This issue contains three Review Articles, four Original Articles and four Urological Notes. Huge differences in the incidence and mortality rate of prostate cancer were detected between the USA and Japan. Such differences, however, have been decreasing over time, and were only twofold in 2017. Ito et al. (Takasaki, Japan) describe the important issue of screening for prostate cancer. They propose their screening strategies based on baseline prostate-specific antigen with a reasonable incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. In their perspectives, prostate cancer management might not only be aimed at decreasing the mortality of prostate cancer, but also aimed at achieving a significant increase in the quality-adjusted life year with an acceptable incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. The cancer-specific mortality among patients with localized prostate cancer has been reported to be very low irrespective of the treatment modalities. Nakamura et al. (Hamamatsu, Japan) focus on the patients’ quality of life after external beam radiotherapy using X-ray for prostate cancer, compared with other modalities, including radical prostatectomy and brachytherapy. In conclusion, the patients’ quality of life after external beam radiotherapy is strongly related to the total dose, fractionation regimens, dose parameters of the critical organs, beam delivery techniques and treatment plan quality, with a trade-off between the radicality of external beam radiotherapy and potentially increased toxicity. Particle beam radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer in Japan has changed considerably, and it is eligible for insurance coverage as of April 2018. Ishikawa et al. (Tsukuba, Japan) review the results of previous particle beam RT studies compared with photon beam RT, and introduce ongoing studies and prospects to establish high-quality evidence for particle beam RT for prostate cancer. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), a standard treatment for metastatic and locally advanced prostate cancer, is known to increase the risks of osteoporosis and fractures. Kimura et al. (Tokyo, Japan) prospectively investigated changes in bone quality, turnover markers and bone mineral density before and after ADT in castration-sensitive prostate cancer. They found that bone quality markers did not change significantly after ADT, whereas bone mineral density decreased significantly after ADT. Bone turnover markers might play an important role in monitoring bone health during ADT. Simone et al. (Rome, Italy) carried out propensity score-matched analysis to compare long-term renal functional outcomes after either off-clamp partial nephrectomy (PN) or on-clamp PN in patients with cT1–2/N0 M0 renal tumors. This study shows that off-clamp PN is associated with a significantly higher probability of maintaining 100% estimated glomerular filtration rate after surgery compared with on-clamp PN in patients with good baseline renal function. It also showed that patients treated with on-clamp PN had a 7.3-fold increased risk of developing a severe chronic kidney disease during long-term follow up. Molecular-targeted therapies have been generally used for treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), resulting in improvement in prognoses of mRCC. Konishi et al. (Hirosaki, Japan) retrospectively investigated the impact of C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) on prognosis, and the effect of adding CAR in the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium model for prognosis discrimination in Japanese patients who were treated with first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor for mRCC. They concluded that CAR is an independent predictor of prognosis in patients with mRCC. Predictive activity was significantly improved in the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium-CAR model compared with the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium model. Kam et al. (Sydney, Australia) compared the operative performance of two single-use digital flexible ureteroscopes (fURS) with a reusable video fURS in order to show that single-use fURS would have a similar performance to reusable fURS with a lower scope failure rate. In conclusion, these single-use scopes offer a feasible alternative to reusable fURS, especially in complex stone cases where the risk of scope damage is high. None declared.
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