Marcelo Langer Wroclawski

Upstaging of urothelial cancer at the time of radical cystectomy: factors associated with upstaging and its effect on outcome

Study Type – Therapy (case series)

‘Button type’ bipolar plasma vaporisation of the prostate compared with standard transurethral resection: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of short‐term outcome studies

To evaluate the surgical morbidity and effectiveness in improving symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), comparing ‘button‐type’ bipolar plasma vaporisation (BTPV) vs transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP).

Are localized prostate cancer biomarkers useful in the clinical practice

Prostate cancer presents itself in a heterogeneous way with both aggressive and indolent forms. Despite the controversy surrounding its use, prostate-specific antigen screening ultimately leads to a greater number of diagnosed patients. One of the biggest challenges in clinical practice is to select the right patients for biopsy and, among diagnosed patients, to differentiate tumors with an indolent course from those with an unfavorable prognosis, in order to determine the best therapeutic decision for each case, avoiding unnecessary interventions. Currently, several types of biomarkers are available for clinical use in patients with prostate cancer, which include blood-based (prostate-specific antigen, Prostate Health Index®, 4K score®); urine sample-based (PCA3, SelectMDx®, ExoDx Prostate IntelliScore®); and biopsy, transurethral resection, or radical prostatectomy tissue-based (ConfirmMDx®, Oncotype®, Prolaris®, Decipher®). The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current state of evidence and to highlight recent advances in the evaluation and diagnosis of prostate cancer, with emphasis on biomarkers related to diagnosis and to prognostic evaluation of localized prostate cancer.

The Role of Immunohistochemical Analysis as a Tool for the Diagnosis, Prognostic Evaluation and Treatment of Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is a heterogeneous disease that lends itself toward numerous therapeutic options depending on its risk stratification. One of the greatest challenges in PCa urologic practice is to select patients who should be referred for biopsy and, for those patients who are diagnosed with cancer, to differentiate between patients with indolent disease from those with an unfavorable prognosis and, to determine ideal patient management and avoid unnecessary interventions. Accordingly, there is a growing body of literature reporting immunohistochemical studies with the objective of determining a prostate cancer prognosis. Among the most frequent biomarkers studied are Ki-67, p53, PTEN, MYC, and ERG. Based on these findings, we systematically reviewed articles that assessed the role of these main prognostic markers in prostate cancer. Methods: Consistent with PRISMA guidelines, we performed a systematic literature search throughout the Web of Science and PubMed Medline databases. We considered all types of studies evaluating the role of Ki-67, p53, PTEN, MYC, and ERG immunohistochemical analysis in prostate cancer until July 2017. Results: We identified 361 articles, 44 of which were summarized in this review. Diagnostically, no single immunohistochemical marker was able to define a tumor as benign or malignant. Prognostically, Ki-67, p53, and MYC were related to the tumor grade given by Gleason score and to the tumor stage (higher levels related to higher tumor grade). Furthermore, Ki-67 was also related to higher PSA levels, shorter disease-free intervals and shorter tumor-specific survival; the latter was also related to p53. The loss of PTEN protein expression showed a higher association with biochemical recurrence and with a worse prognosis, beyond that predicted by the Gleason score and tumor stage. ERG staining also showed a strong association with biochemical recurrence. Conclusion: There are several studies relating immunohistochemical markers with clinical-laboratorial outcomes in prostate cancer, the most frequent being Ki-67, p53, ERG, PTEN, and MYC. However, none of these markers have been validated by literary consensus to be routinely applied in medical practice.

Aspirin use in robot-assisted radical prostatectomy? Systematic review and metanalysis.

e553Background: Low dose aspirin (81-100mg) used as secondary prevention in cardiovascular diseases is correlated with increased bleeding and overall complications in surgical procedures. However, the suspension of this medication can increase the risk of cerebrovascular accident and myocardial infarction. Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) has significantly decreased the surgical morbidity and the peri-operative bleeding. Our aim was to analyze whether RARP is feasible and safe in patients with low dose aspirin intake. Methods: Systematic review of the literature using MEDLINE, ESCOPUS, Lilacs, Scielo and Cohcrane articles published until June 2016. We included prospective trials and large cohorts that evaluated patients with (Group A) or without the maintenance of aspirin (Group B). Results: 5 trials (n = 1481 men) were included. One thousand and thirteen men stopped the use of the medication and 168 kept it during the peri-operatory setting, including the procedure. For the analyses of overall...