Luc Coppens

Adult Müllerian Duct Or Utricle Cyst: Clinical Significance And Therapeutic Management Of 65 Cases

PURPOSE We define guidelines for the exploration and treatment of adult müllerian duct cysts. MATERIALS AND METHODS From January 1988 through September 1999 a diagnosis of enlarged prostatic utricle was made in 65 adults based on transrectal ultrasound findings. Echographic criteria to define simple versus complicated cysts were detailed. We reviewed the clinical presentation, diagnostic modalities, indications for invasive procedures and postoperative outcome. RESULTS The usual clinical presentations were hematospermia in 40% of cases, other ejaculatory disturbances in 20%, recurrent testicular or pelviperineal pain in 33%, lower urinary tract irritation symptoms in 25%, lower urinary tract infection in 18.5%, male infertility in 12% and incidental finding in 18.5%. Cyst dimensions did not influence the indication for invasive procedures, which were performed in only 27 of the 65 patients (41.5%) to treat disabling symptoms in 28% and obstructive infertility in 5%, and investigate complicated cysts on transrectal ultrasound in 6%. These procedures included transperineal or transrectal puncture in 9 patients, simple endoscopic section of the utricle meatus in 12 and large marsupialisation in 6. Complete and sustained cure was noted in half of the patients treated with cyst puncture only, although echographic relapse was the rule. Endoscopic procedures definitely improved or cured 82% of the patients at a mean followup of 51 months, during which neither early nor late complications were noted. CONCLUSIONS Since almost 60% of adults diagnosed with a müllerian duct cyst did not experience any cyst related symptoms or ejaculatory-fertility impairment, we recommend that investigation and/or treatment should only be done in symptomatic or infertile patients.

Detection of the 67-kD laminin receptor in prostate cancer biopsies as a predictor of recurrence after radical prostatectomy.

Objectives: Reliable prognostic indicators are needed for a better pretherapeutic assessment of the agressiveness of organ–confined prostate cancer (PC) lesions. The 67–kD laminin receptor (67LR) is a cell–surface–associated protein involved in the acquisition of the invasive and metastatic phenotype of a variety of human cancer cell types. We have previously shown that 67LR detection in PC tissues from radical prostatectomy (RP) specimens is an independent predictor of biochemical (PSA) relapse in patients with clinically localized PC. In this study, we assessed 67LR detection in diagnostic PC biopsies as a predictor of biochemical relapse after RP. Methods: Diagnostic biopsy and subsequent RP tissue specimens from 151 patients with clinically localized PC were immunohistochemically analyzed for 67LR expression. The level of 67LR expression was evaluated by both intensity and extent of the staining. Clinicopathological preoperative and postoperative parameters, including 67LR expression, were correlated with each other and tested as predictors of biochemical relapse. Results: 67LR was detected in 67.5 and 68.2% of biopsies and RPs, respectively. 67LR detection in RP specimens was an independent predictor of relapse. The level of 67LR expression in the biopsy was significantly associated with the biopsy Gleason score (p<0.05) but failed to predict the pathological stage (p>0.1). Biochemical progression–free estimates for patients whose biopsy did or did not express the protein differed with only borderline statistical significance (p = 0.05). Multivariate analysis identified biopsy Gleason score as the only independent preoperative predictor of recurrence. Significant discrepancies in levels of 67LR expression were found between matched biopsy and RP specimens (p<0.05), with exact agreement rates <40%. Conclusions: 67LR detection in PC biopsies was not a significant preoperative predictor of outcome after RP. Heterogeneity of 67LR expression and biopsy sampling errors most likely represented the main reasons for discordant results between biopsy and RP specimens.

An in-house developed resettable MOSFET dosimeter for radiotherapy

The purpose of this note is to report the feasibility and clinical validation of an in-house developed MOSFET dosimetry system and describe an integrated non-destructive reset procedure. Off-the-shelf MOSFETs are connected to a common PC using an 18 bit/analogue-input and 16 bit/output data acquisition card. A reading algorithm was developed defining the zero-temperature-coefficient point (ZTC) to determine the threshold voltage. A wireless interface was established for ease of use. The reset procedure consists of an internal circuit generating a local heating induced by an electrical current. Sensitivity has been investigated as a function of bias voltage (0-9 V) to the gate. Dosimetric properties have been evaluated for 6 MV and 15 MV clinical photon beams and in vivo benchmarking was performed against thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLD) for conventional treatments (two groups of ten patients for each energy) and total body irradiation (TBI). MOSFETS were pre-irradiated with 20 Gy. Sensitivity of 0.08 mV cGy(-1) can be obtained for 200 cGy irradiations at 5 V bias voltage. Ten consecutive measurements at 200 cGy yield a SD of 2.08 cGy (1.05%). Increasing the dose in steps from 5 cGy to 1000 cGy yields a 1.00 Pearson correlation coefficient and agreement within 2.0%. Dose rate dependence (160-800 cGy min(-1)) was within 2.5%, temperature dependence within 2.0% (25-37 degrees C). A strong angular dependence has been observed for gantry incidences exceeding +/-30 degrees C. Dose response is stable up to 50 Gy (saturation occurs at approximately 90 Gy), which is used as threshold dose before resetting the MOSFET. An average measured-over-calculated dose ratio within 1.05 (SD: 0.04) has been obtained in vivo. TBI midplane-dose assessed by entrance and exit dose measurements agreed within 1.9% with ionization chamber in phantom, and within 1.0% with TLD in vivo. An in-house developed resettable MOSFET-based dosimetry system is proposed. The system has been validated and is currently used for in vivo entrance dose measurement in clinical routine for simple (open field) treatment configurations.

Assessment of the acceptability of the Elekta multileaf collimator (MLC) within the Corvus planning system for static and dynamic delivery of intensity modulated beams (IMBs)

The sliding window technique used for static and dynamic segmentation of intensity modulated beams is evaluated. Dynamic delivery is preferred since the resulting distributions correspond better with the calculated distributions, the treatment beam is used more efficiently and the delivery is less sensitive to small variations in the accuracy of the multileaf collimator (MLC).

Original lithotomy positioning for transperineal extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy for distal ureteric calculi with Tripter X1.

Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) has been initially designed for stones located in the kidney and the upper ureter. Our lithotripter is no exception. Its components (the table and the orientation of the semi-ellipsoid reflector) are adapted for the treatment of kidney or lumbar ureter stones. However, the elements forming the unit of treatment (the table, the C-arm and the Tripter) can be modified in such a way that focalization of stones of the lower ureter becomes possible through a perineal exposure. The aim is to avoid the pelvic bone shield while a good focalization of the stone is realized. From June 1989 to March 1991, 35 patients were treated for distal ureteric stones by ESWL in this original positioning.

Belgian experience with the Direx Tripter X1.

In the Department of Urology of the University of Liege Medical Center, 207 kidneys were treated by shock wave lithotripsy using the Direx Tripter X-1. Various forms of anesthesia/sedation were used. A 93% fragmentation rate was obtained, and 80% of patients were stone free at three months. Thirteen percent of cases required multiple treatments. In 6% of cases, post-ESWL auxiliary procedures were performed. No significant complications were encountered. Utilization of the Tripter X-1, equipped with C-arm fluoroscopy, is quite simple, and the apparatus is reliable. This type of lithotripter provides affordable treatment of upper urinary tract calculi in any hospital, with results comparable to those obtained with more sophisticated and expensive machines.