Short-term Changes in Health-related Quality of Life of Patients Undergoing Radical Surgery for Upper Urinary Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: Results from a Prospective Phase 2 Clinical Trial.

Background And Objective: The possible negative impact of radical surgery on patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL) plays an important role in preoperative counseling. Here, we analyzed the HRQoL of patients treated for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) in the context of a single-arm phase 2 multicenter study, in which the safety and efficacy of a single preoperative intravesical instillation with mitomycin C were investigated. Our objective was to investigate early changes in HRQoL in patients undergoing radical surgery for UTUC and identify factors associated with these outcomes.

The accuracy of cystoscopy in predicting muscle invasion in newly diagnosed bladder cancer patients.

Purpose: The prognosis of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) has not improved for three decades. Transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT) is the standard procedure for local tumor staging. TURBT has several limitations, including the spread of tumor cells.

3-D and 2-D reconstruction of bladders for the assessment of inter-session detection of tissue changes: a proof of concept.

Purpose: Abnormalities in the bladder wall require careful investigation regarding type, spatial position and invasiveness. Construction of a 3-D model of the bladder is helpful to ensure adequate coverage of the scanning procedure, quantitative comparison of bladder wall textures between successive sessions and finding back previously discovered abnormalities.

Methods: Videos of both an in vivo bladder and a textured bladder phantom were acquired.

Drug delivery approaches for enhanced antibiofilm therapy.

Biofilms have attracted increasing attention in recent years. Many bacterial infections are associated with biofilm formation. A bacterial biofilm is an aggregated membrane-like substance that is composed of a large number of bacteria and their secreted extracellular polymeric substances.

Selecting interventions for a psychosocial support program for prostate cancer patients undergoing active surveillance: A modified Delphi study.

Objective: Curative treatment of low-risk prostate cancer (LR-PCa) does not improve cancer specific survival and active surveillance (AS) is recommended. Although AS is cost-effective and reduces treatment-related complications, it requires psychosocial support. Research on psychosocial interventions specifically focused on men undergoing AS is limited.

Giant Polymer Vesicles with a Latticelike Membrane.

Hierarchical self-assembly offers great possibilities to mimic biological systems with finely arranged complex structures. Herein, we demonstrate the preparation and formation mechanism of an unusual giant polymer vesicle with a latticelike membrane (GVLM). This GVLM is formed by fusion-induced particle assembly (FIPA) of small vesicles that are self-assembled from poly(ethylene oxide)--poly[(2-(tetrahydrofuranyloxy)ethyl methacrylate)--(6-(3,3-diphenylnaphthopyranyloxy)hexyl methacrylate)] [PEO--P(TMA--NMA)].

What interventions affect the psychosocial burden experienced by prostate cancer patients undergoing active surveillance? A scoping review.

Purpose: Living with untreated prostate cancer (PCa) may cause anxiety and uncertainty in men undergoing active surveillance (AS). Developing a psychosocial support program for such patients might promote psychosocial well-being and patient engagement. This review aims to identify interventions with the potential to influence the psychosocial burden of prostate cancer patients undergoing AS.

Bone-Targeting Polymer Vesicles for Effective Therapy of Osteoporosis.

With the aging of the population, postmenopausal osteoporosis becomes increasingly widespread and severe as fractures caused by osteoporosis may lead to permanent disabilities and even death. Inspired by extracellular vesicles that participate in bone remodeling, we present a biomimicking polymer vesicle for bone-targeted β-estradiol (E) delivery. This vesicle is self-assembled from a poly(ε-caprolactone)--poly[(l-glutamic acid)--(l-glutamic acid-alendronic acid)] (PCL--P[Glu--(Glu-ADA)]) diblock copolymer.

Combined Antioxidant-Antibiotic Treatment for Effectively Healing Infected Diabetic Wounds Based on Polymer Vesicles.

Infected diabetic wounds are difficult to heal due to high reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations and recurrent infections. Such wounds can easily deteriorate into a diabetic ulcer, a chronic diabetic complication with a very high mortality rate. Herein, we propose a combined antioxidant-antibiotic therapy based on poly(ε-caprolactone)--poly(glutamic acid) polymer vesicle to treat infected diabetic wounds.

Ultrasound-responsive polymer-based drug delivery systems.

Ultrasound-responsive polymeric materials have received a tremendous amount of attention from scientists for several decades. Compared to other stimuli-responsive materials (such as UV-, thermal-, and pH-responsive materials), these smart materials are more applicable since they allow more efficient drug delivery and targeted treatment by fairly non-invasive means. This review describes the recent advances of such ultrasound-responsive polymer-based drug delivery systems and illustrates various applications.

Synthesis of Highly Transparent Diblock Copolymer Vesicles via RAFT Dispersion Polymerization of 2,2,2-Trifluoroethyl Methacrylate in -Alkanes.

RAFT dispersion polymerization of 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate (TFEMA) is performed in -dodecane at 90 °C using a relatively short poly(stearyl methacrylate) (PSMA) precursor and 2-cyano-2-propyl dithiobenzoate (CPDB). The growing insoluble poly(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) (PTFEMA) block results in the formation of PSMA-PTFEMA diblock copolymer nano-objects via polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). GPC analysis indicated narrow molecular weight distributions ( / ≤ 1.

Argus-T adjustable male sling: A follow-up study on urinary incontinence and patient's satisfaction.

Aims: The use of Argus-T adjustable sling may be a promising alternative option for the treatment of urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy, however long-term data is lacking. The aim of this study is to evaluate the long-term results of the Argus-T sling on incontinence rates, patient's quality of life and tape-related complications.

Methods: Patients were eligible if persistent stress incontinence was present ≥12 months after radical prostatectomy.

Effect of Salt on the Formation and Stability of Water-in-Oil Pickering Nanoemulsions Stabilized by Diblock Copolymer Nanoparticles.

Sterically stabilized diblock copolymer nanoparticles are prepared in -dodecane using polymerization-induced self-assembly. Precursor Pickering macroemulsions are then prepared by the addition of water followed by high-shear homogenization. In the absence of any salt, high-pressure microfluidization of such precursor emulsions leads to the formation of relatively large aqueous droplets with DLS measurements indicating a mean diameter of more than 600 nm.

Bone-targeting polymer vesicles for simultaneous imaging and effective malignant bone tumor treatment.

We present a bone-targeting polymer vesicle with excellent single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) imaging capability and high antitumor drug delivery efficiency as an integrated platform for the simultaneous diagnosing and treatment of malignant bone tumors. This polymer vesicle can be self-assembled from poly(ε-caprolactone)-b-poly[(L-glutamic acid)-stat-(L-glutamic acid-alendronic acid)] (PCL-b-P[Glu-stat-(Glu-ADA)]), directly in water without the aid of a cosolvent. SPECT/CT dynamically tracked the drug distribution in the bone tumor rabbit models, and the tumor size was significantly reduced from >2.

Optimizing the risk threshold of lymph node involvement for performing extended pelvic lymph node dissection in prostate cancer patients: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

Background: Extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND) may be omitted in prostate cancer (CaP) patients with a low predicted risk of lymph node involvement (LNI). The aim of the current study was to quantify the cost-effectiveness of using different risk thresholds for predicted LNI in CaP patients to inform decision making on omitting ePLND.

Methods: Five different thresholds (2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, and 100%) used in practice for performing ePLND were compared using a decision analytic cohort model with the 100% threshold (i.

Design principles, synthesis and biomedical applications of polymer vesicles with inhomogeneous membranes.

Inspired by cell membrane structures, synthetic polymer vesicles caused great expectations for the preparation of biomedicine for decades. However, in contrast to bio-membranes, which consist of inhomogeneous features, conventional synthetic polymer vesicles usually consist of a homogeneous membrane which is purely made out of hydrophobic components. This significantly limited the versatility of synthetic polymer vesicle membranes.

The Usefulness of the Modified Frailty Index for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Patients Treated with Radical Cystectomy.

Background: Radical cystectomy is still the gold standard for muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma (MIBC) treatment. In order to reduce postoperative complications, multimodality bladder-sparing therapies could be a good alternative. Studies in various malignancies have shown that the modified Frailty Index (mFI) may be more useful for identifying high-risk patients.

Synthesis of High χ-Low N Diblock Copolymers by Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly.

Polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) enables the scalable synthesis of functional block copolymer nanoparticles with various morphologies. Herein we exploit this versatile technique to produce so-called "high χ-low N" diblock copolymers that undergo nanoscale phase separation in the solid state to produce sub-10 nm surface features. By varying the degree of polymerization of the stabilizer and core-forming blocks, PISA provides rapid access to a wide range of diblock copolymers, and enables fundamental thermodynamic parameters to be determined.

Time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering studies of the thermally-induced exchange of copolymer chains between spherical diblock copolymer nanoparticles prepared via polymerization-induced self-assembly.

Sterically-stabilized diblock copolymer nanoparticles (a.k.a.

SAXS studies of the thermally-induced fusion of diblock copolymer spheres: formation of hybrid nanoparticles of intermediate size and shape.

Dilute dispersions of poly(lauryl methacrylate)-poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PLMA-PBzMA) diblock copolymer spheres (a.k.a.

Focal Salvage MR Imaging-Guided Cryoablation for Localized Prostate Cancer Recurrence after Radiotherapy: 12-Month Follow-up.

Purpose: To evaluate safety, quality of life (QoL), and local cancer control after focal salvage MR imaging-guided cryoablation in patients with local recurrence of prostate cancer (PCa) after radiotherapy.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective, single-center study was performed in 62 patients with radiorecurrent PCa who underwent MR imaging-guided cryoablation since May 2011 with a follow-up ≥12 months in December 2017. Rates and descriptions of adverse events were reported.