Junne-Yih Kuo

Correlation between serum prostate specific antigen and prostate volume in Taiwanese men with biopsy proven benign prostatic hyperplasia.

PURPOSE We studied the correlation between serum prostate specific antigen and the volume of different zones of the prostate in Taiwanese men with biopsy proven benign prostatic hyperplasia. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 233 patients with a mean age of 71.4 years (range 42 to 89), serum prostate specific antigen less than 10 ng/ml and pathologically confirmed benign prostatic hyperplasia were enrolled in this study. Total prostate and transitional zone volumes were measured with transrectal ultrasonography. Peripheral zone volume was determined by subtracting transitional zone volume from total prostate volume. Correlations between patient age, total serum prostate specific antigen and the volume of each prostate zone were analyzed with the Pearson correlation coefficient. A linear regression model was used to determine the relationship between prostate specific antigen and prostate volume. The prostate specific antigen-prostate volume relationship in our patients was compared with published data on white and Japanese men. RESULTS Age did not significantly correlate with serum prostate specific antigen and prostate volume. Serum prostate specific antigen significantly correlated with the volume of each prostate zone. After log transformation the Pearson correlation coefficient between total prostate specific antigen and the volume of the whole prostate gland, the transitional zone and the peripheral zone were 0.369, 0.377 and 0.272, respectively (p <0.001). Taiwanese men had lower prostate volume per unit prostate specific antigen comparing with white men, while the prostate specific antigen-total prostate volume relationship between Taiwanese and Japanese men was similar. CONCLUSIONS In Taiwanese men with biopsy proven benign prostatic hyperplasia the volume of each prostate zone has significantly correlates with serum prostate specific antigen. The prostate specific antigen-total prostate volume relationship in Taiwanese men is different from that in white men. However, the prostate specific antigen-total prostate volume relationship between Taiwanese and Japanese men is similar.

Transurethral Prostatic Resection for Acute Urinary Retention in Patients with Prostate Cancer

Background: Few studies have focused on clinical findings in prostate cancer patients receiving transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for acute urinary retention (AUR). We compared the clinical findings (preoperative characteristics, operative morbidities, and pathology results) of patients with diagnosed prostate cancer undergoing palliative TURP for AUR with those of patients undergoing TURP for AUR who were diagnosed with prostate cancer postoperatively. Methods: The charts of 25 patients with prostate cancer undergoing TURP for AUR between 1986 and 2003 were retrospectively reviewed. Fourteen patients underwent palliative TURP (group A) and the other 11 patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer received TURP (group B). The data, including preoperative characteristics, operative morbidities, and pathology results were analyzed. Results: There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in parameters such as age at diagnosis and operation, operative time, hospitalization, and catheter duration. However, the Gleason score was higher in group A (7.6 ± 1.7) than in group B (5.4 ± 1.8) (p < 0.005). The mean resected weight was lower in group A (19.9 g) than in group B (39.5 g). Group A was more likely to receive recatheterization (33.3% vs 0%, p = 0.058) and repeat operation (28.6%), although the difference was not statistically significant. There were no complications such as transurethral resection syndrome or perioperative death in either group. Conclusion: TURP can be performed safely for relief of AUR in patients with prostate cancer, no matter if the cancer was diagnosed before or after surgery. The higher Gleason score and more advanced cancer stage, as found in group A, may correlate to high recatheterization and reoperation rates due to preexisting tumor progression.

Primary Urothelial Carcinoma of the Ureter: 11-Year Experience in Taipei Veterans General Hospital

Background: Urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract is relatively rare, occurring in 5% of all urothelial tumors. Ureteral urothelial carcinoma is even less common than that of the renal pelvis, accounting for about 25% of all upper urinary tract tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical behavior, survival, recurrence and prognostic information of primary ureteral urothelial carcinoma from our 11 years of experience at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 111 patients with ureteral urothelial carcinoma who had been treated in our hospital between January 1993 and December 2003. Tumor staging was according to the 2002 AJCC TNM classification and stage groupings. Patients with stage 0a and stage 0is were categorized as stage 0a/is, and patients with pathologic T stage pTa and pTis were categorized as pTa/is for statistical analysis. The Kaplan‐Meier method was used for survival analysis. Results: There were 69 males and 42 females, with a mean age of 70.5 ± 9.4 years at diagnosis. Of the 111 patients, 5 presented with stage 0a/is, 38 with stage I, 23 with stage II, 21 with stage III, and 24 with stage IV. Nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff excision was performed in 78 patients, 12 patients received segmental resection of the ureter, 4 received ureteroscopic laser coagulation, and 17 underwent chemotherapy or radiotherapy or both. Tumors were located on the left side in 53 patients, on the right in 53, and bilaterally in 5. The most frequent initial presenting symptom was gross hematuria (65%). The mean postoperative follow‐up period was 49.3 months. Disease recurrence in the nephroureterectomy group occurred in 36 patients (46.2%), with 17 (21.8%) at the urinary bladder, 2 (2.6%) at the retroperitoneum, 1 (1.3%) at the contralateral ureter, 6 (7.7%) with distant metastases to the lung, bone, distant lymph nodes or liver, and 10 (12.8%) at multiple sites. The 5‐year cancer‐specific survival rate was 100% for pTa/is, 95.2% for pT1, 69.4% for pT2, and 43.8% for pT3. All 3 pT4 cases died of cancer in a median of 12 months. Significant prognostic factors for cancer‐specific survival by univariate analysis were pT (p = 0.00001), stage (p = 0.00001), type of treatment (p = 0.00001) and grade (p = 0.0001). On multivariate analysis, only stage (p = 0.0001) and grade (p = 0.014) were significant for cancer‐specific and overall survival. Stage (p = 0.0001), pT (p =0.0001) and grade (p = 0.026) were also significant prognostic factors of recurrence in multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Our experience showed that patients with pTa/is and pT1 tumors treated with radical surgery have excellent prognoses. Tumor stage and grade are the only significant prognostic factors for both cancer‐specific and overall survival.

Prepubertal testicular germ cell tumors: 25-year experience in Taipei Veterans General Hospital.

Background: Due to the rarity of testicular tumors in the prepubertal population, adequate information about their biological course is difficult to document well in a single institution. The purpose of this study was to focus on prepubertal males in an attempt to evaluate clinical features and optimal management among various testicular germ cell tumors with long‐term follow‐up. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of children younger than 12 years of age with primary testicular germ cell tumors between February 1981 and December 2005 at Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Thirty‐four children were diagnosed with adequate clinical and pathologic data. The stage of the disease was determined according to the staging system used by the Childrens Oncology Group. Mean follow‐up time was 139 months (range, 2–283 months). Results: All of the 34 prepubertal patients were diagnosed initially with a painless scrotal mass. The mean age of the patients at diagnosis ranged from 6 months to 84 months (mean, 20.5 months). All patients underwent radical orchiectomy as an initial treatment. Twenty‐nine (85.3%) patients had yolk sac tumors, and 5 (14.7%) had mature teratomas. Of the 29 patients with yolk sac tumor, 26 (89.7%) were diagnosed as stage I, 1 (3.4%) as stage III, and 2 (7.0%) as stage IV. Five (19.2%) of the 26 stage I yolk sac tumors progressed to metastasis after radical orchiectomy, and all of these 5 patients later received chemotherapy. One patient initially with stage III yolk sac tumor and 2 patients with stage IV yolk sac tumor were also treated with chemotherapy. Eventually, 1 patient with stage IV yolk sac tumor died due to tumor pro‐gression; the remaining 28 patients with yolk sac tumor all survived without tumor relapse after appropriate treatment. In the 5 patients with teratomas, there was no tumor relapse after radical orchiectomy with a mean follow‐up time of 139.1 months. The 5‐year survival rates for yolk sac tumor and teratomas were 96.5% and 100%, respectively. Conclusion: The most common prepubertal malignant testicular tumor is yolk sac tumor, and the most common benign testicular tumor is teratoma. Children with testicular germ cell tumors have excellent long‐term survival rates after appropriate treatment.

Metastatic Tumors Involving the Testes

From 1979 to 1999, totally 200 cases of testicular tumor were diagnosed and treated at Taipei Veterans General Hospital. With the exception of lymphoma and leukemia, a total of 14 cases with metastatic tumor to the testis was collected. Eight cases(51.7%)were derived from adenocarcinoma of the prostate, 2 cases(13.6%) from lung cancer, 2(13.6%) from cancer of the gastrointestinal tract, 1(7.1%) from carcinoma of the seminal vesicles and 1(7.1%) from undetermined origin. There were 2 cases with bilateral testicular involvement(13.6%), and another 12 cases were unilateral involvement as well as all cases combined with multiple metastases. Nine cases(64.3%) presented with a scrotal mass without elevation of AFP or B-HCG clinically, and 5 cases were discovered incidentally ofter therapeutic orchiectomy due to adenocarcinoma of the prostate. One of the 14 cases was still alive. In the 13 expired cases, the average survival was 12.8 mo for the 7 patients with prostate cancer after orchiectomy and 7.4 mo for the 6 non-prostate cancer patients. Prognosis was very poor in metastatic carcinoma to the testis due to the late stage.

The Unusual Presentation of Gastric Adenocarcinoma as a Testicular Mass: A Favorable Response to Docetaxel and Cisplatin Plus Oral Tegafur/Uracil and Leucovorin

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancies in the world. The routes of metastasis include direct extension, lymphatics, and peritoneal or hematogenous spread. Testicular metastasis is rare. We present here a 23-year-old gastric cancer patient who first presented with right-side testis swelling and pain. Diagnosis of metastatic adenocarcinoma was made after right-side orchiectomy. Gastric adenocarcinoma with ascites and peritoneal seeding was found after esophagogastroscopy and abdominal computed tomography. The patient received chemotherapy consisting of docetaxel 36 mg/m(2) and cisplatin 30 mg/m(2) on day 1 and day 8, plus oral tegafur/uracil 300 mg/m(2)/day and leucovorin 90 mg/day on day 1 to day 14 in a 21-day cycle, and he had a partial response to the chemotherapy. Metastatic tumors, especially gastric adenocarcinoma, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with testicular mass and they may respond well to chemotherapy.

Clinical Experiences of Germ Cell Tumor in Cryptorchid Testis

The increased risk of malignancy occurring in the cryptorchid testis is well established. In order to investigate the management and outcome of germ cell tumor in cryptorchid testis, we retrospectively reviewed the records of 11 patients with cryptorchid tumor treated at our hospital between January 1973 and December 1996. Mean patient age at diagnosis was 47.6 years (range, 22-80). Of these patients, 3 were found in the inguinal area and 8 in the abdomen. Six occurred in the right cryptorchid testis and 5 in the left. Four patients presented with stage I disease, 4 with stage II, and 3 with stage III. Median follow-up period was 48.0 months (range 1-163). All 3 inguinal cryptorchid tumors and 6 of 8 abdominal cryptorchid tumors were seminoma. The remaining 2 abdominal cryptorchid tumors were nonseminomatous germ cell tumor. Of the 3 patients with inguinal cryptorchid seminomas, 2 with stage I disease were treated with prophylactic radiotherapy to nodal areas and 1 with stage III disease was treated with chemotherapy. Eight patients with abdominal cryptorchid tumors were treated with multidisciplinary approaches, including radiotherapy, cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy, and surgery. The overall survival rate for patients with inguinal and abdominal cryptorchid tumor was 81.8%. Two patients with stage III disease died during treatment and the remaining 9 patients are still alive without evidence of disease.

Postchemotherapy retroperitoneal residual mass in infantile yolk sac tumor

Background: Persistent postchemotherapy retroperitoneal residual mass with normalization of α‐fetoprotein (AFP) in infantile yolk sac tumor is rare.

Clinical efficacy of transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy in men younger than 50 years old with an elevated prostate-specific antigen concentration (>4.0 ng/mL)

Background Prostate cancer (PCa) is not commonly found in men younger than 50 years of age. However, serum prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) concentration has been examined more frequently at a younger age in Asia partially due to an increased awareness of prostate cancer. The purpose of our study was to investigate the efficacy and complication of PSA‐triggered transrectal ultrasonography‐guided prostate (TRUSP) biopsies. We retrospectively reviewed TRUSP biopsies in young men with elevated PSA concentration in Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Methods We reviewed the cases of patients younger than 50 years of age with elevated PSA concentration (>4.0 ng/mL), who received 12 cores TRUSP biopsies at TPEVGH from January 2008–December 2013. The age, family history, digital rectal examination (DRE) results, PSA concentration, free/total PSA ratio, total prostate volume, PSA density, lower urinary tract symptoms and complications after the procedure were reviewed. The pathologic findings of TRUSP biopsy and clinical follow‐up were reviewed and analyzed according to the Epstein criteria. Results A total of 77 patients were included and were divided into 2 groups: 1) the younger group consisted of 20 patients <40 years of age; and 2) the elder group had 57 patients who were 40–50 years of age. The overall detection rate of PCa was 11.69% (9/77), and all of the PCa cases were diagnosed in the elder group (group detection rate: 15.8%). There was a significant difference in the severity of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) between these 2 groups. All PCa patients were clinically significant according to the Epstein criteria. Two patients experienced fever (2.60%) after TRUSP biopsy. Conclusion From our patient cohort, it appears that no benefit was apparent for patients younger than 40 years old who received TRUSP biopsy, even with elevated PSA. However, PCa detected in men between 40 and 50 years of age were all clinically significant. Overall, our results supported current major practice guidelines which recommend an initial PSA checkup at 40 years of age.

Prostate cancer in young adults—Seventeen-year clinical experience of a single center

Background In the general population, prostate adenocarcinoma affects predominately older men. If fact, most current guidelines suggest that males over the age of 50 years should undergo prostate cancer screening. However, the clinical behavior and prognosis of prostate cancer in young adults is not well defined. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical behavior, pathological characteristics, and prognosis of prostate cancer in young adults. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the records of young patients (age, ≤50 years) in our hospital with prostate adenocarcinoma between 1997 and 2013. We compared data including initial presentation, cancer cell type, Gleason score, disease stage, prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) level, prostate volume, treatment, and survival between patients both younger and older than 50 years. Data were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method to assess survival. Results Twenty‐six patients were enrolled in our study, accounting for 0.55% of all patients with a diagnosis of prostate cancer at our facility. All 26 patients had a pathology diagnosis of adenocarcinoma, with a mean age on diagnosis of 46.8 ± 2.8 years (range, 39–50 years). On initial presentation, patients older than 50 years more frequently displayed lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) than younger patients (62.3% vs. 30.4%, p = 0.008). There was no statistical difference in histological grade, disease stage, PSA level, overall survival, and biochemical‐free survival between the two groups. Conclusion The result of our investigation indicated that prostate adenocarcinoma patients younger than 50 years had similar histological grade, disease stage, PSA level, overall survival, and biochemical‐free survival as the older population. However, patients younger than 50 years with prostate cancer less frequently showed initial symptoms of LUTS.