Carcinoma in situ of urinary bladder: incidence, treatment and clinical outcomes during ten-year follow-up.

Bladder carcinoma in situ (CIS) is a rare, high-grade intraepithelial neoplasm with a high tendency of progression and unpredictable clinical course. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence, treatment and clinical outcome of patients with CIS during a 10-year period. Medical records of 1062 patients with primary bladder cancer and 847 patients with recurrent bladder cancer that underwent tumor resection at Department of Urology, Split University Hospital Center, Split, Croatia, between January 2001 and December 2010, were analyzed. Among all treated patients with primary bladder neoplasms, 51 (4.8%) had CIS. Primary CIS was diagnosed in 18 (1.7%) and concomitant CIS in 33 (3.1%) patients. In the same period, 847 patients with recurrent tumors were treated by transurethral resection (TUR), 12 (1.4%) of them with secondary CIS. Clinical course was followed-up in 15 patients with primary CIS and 21 patients with concomitant (TaT1) CIS. BCG immunotherapy was applied in 12 patients with primary and 17 patients with concomitant CIS. After median follow-up of 50 months, 9 patients with primary CIS had no sign of disease, 4 progressed, 1 had recurrence and 1 died. After median follow-up of 37 months, 13 (62%) patients with concomitant CIS had complete response, 3 progressed (14%), 1 had recurrence (4%) and 4 patients died, however, only 2 (10%) of these due to bladder cancer. Of all patients receiving BCG immunotherapy, 8 (27%) had significant side effects. The incidence and treatment of patients with CIS of urinary bladder in our institution is comparable to other recent literature reports.

Results of long-term follow-up of patients with superficial bladder carcinoma treated with intravesically applied bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine according to the schedule of 6 weekly + 6 monthly instillations.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) immunotherapy in the prevention of local recurrence and disease progression in patients with superficial bladder cancer is very well documented. This study reports the effect of BCG on disease-specific and overall survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this retrospective trial, we have analyzed 170 patients with stage Ta and T1 superficial bladder cancer. Patients in the control group (87 patients) we followed-up only (median follow-up of 119 months) and treated surgically or with other oncologic modalities when progression of disease was diagnosed. The BCG group consisted of 83 patients treated with 6 weekly followed by 6 monthly instillations, and they have been followed-up of median 124 months. RESULTS: Patients receiving BCG had statistically significant better 10-year disease specific survival (83% vs. 69%, P = 0.03). At the same time point, the local recurrence rate was 48 % and the progression rate 19% for patients treated with BCG, while 77% (P < 0.001) and 38% (P = 0.007) were results in control group. Despite numerically better in the BCG group, overall survival is not significantly different in the 2 groups (P = 0.14). CONCLUSION: BCG immunotherapy significantly increases the disease-specific survival in patients with superficial bladder carcinoma.

Ureterorenoscopic treatment of ureteral stones--influence of operator's experience and skill on the procedure outcome.

AIM: To observe the influence of operating urologist's education and adopted skills on the outcome of ureterorenoscopy treatment of ureteral stones. METHODS: The study included 422 patients (234 men, 55.4%) who underwent ureterorenoscopy to treat ureteral stones at the Urology Department of Clinical Hospital Center Split, Croatia, between 2001 and 2009. All interventions were carried out with a semi-rigid Wolf ureteroscope and an electropneumatic generator used for lithotripsy. The operating specialists were divided into two groups. The first group included 4 urologists who had started learning and performing endoscopic procedures at the beginning of their specialization and the second group included 4 urologists who had started performing endoscopic procedures later in their careers, on average more than 5 years after specialization. RESULTS: Radiology tests confirmed that 87% (208/238) of stones were completely removed from the distal ureter, 54% (66/123) from the middle ureter, and 46% (28/61) from the proximal ureter. The first group of urologists completed significantly more procedures successfully, especially for the stones in the distal (95% vs 74%; P = 0.001) and middle ureter (66% vs 38%; P = 0.002), and their patients spent less time in the hospital postoperatively. CONCLUSION: Urologists who started learning and performing endoscopic procedures at the beginning of their specialization are more successful in performing ureteroscopy. It is important that young specialists receive timely and systematic education and cooperate with more experienced colleagues.

Biopsies of the normal-appearing urothelium in primary bladder cancer.

AIM: The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of "positive" findings in biopsies of the normal-appearing urothelium near primary cancer and their influence on therapeutic decisions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2001 and October 2008, in 230 patients with primary bladder cancer during initial resection of tumor, we also performed random biopsy of surrounding normal-appearing urothelium. We analyzed retrospectively the number and type of positive biopsy findings and their impact on further treatment. RESULTS: There were 40% of patients (92/230) whose normal-appearing urothelium biopsy revealed pathological findings such as tumor tissue, Tis, and dysplasia. In 24.4% of patients, the stage of the primary tumor was Ta (32/131), in 50% it was T1 stage (30/61), and in 79% T2 stage (30/38). When we assessed the grade of malignancy, we found 18% of biopsies with G1 tumors (16/88), 33% with G2 tumors (19/59), and 69% with G3 tumors (57/83). Tumor tissue that was found in the normal-appearing urothelium in biopsy specimens in 13% of patients was in stage Ta (17/131), in 16% it was T1 stage (10/61), and in 39% of patients, the tumor was in T2 stage (15/38). Pathological findings of random biopsies were crucial in changing therapeutical decisions in 4.6% (9/192) of patients. CONCLUSION: Biopsy of the normal-appearing urothelial tissue is easy to perform and may help in identifying patients with high risk of disease progression and recurrence. Based on our results and results from the literature we recommend this simple tool as part of the routine management during transurethral resection of primary bladder cancer.

[Lipomatosis pelvis]. / Lipomatosis pelvis.

The article is a discussion of three cases of lipomatosis in the pelvis and of the surgical treatment undertaken in each case. In the first two cases, fatty tissue compressed the lower uriunary tract, and in the third, the rectosigmoid intestine. In the third case, the patient was also diagnosed as having a malignant rectum polyp. In all three cases, the diagnosis by ultrasound, intravenous urography and rectoscopy was confirmed by CT. All three patients underwent surgery. The first patient was erroneously surgicaly treated in another clinic. The operation involved resection of the terminal part of ureters and, on the antireflux principle, the reimplantation of ureters into the bladder. The patient's condition seriously deteriorated in a short time. In the second case, we removed some fatty tissue from the patient's pelvis and performed ureteroileocutaneostomy. At present, 14 years since the operation, the patient's condition is good. The third patient had malignant rectum polyp, so we removed a large part of fatty tissue and performed resection of the anorectum and the distal part of the sigmoid colon, together with "anus praeter naturalis unipolaris sigmoidalis". The patient's condition, 10 years since the operation, is good.

Tuberculous orchiepididymitis diagnosed by nucleic acid amplification test: a case report.

Symptoms of tuberculous orchiepididymitis in a 39-year-old male started with swelling of left scrotum, followed by fistula formation with suppurative discharge. There was no any improvement produced by antibiotics. Surgical extirpation of inflammatory destroyed testicle and epidydimis was performed. Presence of tubercle bacilli was not shown by bacteriological analysis of testicle tissue. Tuberculous etiology was suggested after histopathological examination of testis and epididymis. Exudate from surgical wound was examined on presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA. Etiology of orchiepididymitis was proved by positive assay and inflammatory process was completely cured by antituberculotics therapy. By this report it was clearly shown that sometimes only molecular methods could confirm etiology of inflammatory process.