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Multiparametric MRI enables early detection of progression and reclassification in patients with low-risk prostate cancer on active surveillance and offers the potential to reduce unnecessary biopsies. However, the reliability and reproducibility of MRI-directed surveillance during follow-up is unclear. A recent study highlights the potential and current shortcomings of this approach.

PurposeProstate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignancy in men and the cause for the second most common cancer-related death in the western world. Despite ongoing development of novel approaches such as second generation androgen receptor targeted therapies, metastatic disease is still fatal. In PCa, immunotherapy (IT) has not reached a therapeutic breakthrough as compared to several other solid tumors yet. We aimed at highlighting the underlying cellular mechanisms crucial for IT in PCa and giving an update of the most essential past and ongoing clinical trials in the field.MethodsWe searched for relevant publications on molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the PCa tumor microenvironment and response to IT as well as completed and ongoing IT studies and screened appropriate abstracts of international congresses.ResultsTumor progression and patient outcomes depend on complex cellular and molecular interactions of the tumor with the host immune system, driven rather dormant in case of PCa. Sipuleucel-T and pembrolizumab are the only registered immune-oncology drugs to treat this malignancy. A plethora of studies assess combination of immunotherapy with other agents or treatment modalities like radiation therapy which might increase its antineoplastic activity. No robust and clinically relevant prognostic or predictive biomarkers have been established yet.ConclusionDespite immunosuppressive functional status of PCa microenvironment, current evidence, based on cellular and molecular conditions, encourages further research in this field.

eHealth can help replicate the benefits of conventional surgical prehabilitation programs and overcome organizational constraints related to human resources and health care-related costs. We aimed to assess the impact of an optimized perioperative program using a personalized mobile app designed for preparation and recovery after radical prostatectomy (RP). We report on a series of 122 consecutive robot-assisted RP before and after the implementation of the betty.care app (cohort A: standard of care, n=60; cohort B: optimized program, n=62). The primary end point was continence recovery, defined as \"0 or 1 safety pad per day\" at 6 weeks after surgery. Secondary end points were length of stay, same-day discharge, complications, readmissions, and number of days alive and out of hospital within 30 days from surgery. Both cohorts were comparable in terms of age, prostate-specific antigen, prostate volume, and disease aggressiveness. Intraoperative parameters (lymph node dissection, operative time, and bilateral nerve-sparing surgery) were comparable in both groups, except for blood loss, which was significantly higher in cohort B (182 vs 125 cc; P=.008). The 6-week continence rate was improved in cohort B in both univariable and multivariable analyses (92% vs 75%; P=.01). There were trends favoring cohort B for all secondary end points with a minimal 30% benefit compared with cohort A. Grade 2 or more complications occurred less frequently in cohort B (13% vs 3.2%; P=.042). Same-day discharge and readmission rates were 35% and 53% (P=.043), and 3.3% and 1.6% (P=.54) in cohorts A and B, respectively. Mean length of stay was reduced by 0.2 days in cohort B (0.58 vs 0.78 days; P=.10). The main limitation was the absence of randomization. The implementation of a mobile app that provides a holistic approach to the perioperative period, integrating prehabilitation, rehabilitation, and remote monitoring, could lead to the improvement of important functional outcomes after RP and could replicate an on-site prehabilitation program. Multicenter validation is needed.

PurposeTo compare perioperative outcomes and complications of extracorporeal (ECUD) vs intracorporeal urinary diversion (ICUD) in patients after undergoing robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) at five referral centers in France.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed our multi-institutional, prospectively-collected database to select patients undergoing RARC between 2010 and 2016 with at least 3 months of follow-up. At each center, the surgery was performed by one surgeon with extensive experience in robotic surgery and radical cystectomy but no prior experience in RARC.ResultsOverall, 108 patients were included. ECUD and ICUD were performed in 34 (31.5%) and 74 (68.5%) patients, respectively. Patient characteristics were comparable among the two groups, except for a higher proportion of patients with high surgical risk (ASA score ≥ 3) in the ECUD group. Ileal conduit and ileal neobladder were performed in 63/108 (58%) and 45/108 (42%) cases, respectively. Ileal conduit was performed more often with an extracorporeal approach while ileal neobladder with an intracorporeal approach. Overall, operative time, length of hospital stay, positive margin rate, and number of lymph nodes removed did not significantly differ among the two cohorts. Estimated blood loss and transfusion rates were significantly higher in the ECUD group. Rate of early (38.2 vs 47.3%, p = 0.4) and late (29.4 vs 18.9%, p = 0.2) surgical complications did not significantly differ between the ECUD and ICUD groups. Results were comparable in the subgroup analysis in the ileal conduit subpopulation.ConclusionIn our real-life, multi-institutional study, RARC with ICUD achieved perioperative outcomes and complication rates comparable to those of RARC with ECUD.

Background/Objectives: Digital health pathways, including prehabilitation programs, may help reduce complications after urologic procedures. This study assesses the impact of a digital health intervention on infectious complications, urinary retention, and unplanned patient contacts after high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment for prostate cancer. Methods: A pre-/post-intervention study design was applied. The intervention consisted of implementing a mobile health pathway via a mobile application integrated into the perioperative management of patients undergoing HIFU treatment for prostate cancer. Urinary complication rates and unplanned patient contacts with the surgical team before and after implementation were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: 58 patients were included in the analysis. Demographic, tumor, and treatment characteristics were comparable between both groups. The post-intervention group showed a lower incidence of symptomatic urinary infections (3 vs. 10; p = 0.019) and fewer unplanned visits (4 vs. 10; p = 0.047) after the implementation of the mobile application. No significant differences in rates of acute urinary retention and unplanned communication with the surgical team were observed. Conclusions: Integration of a digital health pathway was associated with reduced infectious complications and fewer unplanned visits after HIFU treatment. Incorporating such tools into perioperative management may improve patient outcomes.

PurposeThe current COVID-19 pandemic is transforming our urologic practice and most urologic societies recommend to defer any surgical treatment for prostate cancer (PCa) patients. It is unclear whether a delay between diagnosis and surgical management (i.e., surgical delay) may have a detrimental effect on oncologic outcomes of PCa patients. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of surgical delay on oncologic outcomes.MethodsData of 926 men undergoing radical prostatectomy across Europe for intermediate and high-risk PCa according to EAU classification were identified. Multivariable analysis using binary logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard model tested association between surgical delay and upgrading on final pathology, lymph-node invasion (LNI), pathological locally advanced disease (pT3–4 and/or pN1), need for adjuvant therapy, and biochemical recurrence. Kaplan–Meier analysis was used to estimate BCR-free survival after surgery as a function of surgical delay using a 3 month cut-off.ResultsMedian follow-up and surgical delay were 26 months (IQR 10–40) and 3 months (IQR 2–5), respectively. We did not find any significant association between surgical delay and oncologic outcomes when adjusted to pre- and post-operative variables. The lack of such association was observed across EAU risk categories.ConclusionDelay of several months did not appear to adversely impact oncologic results for intermediate and high-risk PCa, and support an attitude of deferring surgery in line with the current recommendation of urologic societies.

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the preoperative patient characteristics predicting prolonged length of hospital stay (pLOS) following robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Methods: The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database was used to select patients who underwent RARP without other concomitant surgeries between 2008 and 2016. Patients’ demographics, comorbidities, and laboratory markers were collected to evaluate their role in predicting pLOS. The pLOS was defined as length of stay (LOS) >2 days. A multinomial logistic regression was constructed adjusting for postoperative surgical complications to assess for the predictors of pLOS. Results: We obtained data for 31,253 patients of which 20,774 (66.5%) patients stayed ⩽1 day, 6993 (22.4%) patients stayed for 2 days, and 3486 (11.2%) patients stayed for >2 days. Demographic variables – including body mass index (BMI) <18.5: odds ratio (OR) = 2.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [1.7–4.8]; smoking: OR = 1.2, 95% CI = [1.1–1.4]; and dependent functional status: OR = 3.1, 95% CI = [1.6–6.0] – were predictors of pLOS. Comorbidities – such as heart failure: OR = 4.6, 95% CI = [2.0–10.8]; being dialysis dependent: OR = 2.7, 95% CI = [1.4–5.0]; and predisposition to bleeding: OR = 2.0, 95% CI =  [1.5–2.7] – were the strongest predictors of extended hospitalization. In addition, pLOS was more likely to be associated with postoperative bleeding, renal, or pulmonary complications. Conclusion: Preoperative patient characteristics and comorbidities can predict pLOS. These findings can be used preoperatively for risk assessment and patient counseling.

Despite several improvements in outcomes, metastatic prostate cancer remains deadly. Alterations in the homologous recombination repair (HRR) pathway are associated with more aggressive disease. Olaparib and rucaparib, two poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, have received approval from the authorities of several countries for their anti-tumoral effects in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancers harboring HRR gene alterations, in particular BRCA2. More recently, it has been hypothesized that new hormonal therapies (NHTs) and PARP inhibitors (PARPi) could have synergistic actions and act independently of HRR deficiency. This review proposes to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of PARPi used as monotherapy or in combination with NHTs and whether there is a need for molecular selection.

PurposeTo summarize the available evidence on the survival and pathologic outcomes after deferred radical prostatectomy (RP) in men with intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer (PCa).MethodsThe PubMed database and Web of Science were searched in November 2020 according to the PRISMA statement. Studies were deemed eligible if they reported the survival and pathologic outcomes of patients treated with deferred RP for intermediate- and high-risk PCa compared to the control group including those patients treated with RP without delay. ResultsOverall, nineteen studies met our eligibility criteria. We found a significant heterogeneity across the studies in terms of definitions for delay and outcomes, as well as in patients’ baseline clinicopathologic features. According to the currently available literature, deferred RP does not seem to affect oncological survival outcomes, such as prostate cancer-specific mortality and metastasis-free survival, in patients with intermediate- or high-risk PCa. However, the impact of deferred RP on biochemical recurrence rates remains controversial. There is no clear association of deferring RP with any of the features of aggressive disease such as pathologic upgrading, upstaging, positive surgical margins, extracapsular extension, seminal vesicle invasion, and lymph node invasion. Deferred RP was not associated with the need for secondary treatments.ConclusionsOwing to the different definitions of a delayed RP, it is hard to make a consensus regarding the safe delay time. However, the current data suggest that deferring RP in patients with intermediate- and high-risk PCa for at least around 3 months is generally safe, as it does not lead to adverse pathologic outcomes, biochemical recurrence, the need for secondary therapy, or worse oncological survival outcomes.