Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND: The objectives of this study were to determine whether bladder cancer (BC) screening in healthy men could lead to earlier detection and reduced BC mortality compared with unscreened men and to determine long-term outcomes of a geographically defined, unscreened population with newly diagnosed BC. METHODS: In 1987 and from 1998 to 1992, 1575 men ages 50 years and older who were solicited from well patient rosters in clinics in and around Madison, Wisconsin, tested their urine repetitively with a chemical reagent strip for hemoglobin. Participants who had positive test results underwent standard urologic evaluation. BC grades and stages and the outcomes of men with BC detected by screening were compared with the grades, stages, and outcomes of 87% of men ages 50 years and older with newly diagnosed BC who were reported to the Wisconsin Tumor Registry in 1988 (n = 509 men). RESULTS: Two hundred fifty-eight screening participants (16.4%) were evaluated for hematuria, and 21 participants (8.1%) were diagnosed with BC. Proportions of low-grade (Grade 1 and 2) superficial (Stage Ta and T1) versus high-grade (Grade 3) superficial or invasive (Stage > or = T2) cancers in screened men (52.4% vs. 47.7%) and in men from the tumor registry (60.3% vs. 39.7%) were similar (P = .50). The proportion of high-grade superficial or invasive BCs that were invasive were lower in screened men (10%) than in unscreened men (60%; P = .002). At 14 years of follow-up, no men with screen-detected BC had died of BC, whereas 20.4% of men with unscreened BC had died of BC (P = .02). CONCLUSIONS: Screening effected the early detection of BC and may reduce mortality from BC compared with BC that is diagnosed at standard clinical presentation.

INTRODUCTION: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMT) while uncommon may arise within numerous organs. Historically, the literature regarding IMT has been confined to small one organ case series, with few reviews encompassing multiple anatomic sites, and little data regarding adjuvant treatment. METHODS: A review of patients with IMT treated at two large academic medical centers over a 15-year period was undertaken. Patient demographics, pathologic diagnoses, and pertinent clinical data were obtained. RESULTS: Forty-four cases of pathologically confirmed IMT were identified. Tumor locations included multiple anatomic sites. Therapies included complete resection, incomplete resection, observation, or chemotherapy, and/or radiation. Five patients underwent adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy following surgery (14%) for local aggressiveness of the tumor, invasion, positive margins, or location of tumor that was not amenable to surgical resection. A second, concomitant, histologically distinct, neoplasm was identified in five cases. Of the patients who underwent treatment three local recurrences were noted (8%) and occurred in patients with partial resection without adjuvant chemo- or radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors may be a locally aggressive and destructive neoplasm. Tumor recurrence is unusual following complete surgical resection or organ-preserving combined modality therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To report the management of urachal anomalies using a robotically assisted approach. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 2005 and February 2006, five patients (mean age 51 years, range 24-68) were diagnosed with urachal anomalies. Two basic robot-assisted surgical approaches were used for excising the urachal anomalies: excision of the urachal remnant via partial cystectomy, and radical cystectomy for excision of urachal adenocarcinoma. RESULTS: All five cases were successful and the excised specimens were assessed histologically. The short-term oncological outcome in the three patients with histologically confirmed moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma showed no evidence of recurrent disease within a median interval of 8 months. Surveillance follow-up cystoscopy in the patients who had a partial cystectomy showed a well-healed bladder mucosa with no evidence of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Radical excision of the urachal tract with partial cystectomy or radical cystectomy using the da Vinci robot is safe, effective and technically feasible.

OBJECTIVES: Few centers perform extraperitoneal robot assisted radical prostatectomy. The average patient weight is increasing to the mildly obese. Little is known as to the difficulty-impact, obesity may have on robot-assisted extraperitoneal prostatectomy (RAP). We assess our own experience with obese patients undergoing RAP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Information on 375 consecutive patients undergoing robot-assisted extraperitoneal prostatectomy by a single surgeon was gathered. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m2. Patients with BMI >/= 30 were compared to those with BMI < 30. Specific comparators between the groups were: age, total operating time, estimated blood loss, total prostate specific antigen (PSA), specimen weight, pathological stage, grade and margin, complications, and functional outcomes. RESULTS: Sixty-seven men were identified as obese. When comparing the two groups, no statistically significant difference (p > .05) was noted in operative time (229 versus 217 min), blood loss (205 versus 175 ml), PSA, clinical and pathologic stages, specimen weight, and complications. 15% of non-obese patients had a positive margin compared to 12% of obese patients (p > .05). The 6-month continence rate in patients with a BMI >/= 30 was 92% versus 97% in patients with a BMI < 30. CONCLUSIONS: The extraperitoneal approach to performing a robot-assisted prostatectomy is not associated with increased morbidity in the obese patient. There were no statistically significant differences noted in oncological or functional outcomes between the two groups.

Small cell carcinoma of the prostate (SCPC) is morphologically similar to small cell carcinoma of the lung (SCLC) and maybe misinterpreted as Gleason pattern 5b prostate adenocarcinoma (HGPC). Recognition of SCPC is important because of its different clinical behavior. This study aims to characterize the immunophenotype of histologically classic SCPC using a comprehensive panel of markers, to better understand its histogenesis, aid in its classification, and evaluate potential therapeutic targets. Using the World Health Organization morphologic criteria for SCLC, 18 SCPC cases were identified; and studied for the following tumor marker groups: prostate specific/related, neuroendocrine, sex steroid hormone receptors, and prognostic/treatment target-related. Ten cases of UPC were used as controls. PSA was positive in 17% of SCPC and neuroendocrine markers were expressed in HGPC. PSA, TTF-1 and CD56 were the most helpful markers in differentiating between SCPC and HGPC (P<0.01), whereas bombesin/GRP, c-kit, bcl-2, and EGFR expression was more frequent in SCPC. SCPC is best diagnosed by following the World Health Organization diagnostic criteria for SCLC. Immunohistochemical markers can help separate SCPC from HGPC and may be useful in histologically borderline cases. Potential therapeutic targets are identified immunohistochemically in SCPC (Bombesin/GRP, c-kit, bcl-2, and EGFR).

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of povidone-iodine sclerotherapy after percutaneous drainage of simple renal cysts in the treatment of symptomatic patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixteen patients with symptomatic renal cysts were treated by percutaneous drainage and injection of povidone-iodine solution. The cysts were drained by a nephrostomy tube catheter, and povidone- iodine injections were repeated every 24 hours for 3 days. All patients were followed up by ultrasound examination during a period ranging from 1 to 4 years (mean 1.8 years). RESULTS: Thirteen patients experienced recurrence of cysts, while complete resolution was observed in only three patients. Of the cysts that recurred, only partial resolution in cyst diameter was observed (from 3-10.5 cm to 2.4-8.6 cm). During the follow-up period, 12 of the 16 patients (75%) continued to have pain that necessitated additional treatments. CONCLUSION: Povidone-iodine sclerotherapy is followed by a high rate of recurrence and is therefore not indicated for the treatment of symptomatic simple renal cysts.

Secondary polycythemia is a condition that causes an increase in red blood cell count either because of the physiologic response to stress or inappropriate secretion of erythropoietin. We report a case of a secondary polycythemia caused by ureteropelvic junction obstruction that was successfully treated by laparoscopic nephrectomy.