Recommendations on robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy: a Brazilian experts' consensus.

Radical prostatectomy is a commonly adopted treatment for localized/locally advanced prostate cancer in men with a life expectancy of ten years or more. Robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) is comparable to open radical prostatectomy on cancer control and complication rates; however, new evidence suggests that RARP may have better functional outcomes, especially with respect to urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Some of the surgical steps of RARP are not adequately described in published literature and, as such, may have an impact on the final outcomes of the procedure.

Analysis of the Learning Curve of Surgeons without Previous Experience in Laparoscopy to Perform Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy.

Objective: To assess the learning curve in robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) performed by surgeons without previous experience in laparoscopic prostatectomy.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed 119 patients submitted to RARP performed by two surgeons without previous experience in laparoscopic prostatectomy, with emphasis on the relevant outcomes such as continence, erectile function, and oncologic control with a minimum follow-up of 24 months. We used Fisher's exact test and the chi-square test to investigate the existence of a relationship between the variables and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to verify possible statistically significant differences between groups, at the 5% level.

Robotic surgery in public hospitals of Latin-America: a castle of sand?

Introduction: There is no information about the evolution of robotic programs in public hospitals of Latin-America.

Objective: To describe the current status and functioning of robotic programs in Latin-American public hospitals since their beginning to date.

Methods: We conducted a survey among leading urologists working at public hospitals of Latin-America who had acquired the Da Vinci laparoscopic-assisted robotic system.

First Brazilian Consensus of Advanced Prostate Cancer: Recommendations for Clinical Practice.

Introduction: Prostate cancer still represents a major cause of morbidity, and still about 20% of men with the disease are diagnosed or will progress to the advanced stage without the possibility of curative treatment. Despite the recent advances in scientific and technological knowledge and the availability of new therapies, there is still considerable heterogeneity in the therapeutic approaches for metastatic prostate cancer.

Objectives: This article presents a summary of the I Brazilian Consensus on Advanced Prostate Cancer, conducted by the Brazilian Society of Urology and Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology.

Sunitinib treatment in patients with advanced renal cell cancer: the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA) experience.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of sunitinib treatment in a non-screened group of patients with metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC) treated by the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) at a single reference institution.

Material And Methods: Retrospective cohort study, which evaluated patients with mRCC who received sunitinib between May 2010 and December 2013.

Results: Fifty-eight patients were eligible.

Penile primary melanoma: analysis of 6 patients treated at Brazilian National Cancer Institute in the last eight years.

Purpose: To describe our experience in treating penile melanoma in 06 patients followed at our institution.

Materials And Methods: Between 2004 and 2012 six consecutive patients with penile melanoma were treated at our Institution. Stage of the disease was classified according to the 2002 AJCC pathologic system.

Expression analysis and in silico characterization of intronic long noncoding RNAs in renal cell carcinoma: emerging functional associations.

Background: Intronic and intergenic long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging gene expression regulators. The molecular pathogenesis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is still poorly understood, and in particular, limited studies are available for intronic lncRNAs expressed in RCC.

Methods: Microarray experiments were performed with custom-designed arrays enriched with probes for lncRNAs mapping to intronic genomic regions.

Identification of protein-coding and intronic noncoding RNAs down-regulated in clear cell renal carcinoma.

The clear cell subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most lethal and prevalent cancer of the urinary system. To investigate the molecular changes associated with malignant transformation in clear cell RCC, the gene expression profiles of matched samples of tumor and adjacent non-neoplastic tissue were obtained from six patients. A custom-built cDNA microarray platform was used, comprising 2292 probes that map to exons of genes and 822 probes for noncoding RNAs mapping to intronic regions.

Phase II trial of neoadjuvant gemcitabine and cisplatin in patients with resectable bladder carcinoma.

Objectives: Gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) is an active combination in the treatment of metastatic bladder cancer. We have prospectively analyzed the efficacy and tolerability of GC as neoadjuvant treatment of invasive bladder cancer.

Materials And Methods: In this single-institution phase II trial, patients with muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma received three cycles of gemcitabine 1200 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 with cisplatin 75 mg/m2 on day 1 prior to surgery.

Antisense intronic non-coding RNA levels correlate to the degree of tumor differentiation in prostate cancer.

A large fraction of transcripts are expressed antisense to introns of known genes in the human genome. Here we show the construction and use of a cDNA microarray platform enriched in intronic transcripts to assess their biological relevance in pathological conditions. To validate the approach, prostate cancer was used as a model, and 27 patient tumor samples with Gleason scores ranging from 5 to 10 were analyzed.