Role of Surgery in locally advanced prostate cancer

A significant proportion of patients present with locally advanced prostate cancer with inherent higher risk of local recurrence and systemic relapse after initial treatment. Recent literature favors combination of radiation therapy and extended hormonal therapy for this subset of patients. The effectiveness of Radical prostatectomy (RP) alone for locally advanced prostate cancer is controversial and is a focus of debate. However, it can decrease the tumor burden and allows the accurate and precise pathological staging with the need for subsequent treatment. Comparison of RP and other treatment modalities is difficult and incorrect because of inherent selection bias. RP as a part of multi-modality treatment (with neo-adjuvant hormonal therapy (HT) and with adjuvant or salvage radiation therapy (RT)/HT) can provide long term overall and cancer specific survival. Surgical treatment (such as transurethral resection (TUR), JJ stenting and percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) placement etc.) can also provide symptomatic improvement and palliative care to improve quality of life of patients with advanced prostate cancer

Renal arteriovenous malformation: An unusual cause of recurrent haematuria

A 54-year-old woman presented with gross painless haematuria. Initial workup showed no abnormality except mild hydronephrosis on CT scan. Cystoscopy and retrograde pyelography did not find any gross lesion and her urine cytology was also negative. She had recurrent haematuria so her CT was reviewed with the radiologist with clinical suspicion of arteriovenous malformation (AVM) which was suggested by relatively increased contrast density in the hemiazygous vein and renal vein in the arterial phase. She underwent angioembiolisation of left renal AVM after which her haematuria settled

Surgical management of pheochromocytoma in a 13-week pregnant woman

A 34-year-old 13-week pregnant woman presented with hypertension refractory to medical therapy and on workup was found to have a right adrenal mass. Due to her persistent increased blood pressure she was advised urinary vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) and its level was raised. MRI of the abdomen showed a well-circumcised lesion in the right adrenal of 3.0×2.5 cm suggestive of pheochromocytoma. The patient was started on antihypertensives including α-blockers and β-blockers and planned for right open adrenalectomy. Intraoperatively, blood pressure was raised up to 180/110 mm Hg on slight manipulation of adrenal gland which was controlled with glyceryl-trinitrate and volatile agents. Postoperatively urinary VMA decreased to normal range and all antihypertensives were gradually stopped. She had uneventful pregnancy and delivered vaginally. This case report highlights the importance of surgical management of pheochromocytoma in second trimester of pregnancy to avoid catastrophic complications later in pregnancy

Post-chemotherapy residual mass in stage IIC seminomatous testicular tumor

Introduction The management of patients with residual masses following chemotherapy for advanced seminoma remains a difficult problem with no clear guidelines. While most patients with advanced seminoma achieve a complete or partial response with cisplatin based chemotherapy1, a significant number will reveal a residual mass on follow up CT scan or MR imaging2,3. Management options for post chemotherapy residual mass in a case of seminoma include close observation, radiation therapy and excisional surgery. While 80 to 85% of residual masses represent either fibrosis or necrotic tissue needing no further therapy, 10 to 15% may contain viable tumor which, if not recognized and effectively treated, may be lethal. A case of a stage II seminoma with post chemotherapy residual mass is presented and contemporary literature on this topic is reviewed

Functional and clinical outcome of ileal (Studer) neo-bladder reconstruction: Single centre experience from Pakistan

Objective: To determine the medium and long-term outcome of orthotopic continent urinary diversion with ileal (Studer) neo-bladder following radical cystectomy. Study Design: Case series. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Surgery, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 1998 to September 2010. Methodology: Thirty eight patients underwent radical cystectomy for invasive bladder tumor with ileal neo-bladder (Studer type) reconstruction. Peri-operative and late complications, functional outcome of neo-bladder, urinary continence, metabolic and upper urinary tract status and overall survival were evaluated in all patients. Results: A total of 29 patients (23 males and 6 females) with mean age of 59 ± 12 years were included for the final analysis. The mean duration of surgery (both radical cystectomy and urinary diversion) was 520 ± 70 minutes. Perioperative complication rate was 24% (n=7) with surgical site infection in 4 patients, sepsis in 1 patient and 2 had ureteroileal leak. At 6 months follow-up, 22 patients were fully continent while 7 patients had minimal stress / nocturnal incontinence. The continence rate was 93% (n=27) at one year follow-up. The mean capacity of neo-bladder at 6 months was 384 ± 66 mLs. The late complication rate was 17% (n=5). Three patients developed anastomotic stricture requiring transurethral incision of neo bladder neck, one formed stone in neo-bladder and one developed incision hernia. All patients had preserved renal functions on follow-up. The survival rate was 80% (n=23) at a median follow-up of 66.4 ± 36 months. Two patients developed local recurrence and four developed distant metastasis. Conclusion: Studer ileal neo-bladder is a safe and effective option for urinary diversion in select patients with good oncological and functional outcomes comparable to contemporary literature, even in a low volume center

Xanthogranulomatous salpingo-oophoritis mimicking an ovarian malignancy: a clinical dilemma

Background: Xanthogranulomatoussalpingo-oophoritis is an uncommon form of chronic inflammation in the genitourinary tract. Its symptoms and radiological findings mimic ovarian malignancy. Aim of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological pattern of xanthogranulomatous salphingo oophoritis.Methods: This study was conducted in the department of pathology, Government Medical College, Srinagar. It was a retrospective study done over a period of 5 years, November 2014 to November 2019.Results: The study was done to evaluate the clinicopathological pattern of 6 cases of rare entity xantogranulomatous salphingo oophoritis diagnosed at a tertiary care hospital. All patients, presented with pain abdomen. All patients were operated due to radiological suspicion of ovarian malignancy. Histopathological examination proved the lesion as xanthogranulomatous salphingo oophoritis.Conclusions: Xanthogranulomatoussalpingo-oophoritis is a rare condition that is often mistaken for ovarian malignancy clinically and radiologically. Oophorectomy is the recommended treatment but most women are “over treated” with staging laparotomies and hysterectomies that render them infertile

Modification and implementation of NCCN guidelines on prostate cancer in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Abstract A prostate cancer committee was established to modify the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) on Prostate Cancer for adaptation and implementation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The objective was to enhance the multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of prostate cancer. The committee, comprising regional experts in the fields of urologic, medical, and radiation oncology, reviewed the 2009 version of the NCCN Guidelines on Prostate Cancer and suggested modifications based on the unique needs of the regions determined through published evidence and local expertise. The committee identified several areas in the NCCN Guidelines that they believed required modification, which are presented in this article. The treatment of prostate cancer in the MENA region has numerous challenges. The hope is that this effort to modify the NCCN Guidelines on Prostate Cancer for practical use in the MENA region will improve regional awareness and patient care

Pheochromocytoma associated with von Hippel-lindau disease in a Pakistani family

Objectives: The aim was to study the presentation, disease characteristics, operative outcome, and prognosis in patients with familial Pheochromocytoma associated with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease.Materials and Methods: There were six patients belonging to two generations of a single family who developed features of VHL over a period of 13 years and were treated at our institute. Patients\u27 characteristics, that is, age, gender, presenting complaints and clinical signs, laboratory and biochemical evaluation, and the presence of associated conditions was gathered from medical records. The preoperative and postoperative radiological imaging and histopathological results were also collected.Results: Out of six cases, five were male, and one was female. The mean age at first presentation was 25 years (16-40). All patients presented with uncontrolled hypertension and were found to have Pheochromocytoma on workup. Three patients had unilateral adrenal tumor, and three had bilateral disease. None of the patients had extra-adrenal Pheochromocytoma. All patients were managed with adrenalectomy and had benign pathology. Two patients subsequently had craniotomy for excision of cerebellar hemangioma, and one patient had bilateral partial nephrectomy at the time of adrenalectomy. There was no peri- post-operative mortality and all patients are being followed by the surgeon(s) and endocrinologist.Conclusion: Pheochromocytoma can be a part of familial conditions including VHL. Other associated features should be suspected, investigated, and treated in these patients that can influence patients\u27 clinical course and prognosis. Family members should also be screened to achieve early diagnosis

Down-regulation of DNMT3b in PC3 cells effects locus-specific DNA methylation, and represses cellular growth and migration

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aberrations in DNA methylation patterns promote changes in gene expression patterns and are invariably associated with neoplasia. DNA methylation is carried out and maintained by several DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) among which DNMT1 functions as a maintenance methylase while DNMT3a and 3b serve as de novo enzymes. Although DNMT3b has been shown to preferentially target the methylation of DNA sequences residing in pericentric heterochromatin whether it is involved in gene specific methylation remains an open question. To address this issue, we have silenced the expression of DNMT3b in the prostate-derived PC3 cells through RNA interference and subsequently studied the accompanied cellular changes as well as the expression profiles of selected genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results demonstrate that DNMT3b depletion results in increased apoptosis and reduced migration of PC3 cells compared to the untransfected control cells. Reduced DNMT3b expression resulted in hypomethylation of retinoblastoma (Rb), retinoic-acid receptor β (RAR-β), and adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene promoters, and also culminated in increased expression of <it>CDKN3 </it>and <it>cytochrome b5</it>. Although DNMT3b silenced cells were found to have reduced growth and migratory potential, there was no apparent changes in their invasive ability compared to the parental PC3 cell line.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings reveal that DNMT3b preferentially targets certain gene promoters in PC3 cells and that its depletion significantly reduces growth and migration of PC3 cells.</p

An unusual combination of extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma and arteriovenous malformation of the ureter in a young adult

We present a case of a 24-year-old gentleman who presented with painless pan haematuria for 2 weeks. During the workup, he was diagnosed to have a retrocaval mass after a CT scan while cystoscopy revealed a polypoidal pulsating lesion in the left ureter. After surgical manipulation of the retrocaval mass, the blood pressure of the patient raised to 260/130 mm Hg. It was completely resected and diagnosed as extra-adrenalpheochromocytoma (paraganglioma) after histopathology. The lesion in the ureter was completely excised and fulgurated and diagnosed as anarteriovenous malformation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first patient to be presented in the literature with this unusual combination