Publications by authors named "Markus Graefen"

Background: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET) has a high negative predictive value (NPV) in determining lymph node invasion (LNI) in men with intermediate-risk disease undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) and pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND). We hypothesized that PSMA PET may be used to reduce the number of unnecessary PLND procedures performed.

Objective: To assess BCR-free survival of intermediate risk prostate cancer patients with a negative PSMA PET who underwent PLND vs.

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Purpose: No currently available phase III trial compared docetaxel vs. androgen receptor pathway inhibitors (ARPI) regarding cancer-control outcomes in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC). Moreover, few is known about the effect of sequential therapies in mHSPC and subsequent metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

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Hormonal agents administered for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) may lead to osteoporosis, skeletal events, reduced quality of life, and even reduced overall survival (OS). Bone-modifying agents may prevent those events but their effect on cancer-control outcomes remains uncertain. Relying on our institutional tertiary-care database, we explored the effect of bone-modifying agents (bisphosphonates such as zoledronic acid and denosumab) on OS and progression-free survival in patients with mCRPC with at least 1 bone metastasis using Kaplan-Meyer estimates and Cox regression models.

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Objectives: It is not known whether cancer-specific mortality (CSM) differences distinguish radical cystectomy (RC) from trimodal therapy (TMT) in octogenarians harbouring organ-confined (T2N0M0) urothelial cancer of the urinary bladder (UCUB).

Methods: Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (2004-2021), CSM and other-cause mortality (OCM) rates were computed in octogenarian patients with organ-confined UCUB undergoing either TMT or RC. Smoothed cumulative incidence plots depicted 5-year CSM and OCM rates according to RC vs TMT.

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Objective: This study aimed to compare adverse in-hospital outcomes in ileal conduit versus neobladder urinary diversion type after radical cystectomy (RC) in contemporary versus historical patients.

Methods: Patients were identified within the National Inpatient Sample (NIS 2000-2019). Propensity score matching (PSM; 1:2 ratio) and multivariable logistic regression models (LRMs) were used.

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The treatment landscape for metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) has been extended by another phase 3 randomized control trial (ARANOTE) demonstrating favorable outcomes of a doublet therapy combining the androgen receptor pathway inhibitor (ARPI) darolutamide with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) over ADT monotherapy. Owing to differences in trial designs, patient enrollment, and most notably different control treatment regimens, we hereby present an updated network meta-analysis (NMA) embedding the doublet therapy with darolutamide within the current treatment regimens. In NMA-derived ranking, darolutamide and ADT showed similar oncological efficacy to the already known doublet therapies for progression-free survival (p = 0.

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Purpose: Several tumor gene mutations are known for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The individual response to 177-lutetium prostate specific membrane antigen radioligand therapy (Lu-PSMA) is under current investigation regarding the genomic profile of patients with mCRPC.

Materials And Methods: We relied on the FRAMCAP database and compared progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates of patients with mCRPC with breast cancer-related antigen () or tumor suppressor gene mutations (, , ).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate the surgical and cancer-related results of salvage radical prostatectomy (sRP) after treatment failure in patients who initially received primary therapy.
  • Researchers analyzed data from patients who underwent either primary or salvage surgery, comparing outcomes like recurrence-free survival, surgical complications, and recovery times.
  • Findings indicated that sRP performed by experienced surgeons yielded similar outcomes in terms of cancer control and recovery compared to primary radical prostatectomy, though the study's retrospective design was a notable limitation.
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Purpose: The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of the time interval between prostate biopsy and radical prostatectomy (RP) on postoperative urinary continence (UC)/erectile function (EF). From a clinical point of view, an interval of several weeks seems to facilitate surgical preparation.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent RP for localized prostate cancer (PCa) in a tertiary care center between 2011 and 2020.

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Lu-vipivotide tetraxetan prostate-specific membrane antigen (Lu-PSMA) therapy is under current scientific investigation and aims to become established in the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). However, real-world evidence in treatment comparison is scant. We relied on the FRAMCAP database and compared cabazitaxel versus Lu-PSMA therapy in mCRPC patients regarding progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on understanding how different metastatic sites (lymph nodes, bones, and visceral organs) affect outcomes in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), specifically regarding progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).
  • Using data from the Frankfurt Metastatic Cancer Database, researchers classified 363 patients based on their metastatic sites and analyzed PFS and OS using Cox regression models.
  • Results showed that M1c mCRPC patients have significantly worse outcomes, with higher risks for both progression and death compared to M1a patients, while M1a patients experienced the best outcomes overall.
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: Progression to metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is defined either biochemically, radiographically or both. Moreover, staging for mCRPC can be performed either conventionally or with molecular imaging such as prostate-specific membrane antigen computer tomography (PSMA-PET/CT). : We relied on the Frankfurt Metastatic Cancer Database of the Prostate (FRAMCAP) database to compare progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) outcomes regarding the cause of castration resistance and the staging modality used.

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Background: To evaluate how prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels decrease after removal of isolated prostate cancer (PCa) nodal metastases in relation to their diameter/volume ("PSA-density of PCa-metastases") and maximum standardized uptake value (SUV).

Methods: A total of 83 consecutive patients with solitary nodal recurrence after radical prostatectomy who underwent prostate-specific membrane antigen-radioguided salvage surgery were retrospectively analyzed. Using multivariable linear regression models, the PSA-decrease after removal of each PCa-metastases (=PSA-contribution of each PCa-metastases) was correlated with the long axis diameter/estimated volume and the SUV of each removed metastasis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing is critical for monitoring prostate cancer patients after treatment, but there's uncertainty about PSA thresholds for identifying those at higher risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR).
  • This study analyzed 4,639 prostate cancer patients who had undetectable PSA levels for at least 10 years post-surgery, finding that 5.2% later developed BCR, with some progressing to metastatic cancer.
  • Key factors predicting late BCR included advanced tumor stage, Gleason score, and surgical margins, while age and initial PSA levels did not significantly predict outcomes.
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Background: To explore the detection rates of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa; ISUP ≥2) in patients with a single MRI lesion that is visible or invisible on transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) during biopsy.

Methods: Retrospective analyses of patients who underwent targeted and systematic biopsy of the prostate for one MRI-visible lesion (PI-RADS score ≥ 3) between 2017 and 2022. TRUS-visibility, PI-RADS score, and clinical parameters were recorded prospectively.

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  • The study aimed to compare 10-year overall survival rates of patients with intermediate/high-risk non-metastatic clear cell renal carcinoma, who underwent radical nephrectomy, to matched controls based on age and sex, while also examining differences by race/ethnicity.
  • Using data from the SEER database, researchers identified nearly 7,000 patients and found that overall survival rates after 10 years were notably lower for African American patients compared to controls (51% vs. 81%), with similar patterns observed for other racial/ethnic groups.
  • The findings suggest that radical nephrectomy patients have poorer survival compared to the general population, with African Americans showing a significantly higher risk of mortality from
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Introduction: Leukemia history affects some radical prostatectomy (RP) patients. Although its prevalence and effect as an adverse risk factor are well known in cardiac surgery, the number of RP patients with a leukemia history, as well as their rate of adverse in-hospital outcomes, are unknown.

Methods: We identified RP patients (National Inpatient Sample 2000-2019), stratified according to the presence or absence of a leukemia history.

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Background And Objective: Stockholm3 is a comprehensive blood test amalgamating protein biomarkers, genetic indicators, and clinical data to predict clinically significant prostate cancer risk (International Society of Urological Pathology grade ≥2 upon biopsy). Our study aims to externally validate Stockholm3 and compare its performance with the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and the Rotterdam Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator (RPCRC) for clinically significant prostate cancer detection.

Methods: We gathered data from men subjected to prostate biopsies at the Martini-Klinik, Germany, between 2014 and 2017.

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Article Synopsis
  • Metachronous metastatic prostate cancer (mmPCa) patients exhibit different characteristics and outcomes compared to DeNovo metastatic patients, influenced by primary cancer features like Gleason score (GS) and stage.
  • A study of 341 mmPCa patients found that higher Gleason scores and more advanced stages were linked to earlier onset of metastatic disease and significantly affected overall survival (OS) rates.
  • The research concluded that longer intervals between initial prostate cancer diagnosis and the onset of mmPCa are associated with better overall survival, highlighting the importance of grading and staging in treatment outcomes.
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  • The study investigates the differences in overall survival (OS) between patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) based on whether their condition was "De Novo" (newly diagnosed) or "secondary" (progressed from previous conditions), and their disease volume (high vs. low).
  • The research used a database of 504 mHSPC patients, finding that those with De Novo high volume mHSPC had shorter time to develop metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and worse OS compared to secondary and low volume cases.
  • The results highlight that patients with De Novo high volume mHSPC have a more challenging prognosis even when treated with intensified combination therapies, and this trend
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Unlabelled: International Society of Urological Pathology grade group 1 (GG 1) prostate cancer (PCa) is generally considered insignificant, with recent suggestions that it should even be considered as "noncancerous". We evaluated outcomes for patients with GG 1 PCa on biopsy (bGG 1) and high-risk features (prostate-specific antigen [PSA] >20 ng/ml and/or cT3-4 stage) to challenge the hypothesis that every case of bGG 1 PCa has a benign disease course. We used the multi-institutional EMPaCT database, which includes data for 9508 patients with high-risk PCa undergoing surgery.

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Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is among the most common cancers in men and its diagnosis requires the histopathological evaluation of biopsies by human experts. While several recent artificial intelligence-based (AI) approaches have reached human expert-level PCa grading, they often display significantly reduced performance on external datasets. This reduced performance can be caused by variations in sample preparation, for instance the staining protocol, section thickness, or scanner used.

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Background And Objective: With approval of novel systemic therapies within the past decade for metastatic hormone-sensitive (mHSPC) and castration-resistant (mCRPC) prostate cancer, patients may receive several therapy lines. However, the use of these treatments is under an ongoing change. We investigated contemporary treatment trends and progression-free (PFS) and overall (OS) survival of different therapy lines.

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