Trends in genitourinary cancer mortality in the United States: analysis of the CDC-WONDER database 1999-2020.

Introduction: Sociodemographic disparities in genitourinary cancer-related mortality have been insufficiently studied, particularly across multiple cancer types. This study aimed to investigate gender, racial, and geographic disparities in mortality rates for the most common genitourinary cancers in the United States. Methods: Mortality data for prostate, bladder, kidney, and testicular cancers were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WONDER database between 1999 and 2020. Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) were analyzed by year, gender, race, urban-rural status, and geographic region using a significance level of p < 0.05. Results: Overall, AAMRs for prostate, bladder, and kidney cancer declined significantly, while testicular cancer-related mortality remained stable. Bladder and kidney cancer AAMRs were 3-4 times higher in males than females. Prostate cancer mortality was highest in black individuals/African Americans and began increasing after 2015. Bladder cancer mortality decreased significantly in White individuals, Black individuals, African Americans, and Asians/Pacific Islanders but remained stable in American Indian/Alaska Natives. Kidney cancer-related mortality was highest in White individuals but declined significantly in other races. Testicular cancer mortality increased significantly in White individuals but remained stable in Black individuals and African Americans. Genitourinary cancer mortality decreased in metropolitan areas but either increased (bladder and testicular cancer) or remained stable (kidney cancer) in non-metropolitan areas. Prostate and kidney cancer mortality was highest in the Midwest, bladder cancer in the South, and testicular cancer in the West. Discussion: Significant sociodemographic disparities exist in the mortality trends of genitourinary cancers in the United States. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions and further research to address these disparities and improve outcomes for all populations affected by genitourinary cancers.

Effects of first year COVID-19 pandemic on urology practice in three major Arab Countries: Sub-Analysis of a survey by Arab association of urology research group.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic on March 11, 2020. The health care system faced tremendous challenges in providing ethical and high-quality care. The impact of COVID-19 on urological practices varied widely worldwide, including in Arab countries. This study aimed to compare the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on urology practice in Egypt, the KSA, and the UAE during the first year of the pandemic. METHODS: This sub-analysis assessed the demographics and COVID-19's effects on urological practice in terms of adjustments to hospital policy, including outpatient consultations, the management of elective and urgent surgical cases, and the continuation of education across the three countries. The availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) and urologists' emotional, physical, and verbal intimidation during COVID-19 were also compared. RESULTS: Regarding the impact on hospital policy, consultations replaced by telemedicine were significantly higher in the KSA (36.15%), followed by the UAE (33.3%), then Egypt (10.4%) (P = 0.008). Elective cases requiring ICU admission were 65.1% in Egypt, 45.2% in the KSA, and 58.2% in the UAE and were performed only in high-risk patients. PPE was freely available in 20.8% of the Egyptian hospitals compared to 83.3% in the KSA and 81.8% in the UAE. Online courses were significantly higher in Egypt (70.8%), followed by the UAE (53%) and the KSA (41.7%) (P = 0.02). Emotional intimidation was higher than verbal intimidation, representing 80%, 75.9%, and 76% in the UAE, KSA, and Egypt, respectively. CONCLUSION: This sub-analysis outlined significant hospital policy changes across the three Arab countries. Exposure to emotional, verbal, and physical intimidation was observed. The development of teleconsultations and online platforms for educational purposes was observed.

Is routine re-imaging for high-grade renal injury needed? Retrospective analysis of 1500 abdominal trauma patients from a tertiary care trauma center over 11 years.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: The AUA and EAU guidelines recommend re-imaging in high-grade renal trauma, regardless of the clinical findings. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of re-imaging on the overall management and outcomes in these patients. METHODS: The trauma registry of our tertiary care Level-1 trauma center was reviewed from January 2007 till October 2018. Out of 1536 patients with abdominal trauma, 174 patients with isolated renal injury were identified. Renal injuries were classified based on the AAST classification. Variables retrieved were demographics, renal injury grade, presence of urinoma, repeated imaging findings, and intervention after initial and repeated imaging. RESULTS: Low-grade injury was found in 78.7% (137/174) compared to 21.3% (37/174) with high-grade injury. The majority (n = 136) of low-grade patients were managed conservatively except one patient with Grade III injury required angioembolization after initial imaging. Of the high-grade patients, 31/37 were treated conservatively except 6/37 patients required surgical intervention after initial imaging. Following re-imaging, only one patient required surgical intervention in the form of insertion of a drainage tube for a hematoma, which was possibly infected. The existence of urinoma (5 patients) or hematoma (47 patients) was not associated with significantly higher rate of intervention (p values: 0.717 and 0.138, respectively). No significant association was noted between hematoma size and rate of intervention (p value = 0.055). CONCLUSION: Re-imaging for high-grade renal injuries could be limited to the presence of urinary extravasation in initial imaging or the presence of clinical deterioration such as pain, fever or decrease in hemoglobin level.

Testicular cancer among Saudi adults: Hands on a nationwide Cancer Registry over 10 years.

Background/objective: Testicular cancer (TC) is one of the most curable solid malignancies affecting young adults. The objective of this study was to identify factors affecting survival of Saudi adults who were diagnosed with testicular cancer over 10 years. Methods: This was a retrospective study with data extracted from the Saudi Cancer Registry for Saudi Adults diagnosed with TC from 2008 to 2017. We collected demographic information, including age, marital status, region of residency, year of diagnosis, and the survival status. In addition, the tumor factors included the basis of diagnosis, the origin of the tumor, histopathological group and subtype, and tumor behavior, stage, and laterality were collected. Results: A total of 869 patients were included, with a median age of 30 (IQR: 25-38). The highest percentage of the cases was 37.5% (326) in the Central region, followed by the Western region 24.6% (214). The primary site of the tumor was the testis 96.9% (842), 3.1% (27) in the undescended testis. The histopathological examination revealed seminoma in 44.8% (389), 33.5% (291) mixed germ cell tumor, 8.4% (73) embryonal carcinoma, 6.1% (53) teratoma, 2.6% (23) yolk sac tumor, 1.6% (14) choriocarcinoma, 0.3% (3) Leydig cell tumor, and 2.6% (23) sarcomas. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed significant association between survival and the age groups (p = 0.001), histopathology group (p 0.04), histopathology subtypes (p = 0.01), and the stage of the tumor (p < 0.001). Conclusions: A notable increase in the incidence of TC among Saudi adults was seen, with a mortality rate of 5.4% over a period of 10 years. Longer survival was associated with age groups, seminomatous germ cell tumor, and lower tumor stage.

How did the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic affect urology practice in Arab countries? A cross-sectional study by the Arab Association of Urology research group.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess of the effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on urology practice in the Arab world during the first year of the crisis. METHODS: An Internet-based questionnaire was created and sent out via email to members of the Arab Association of Urology (AAU) using 'Google Forms'. The survey assessed participants' demographics in terms of age, gender, country of origin, type of practice and position. Impacts of COVID-19 on urological practice were assessed in terms of the changes in hospital policies regarding consultations, and elective and emergency surgical cases. Moreover, impacts of COVID-19 on urologists were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 255 AAU members across 14 Arab countries (Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, Kuwait, Yemen, Qatar, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Sudan and Syria) completed the survey; 4% were female urologists. Consultations at outpatient clinics were closed or restricted to emergency cases or replaced by telemedicine in almost 15%, 40% and 25% of hospitals, respectively. Elective surgeries were stopped or reduced to under 25% of surgical capacity in >10% and about 25% of hospitals, respectively. Almost 90% (228) reported changes in the policy for emergency theatres. Nearly 65% of hospitals offered preoperative COVID-19 testing to patients and 50% of hospitals provided personal protective equipment (PPE) to their urologists. Of 99% (253) who reported a change in urological education, 95% relied on online webinars. About 56% of respondents had their own private practice, of whom 91% continued private practice during the crisis. About 38% of participants reported exposure to intimidation (75% emotional, 20% verbal and 5% physical). CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in major changes in hospitals' policies regarding outpatient consultations, elective and emergency operative cases, and the shift to telemedicine. Arab urologists have been facing major challenges either in both the governmental or the private sectors, and some of them were exposed to emotional, verbal and even physical intimidation.

Microvascular tumor invasion: prognostic significance in low-stage renal cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the role of microvascular tumor invasion (MVI) in clinical behavior and prognosis of low-stage renal cell carcinoma. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who had undergone radical nephrectomy from 1990 to 2004 for clinically confined kidney tumors (Stage T1-T2N0M0) with a minimal follow-up period of 1 year. The pathology slides were reviewed regarding tumor diameter, pathologic tumor stage, histologic cell type, nuclear grade, macroscopic or MVI, perirenal fat invasion, and neoplastic lymph node involvement. RESULTS: A total of 48 patients, 22 men and 26 women (mean +/- SD age 50.73 +/- 13.03 years, range 20-80) were included in the study. The patients were followed up for a mean +/- SD of 37.65 +/- 18.19 months (range 12-60). MVI was encountered in 8 patients (16.7%); 50% developed treatment failure in the form of distant metastases. Of the 40 patients without MVI, only 2 (5%) had treatment failure. MVI had a statistically significant association with sex (P = 0.017) and stage (P = 0.039). On comparing treatment failure with different patient and histologic parameters, a statistically significant association was noted with sex (P = 0.006) and MVI (P = 0.005). The 5-year disease-free survival rate was estimated at 45% and 90% when MVI was and was not present. Only MVI showed an independent statistically significant impact (P = 0.007) on multivariate analysis considering the impact of MVI, stage, grade, cell type, perirenal fat invasion, tumor size, and patient age on disease-free survival. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study have shown that MVI is an independent and relevant prognostic parameter for clinically low-stage renal cell carcinoma.