with, the exploratory approach promoted by the ¿non-functioning kidney¿ is established recognizing three typical stages depending on the time of appearance: early, medium-term and long-term. The breakthroughs obtained in the prevention of Acute Tabular Necrosis (A.T.N.) are verified through the use of the receptor's hyperhydration, as well as the good results in the treatment of rejection since the arrival of Cyclosporin and the recent introduction of OKT3. Chronic rejection, is, today, the major cause of our transplantectomies (TX), since our attitude towards the exeresis of all irreversibly non-functioning grafts is well known. Vascular thrombotic problems have a very high percentage of losses among affected kidneys. Little can be done once the problem arises. Prevention is the best weapon available and special attention should be paid to the meticulousness of bank surgery and the suitable final positioning of the organ in the fossa iliaca, having into account the highly close relationship between this problem and the pathological and iatrogenic anomalies displayed by the organs to be transplanted in their arterial tree. The excretory tract problems are repaired in 83% cases, but the rest may even result in the loss of the kidney. In these complications, early surgery is the best way to avoid subsequent amputation surgery.

[Review of 45 cases of renal oncocytomas published in our country, and presentation of 2 new cases]. / Revisión de 45 casos de oncocitomas renales publicados en nuestro país, y aportación de 2 nuevos casos.

A review is made on the characteristics presented by the 45 cases of renal oncocytomas published in the specialized literature in our country, which are compared to major publications on the subject in the international literature in which a recent review reports 200 cases. Also, two new cases are presented. These tumours are included within the 17 benign renal tumours accumulated in our centre (11.7%) accounting for 2.27% of all renal tumours diagnosed by our group. The renal oncocytoma opens a significant controversy with regard to its definitive identity and, therefore, with regard to its possible therapy whether radical or conservative.

Urinary infection and stone formation as complications of Gil-Vernet's antireflux procedure.

The authors describe two cases of urinary infection and stone formation as late complications of Gil-Vernet's antireflux treatment. The immediate cause of these complications was the migration to the mucosal surface of the nonabsorbable sutures employed in this technique.

[Ureteral metastasis of prostatic adenocarcinoma. Review of the literature]. / Metástasis ureteral de adenocarcinoma prostático. Revisión de la literatura.

We report a case of prostate adenocarcinoma metastatic to the ureter. This is the 25th case reported in the literature. The patient was submitted to surgery with the diagnosis of prostate carcinoma and unclassified ureteral tumor since the available preoperative diagnostic methods did not permit determining the nature of the tumor. Conservative ureteral surgery was performed and the prostate excised followed by androgenic block.

Resolution of hypertension after retroperitoneal removal of a solitary renal cyst.

A case of a left simple renal cyst associated with hypertension is presented. Preoperative renin was elevated on the left renal vein. Hypertension disappeared after evacuation of the cyst. The possibility of renovascular hypertension in association with the cyst is considered.