IJU this issue

Abstract

This issue contains seven Original Articles, four Editorial Comments, two Short Communications, and one Skills and Pitfalls. In general, chromophobe renal cell carcinomas (chRCC) are believed to have a more favorable prognosis than conventional RCC. Lee et al. (ChunCheon, Korea) analyzed the characteristics and prognostic importance of chRCC based on a large, multicenter experience. Surprisingly, the non-metastatic chRCC showed equivalent oncological outcomes compared to the conventional RCC. It is well recognized that T1 bladder cancer can be life-threatening in some cases. Using the cancer registration database of the Japanese Urological Association, Okajima et al. (Nara, Japan) found that non-papillary tumor appearance, positive urinary cytology and a tumor size greater than 3 cm were independent prognosticators, and claimed that these factors should be included in order to enable the assessment of risk criteria in cancer death from T1 bladder cancer. As not all men necessarily benefit from early secondary treatment for biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy (RP), it is critical to properly select patients for adjuvant therapies in order to minimize side-effects and maximize their benefits. Moreir et al. (Durham, USA) developed and externally validated a new nomogram incorporating postoperative prostate-specific antigen nadir and other well-established predictors of BCR. Although high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a minimally invasive therapy for prostate cancer (CaP), the most common adverse event reported during follow up is the formation of bladder outlet obstruction. Sumitomo et al. (Tokorozawa, Japan) introduced transurethral resection of the prostate immediately after HIFU treatment of CaP, which improved post-treatment urinary status without causing additional morbidity. Antimuscarinic agents have long been the drugs of choice for pharmacological treatment of overactive bladder. Using video urodynamics, Watanabe et al. (Mibu, Japan) demonstrated the efficacy of tolterodine ER for the treatment of neurogenic detrusor overactivity and/or low compliance bladder. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection has allowed patients with very few sperm to achieve fertilization, which leads to the possibility of cryopreservation of semen, even from patients with very low sperm counts. Bak et al. (Seoul, Korea) investigated the fate of patients with severely impaired semen status and warned that patients with severe oligozoospermia are at high risk of becoming azoospermic and hence sperm freezing should be encouraged as early as possible for this population. Electrosurgery is one of the most commonly used energy systems in transurethral prostate and bladder surgery. Chung et al. (Jeonju, Korea) identified several toxic and carcinogenic gases (1,3-butadiene, vinyl acetylene, and acrylonitrile) generated during transurethral resection of the prostate and vaporization. This important finding confirms the need for protective methods to be developed. Okegawa et al. (Tokyo, Japan) reported the usefulness of alternative hormonal therapy for treating resistance to first-line hormonal therapy, adding further evidence to the growing literature in this field. Prepubertal testicular tumors are different from their postpubertal counterparts in histopathological type and clinical behavior. Based on their 20-year experience, Hisamatsu et al. (Kobe, Japan) proposed a treatment algorism for this rare tumor in children. Complete hemostasis after transection of the dorsal vein complex (DVC) is an extremely important step during the course of radical prostatectomy. Sasaki et al. (Tokyo, Japan) found that bleeding from the DVC is easily controlled without suture ligation through a combination of a modest pneumoperitoneum with pinpoint coagulation of one or two small arteries that are found in the superficial layer of the complex. This simple technique can also be applied to the recent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.