Treatment options for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

OBJECTIVE: To examine current treatment options for benign prostatic hyperplasia with emphasis on randomized, clinical trials and our current management approach. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE: Benign prostatic hyperplasia remains difficult to define clinically or measure objectively. As a result, research has been fairly weak. With newer treatments, however, more definitive studies have been reported. MAIN FINDINGS: Transurethral resection of the prostate remains the criterion standard for severe disease. Watchful waiting, medical management, or early surgical intervention are all valid options for moderate disease and should be tailored to the characteristics and desires of individual patients. Recent minimally invasive surgical techniques, such as microwave and laser surgery, have not yet achieved the quality of evidence to be generally recommended. CONCLUSIONS: Management of benign prostatic hyperplasia should be individualized to patients' circumstances and personal choices.

Caremap management for postoperative prostatectomy care at home: a comparative study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate early discharge from hospital with community-based care as an alternative to hospital-based care for patients who have undergone transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). DESIGN: Prospective comparative study. SETTING: A major urban hospital and the urban community. PATIENTS: Of 198 patients who underwent TURP between Jan. 10, 1994 and Sept. 30, 1994, 81, discharged on postoperative day 1, received the caremap method of health care delivery at home. They were compared with 85 patients who were discharged on postoperative day 2 or 3 and received standard hospital-based care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Readmission to hospital, reuse of health care services, complications and patient satisfaction. RESULTS: Comparison of the 2 groups revealed no significant differences in readmissions to hospital, reutilization of health care services or complications. Following these initial results, the early discharge program was expanded to include all acute care hospitals and the surrounding community. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative care for TURP can be delivered in the home. A critical success factor was the ability to provide quality care in the community without adverse effects.

Randomized, prospective, controlled study comparing radical prostatectomy alone and neoadjuvant androgen withdrawal in the treatment of localized prostate cancer. Canadian Urologic Oncology Group.

PURPOSE: A prospective, multicenter, randomized study was done to test the hypothesis that neoadjuvant androgen withdrawal decreases the incidence of positive margins following radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Observations were made of 213 patients randomized to undergo radical prostatectomy alone (101) or to receive a 12-week course of 300 mg. cyproterone acetate daily followed by surgery (112). Groups were similar at baseline in terms of clinical stage, serum prostate specific antigen and Gleason score. Of 192 patients available for efficacy analysis 9 had stage T1b, 8 stage T1c, 63 stage T2a, 36 stage T2b and 76 stage T2c disease. RESULTS: One or more positive surgical margins were found in 59 of 91 patients (64.8%) in the surgery only group compared to 28 of 101 (27.7%) in the cyproterone acetate group (p = 0.001). Patients who received preoperative therapy had a statistically significantly lower rate of apical margin involvement than those who did not (17.8 versus 47.8%, respectively, p < 0.0001). There was no statistically significant difference in surgical (p = 0.8645) or postoperative (p = 0.173) complications between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Neoadjuvant androgen withdrawal with a 12-week course of 300 mg. cyproterone acetate daily results in a lower rate of positive margins without adversely affecting postoperative recovery. The impact on patient survival will be determined by long-term followup.

Transrectal ultrasound versus magnetic resonance imaging in the estimation of prostatic volume.

OBJECTIVE: To establish which method of determining prostatic volume (transrectal ultrasound [TRUS] or magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]) and which calculation formula give the most exact and least variable results; to determine the size and the source of the variability: and to establish which method is the more sensitive to drug-induced changes in prostate volume. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prostatic size was estimated by TRUS and MRI in 21 patients treated medically (either active treatment or placebo) for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Each patient was examined at baseline, and after 3 months and 6 months of treatment. Prostatic volume was calculated at every visit using different formulae proposed in the literature. RESULTS: With some of these formulae, including the classical ellipsoid formula, there was a strong correlation (r > 0.8) between TRUS and MRI volume estimates. For others the correlation was much weaker, suggesting unreliability. MRI gave a significantly larger volume than TRUS because of larger values for the cephalocaudal and anteroposterior diameters. For patients on placebo the visit-to-visit variability of the prostate volume was 10-12% of the mean volume, whether calculated by TRUS or MRI. Part of this variability was apparently due to natural variation of prostate size. CONCLUSION: The classical ellipsoid formula is adequate for determining prostate volume. MRI and TRUS give different volumes. Visit-to-visit variability is similar for both methods and is partly due to real, natural variation. MRI is better able than TRUS to detect drug-induced changes in prostate volume.

A review of 1486 transurethral resections of the prostate in a teaching hospital.

The authors reviewed retrospectively 1486 consecutive transurethral resections of the prostate (TURP) gland performed in a teaching hospital between 1985 and 1987. The death rate was 0.8% in an institution where senior residents were the primary resectionists in approximately 75% of TURPs. The results of this review are compared with those of a 1974 study of 2223 patients. They indicated that TURP was a reasonably well-tolerated surgical procedure in the training environment and was associated with lower mortality and morbidity and a shorter hospital stay for the patient than in the 1974 study. The authors believe that with proper supervision and instruction, resident urologists can obtain satisfactory results while gaining competence and experience in performing TURPs.

Testicular seminoma associated with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome related complex: 2 case reports.

Two homosexual men positive for human immunodeficiency virus with evidence of acquired cellular immunodeficiency were diagnosed recently to have seminoma of the testis. One man has the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome with lymphopenia, a low CD4:CD8 ratio, condylomata accuminata, pneumocystis carinii and cerebral toxoplasmosis, and 1 has an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome related complex with generalized lymphadenopathy showing follicular hyperplasia on biopsy, recurrent Herpes simplex infections and lymphopenia but a supranormal CD4:CD8 ratio. Neither patient has a known risk factor for testicular seminoma. Our report provides supportive evidence for the presence of an increased risk of seminoma of the testis in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome related complex.

Primary bladder carcinoma presenting during pregnancy in 3 cases.

We report 3 cases of primary transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder presenting during pregnancy. Only 10 such cases have been reported in the literature. Patient age ranged from 23 to 24 years at 15 to 24 weeks of gestation. Only 1 of the 3 patients presented with gross hematuria and this was initially mistaken as vaginal bleeding. Initial diagnosis in all cases was made with sonography. Diagnosis then was easily confirmed by cystoscopy and treatment was uneventful. Transurethral resection did not present a problem. All patients had single papillary superficial tumors (stage Ta, grades 1 and 2). Pregnancy was not affected in any case. Diagnosis and prompt treatment are emphasized.

Salvage surgery following radical radiotherapy for adenocarcinoma of the prostate.

The development and proliferation of modern radiotherapy techniques, and their application in the 1970s to the treatment of localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate have led to substantial improvement in therapy of this disease. However, treatment failures occur. Among these patients is a small subset who have local recurrence of disease confirmed by biopsy without evidence of metastatic disease, and who still are relatively young and healthy. We report on 7 patients who satisfy these criteria. All 7 patients underwent a salvage operation with removal of the prostate gland following attempted curative radiotherapy: 3 underwent cystoprostatectomy and urinary diversion, and 4 underwent radical prostatectomy. Operating times averaged 4.9 hours and average blood transfusion was 5.3 units. Postoperative hospital stay averaged 13 days. Significant morbidity included 2 patients with rectal lacerations (1 of whom suffered a rectourethroperineal fistula that closed spontaneously), 2 with temporary urinary incontinence, and 1 with idiopathic thrombocytopenia and pseudomembranous colitis. As illustrated by these patients salvage surgery is difficult and there is substantial morbidity. However, this treatment option with its potential for cure can be offered to patients as a reasonable and rational approach to the problem.

Segmental irradiation of the bladder with neodymium YAG laser irradiation.

The Neodymium YAG laser energy source can be readily adapted for cystoscopic use by some simple modifications of existing urologic equipment. Both the fiberoptic resectoscope and a deflecting cystourethroscope have been adapted for this purpose. Fixation of the fiber tip 1 cm. from the target and use of a divergent beam of 36 degrees allows the delivery of standardized dosage to a relatively large bladder tissue volume. Animal experiments involving 35 mongrel dogs established that repetitive overlapping doses of 200 joules ech can successfully treat a large area of bladder resulting in a full thickness bladder wall injury. This technique has been used in 4 high risk patients with infiltrating bladder cancer without adverse sequelae. The ability to reliably produce a full thickness lesion may give this modality a therapeutic advantage over conventional cautery techniques especially for the treatment of residual infiltrative carcinoma.

Response of the Dunning R3327H prostatic adenocarcinoma to radiation and various chemotherapeutic drugs.

Dunning R3327H prostatic adenocarcinoma was bilaterally transplanted in the flanks of animals at the Papanicolaou Institute in Miami, and the animals were received at the Cross Cancer Institute (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) each month. The animal flanks were palpated weekly, and when tumor volumes reached a size of approximately 300 mm3 the animals were randomized into treatment groups for the assessment of various therapies. Tumor volumes were determined each week before and after various treatments, and tumor growth was compared to that in untreated controls. Ionizing radiation at relatively small single doses completely inhibits tumor growth for a period of up to 6 months. Some interesting characteristics of this radiation-induced growth arrest are that tumors do not die and shrink away as with some other tumor models but remain static in size and show histologic evidence of viable tumor cells. The hypoxic cell radiosensitizer misonidazole potentiates radiation response in this tumor model. Cisplatin, vincristine, etoposide, and estramustine phosphate administered in drug doses approaching their toxic limits have a partial effect on tumor growth.