Renal calcified mass misdiagnosed as a renal calculus in an adult with tuberculosis “autonephrectomy”: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Tuberculosis was once a disease much more prominent in the minds of UK urologists. The dramatic reduction in incidence following the success of antituberculous therapy has meant that new generation surgeons have little or no experience of the effects and management of tuberculosis of the kidney. With concern over multidrug resistant tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus associated tuberculosis and immigration of persons from areas endemic with this disorder, clinicians may see an increase in cases of renal tuberculosis. Renal tuberculosis "autonephrectomy" is the end stage of chronic renal tuberculosis infection and results from the caseous necrosis and progressive cavitation of the kidney. Resultant calcification may mimic the appearances of a renal calculus on plane film X-ray. Back, flank and abdominal pain are non-specific symptoms often investigated by General Practitioners using plane film X-ray. Clinicians not considering a diagnosis of renal tuberculosis may confuse the radiographic appearances with that of a renal calculus as occurred in our case. Once a diagnosis of tuberculosis autonephrectomy is made the next decision is whether any further investigations and treatment is necessary as the condition has been reported to be a cause of hypertension and reactivation of tuberculosis is also possible. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe the case of a 66 year old Caucasian female who presented to her General Practitioner with left sided lumber and loin pain. A lumbar spine X-ray showed a calcified mass reported as a renal calculus. Urological opinion was sort and a computerised tomogram confirmed a renal tuberculosis "auto nephrectomy". The patient had been diagnosed with tuberculosis aged 16. The patient had no lower urinary tract symptoms and normal urinalysis. Although there is some evidence to suggest nephrectomy is beneficial in treating hypertension in these patients (the patient in our case was on two anti hypertensive preparations), the patient did not want to consider surgery as her symptoms had settled spontaneously. CONCLUSION: Although very rare in non endemic countries clinicians still need to consider a diagnosis of renal tuberculosis in patients with previous tuberculosis exposure and calcification of the urinary tract. In cases of uncontrolled hypertension consideration should be given to nephrectomy in cases of end stage renal tuberculosis. This decision should be made in consultation with a nephrologist

Multi-domain quantitative recovery following Radical Cystectomy for patients within the iROC (Robot Assisted Radical Cystectomy with intracorporeal urinary diversion versus Open Radical Cystectomy) Randomised Controlled Trial: The first 30 patients

Many patients develop complications after radical cystectomy (RC) [1]. Reductions in morbidity have occurred through centralisation and technical improvements [2], and perhaps through robot-assisted RC (RARC). Whilst RARC is gaining popularity, there are concerns about oncological safety [3] and extracorporeal reconstruction [4], and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) find little difference [5]. We are conducting a prospective RCT comparing open RC and RARC with mandated intracorporeal reconstruction (Robot-assisted Radical Cystectomy with intracorporeal urinary diversion versus Open Radical Cystectomy [iROC] trial) [6]

Radical cystectomy (bladder removal) against intravesical BCG immunotherapy for high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (BRAVO): a protocol for a randomised controlled feasibility study

INTRODUCTION: High-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (HRNMIBC) is a heterogeneous disease that can be difficult to predict. While around 25% of cancers progress to invasion and metastases, the remaining majority of tumours remain within the bladder. It is uncertain whether patients with HRNMIBC are better treated with intravesical maintenance BCG (mBCG) immunotherapy or primary radical cystectomy (RC). A definitive randomised controlled trial (RCT) is needed to compare these two different treatments but may be difficult to recruit to and has not been attempted to date. Before undertaking such an RCT, it is important to understand whether such a comparison is possible and how best to achieve it. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: BRAVO is a multi-centre, parallel-group, mixed-methods, individually randomised, controlled, feasibility study for patients with HRNMIBC. Participants will be randomised to receive either mBCG immunotherapy or RC. The primary objective is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of performing the definitive phase III trial via estimation of eligibility and recruitment rates, assessing uptake of allocated treatment and compliance with mBCG, determining quality-of-life questionnaire completion rates and exploring reasons expressed by patients for declining recruitment into the study. We aim to recruit 60 participants from six centres in the UK. Surgical trials with disparate treatment options find recruitment challenging from both the patient and clinician perspective. By building on the experiences of other similar trials through implementing a comprehensive training package aimed at clinicians to address these challenges (qualitative substudy), we hope that we can demonstrate that a phase III trial is feasible. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has ethical approval (16/YH/0268). Findings will be made available to patients, clinicians, the funders and the National Health Service through traditional publishing and social media. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN12509361; Pre results

Health-related quality of life after treatment for bladder cancer in England

Background Little is known about quality of life after bladder cancer treatment. This common cancer is managed using treatments that can affect urinary, sexual and bowel function. Methods To understand quality of life and inform future care, the Department of Health (England) surveyed adults surviving bladder cancer 1–5 years after diagnosis. Questions related to disease status, co-existing conditions, generic health (EQ-5D), cancer-generic (Social Difficulties Inventory) and cancer-specific outcomes (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy—Bladder). Results In total, 673 (54%) patients responded; including 500 (74%) men and 539 (80%) with co-existing conditions. Most respondents received endoscopic treatment (60%), while 92 (14%) and 99 (15%) received radical cystectomy or radiotherapy, respectively. Questionnaire completion rates varied (51–97%). Treatment groups reported ≥1 problem using EQ-5D generic domains (59–74%). Usual activities was the most common concern. Urinary frequency was common after endoscopy (34–37%) and radiotherapy (44–50%). Certain populations were more likely to report generic, cancer-generic and cancer-specific problems; notably those with co-existing long-term conditions and those treated with radiotherapy. Conclusion The study demonstrates the importance of assessing patient-reported outcomes in this population. There is a need for larger, more in-depth studies to fully understand the challenges patients with bladder cancer face

Senescence induction in renal carcinoma cells by Nutlin-3: a potential therapeutic strategy based on MDM2 antagonism.

Although the role of p53 as a tumour suppressor in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is unclear, our recent analysis suggests that increased wild-type p53 protein expression is associated with poor outcome. A growing body of evidence also suggests that p53 expression and increased co-expression of MDM2 are linked with poor prognosis in RCC. We have therefore examined whether an MDM2 antagonist; Nutlin-3, might rescue/increase p53 expression and induce growth inhibition or apoptosis in RCC cells that retain wild-type p53. We show that inhibition of p53 suppression by MDM2 in RCC cells promotes growth arrest and p53-dependent senescence - phenotypes known to mediate p53 tumour suppression in vivo. We propose that future investigations of therapeutic strategies for RCC should incorporate MDM2 antagonism as part of strategies aimed at rescuing/augmenting p53 tumour suppressor function

Hyperthermic intravesical chemotherapy with mitomycin‐C for the treatment of high‐risk non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer patients

Abstract Objectives The objectives of the study are to explore tolerability, acceptability and oncological outcomes for patients with high‐risk non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) treated with hyperthermic intravesical chemotherapy (HIVEC) and mitomycin‐C (MMC) at our institution. Patients and Methods Our single‐institution, observational study consists of consecutive high‐risk NMIBC patients treated with HIVEC and MMC. Our HIVEC protocol included six weekly instillations (induction), followed by two further cycles of three instillations (maintenance) (6 + 3 + 3) if there was cystoscopic response. Patient demographics, instillation dates and adverse events (AEs) were collected prospectively in our dedicated HIVEC clinic. Retrospective case‐note review was performed to evaluate oncological outcomes. Primary outcomes were tolerability and acceptability of HIVEC protocol; secondary outcomes were 12‐month recurrence‐free, progression‐free and overall survival. Results In total, 57 patients (median age 80.3 years) received HIVEC and MMC, with a median follow‐up of 18 months. Of these, 40 (70.2%) had recurrent tumours, and 29 (50.9%) had received prior Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG). HIVEC induction was completed by 47 (82.5%) patients, but only 19 (33.3%) completed the full protocol. Disease recurrence (28.9%) and AEs (28.9%) were the most common reasons for incompletion of protocol; five (13.2%) patients stopped treatment due to logistical challenges. AEs occurred in 20 (35.1%) patients; the most frequently documented were rash (10.5%), urinary tract infection (8.8%) and bladder spasm (8.8%). Progression during treatment occurred in 11 (19.3%) patients, 4 (7.0%) of whom had muscle invasion and 5 (8.8%) subsequently required radical treatment. Patients who had received prior BCG were significantly more likely to progress (p = 0.04). 12‐month recurrence‐free, progression‐free and overall survival rates were 67.5%, 82.2%, and 94.7%, respectively. Conclusions Our single‐institution experience suggests that HIVEC and MMC are tolerable and acceptable. Oncological outcomes in this predominantly elderly, pretreated cohort are promising; however, disease progression was higher in patients pretreated with BCG. Further randomised noninferiority trials comparing HIVEC versus BCG in high‐risk NMIBC are required