Luciano Giuliani (1928-1994): Great master and founding father of modern Italian Urology.

Luciano Giuliani was born near Arezzo, in Tuscany (Italy) in 1928. After taking his Degree cum Laude in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Florence in 1951, he became a voluntary assistant at the Institute of General Clinical Surgery and Surgical Therapy. He then took a diploma in Urology and General Surgery, having demonstrated his great technical and surgical ability, and was subsequently appointed assistant in charge and then extraordinary assistant.

Clinical use of bioelectrical impedance analysis in patients affected by myotonic dystrophy type 1: A cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is an inherited muscle disorder characterized by slowly progressive weakness due to muscle degeneration. The Muscular Impairment Rating Scale (MIRS) is validated to assess clinical muscle severity of patients with DM1, although the scale is not sensitive enough to assess disease progression in time intervals fit for clinical trials. The aim of this study was to analyze bioelectrical whole body and arm segmental parameters in patients with DM1 to explore a correlation between bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) parameters and disease stage.

Management of kidney cancer patients: 2018 guidelines of the Italian Medical Oncology Association (AIOM).

In the past two decades, the treatment landscape for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma has significantly changed thanks to the approval of several targeted molecular therapies (VEGF and mTOR inhibitors) and recently immune-checkpoint inhibitors. The Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM) Renal Cell Cancer (RCC) Guidelines Panel has developed clinical guidelines to provide evidence-based information and recommendations to oncologists, urologists and all professionals involved in the management of patients with renal cell cancer.

The prevention of fragility fractures in patients with non-metastatic prostate cancer: a position statement by the international osteoporosis foundation.

Androgen deprivation therapy is commonly employed for the treatment of non-metastatic prostate cancer as primary or adjuvant treatment. The skeleton is greatly compromised in men with prostate cancer during androgen deprivation therapy because of the lack of androgens and estrogens, which are trophic factors for bone. Men receiving androgen deprivation therapy sustain variable degrees of bone loss with an increased risk of fragility fractures.

Cost of illness of urothelial bladder cancer in Italy.

Background: Urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) is the ninth most common cancer worldwide. In Italy, the prevalence of the disease is approximately 10%, making it the fourth most prevalent cancer in the country. The increase in prevalence requires continuous surveillance and care, resulting in a significant burden on Italian National Health Service, making any improvement to the strategy for diagnosing and treating this disease important to the medical and scientific community.

Chromographic Analysis and Cytotoxic Effects of Chlorhexidine and Sodium Hypochlorite Reaction Mixtures.

Introduction: The literature reveals controversies regarding the formation of para-chloroaniline (PCA) when chlorhexidine (CHX) is mixed with sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl). This study aimed to investigate the stability of PCA in the presence of NaOCl and to examine the in vitro cytotoxic effects of CHX/NaOCl reaction mixtures.

Methods: Different volumes of NaOCl were added to CHX (mix 1) or PCA (mix 2).

Body mass index and the clinicopathological characteristics of clinically localized renal masses-An international retrospective review.

Objectives: To investigate the potential association between body mass index (BMI) and clinicopathological features of clinically localized renal masses.

Materials And Methods: An international, multi-institutional retrospective review of patients who underwent surgery for clinically localized renal masses between 2000 and 2010 was undertaken after an institutional review board approval. Patients were divided into 4 absolute BMI groups based on the entire cohort׳s percentiles and 4 relative BMI groups based on their respective population (American or Italian).

"In-bore" MRI-guided Prostate Biopsy Using an Endorectal Nonmagnetic Device: A Prospective Study of 70 Consecutive Patients.

Introduction: We investigated the diagnostic performance of in-bore endorectal magnetic resonance imaging-guided biopsy (MRI-GB) with a 1.5-T MRI scanner using a 32-channel coil in patients with suspected prostate cancer (PCa).

Patients And Methods: Seventy patients with ≥ 1 suspicious area found on the preliminary multiparametric MRI scan were enrolled.

Topoisomerases and Anthracyclines: Recent Advances and Perspectives in Anticancer Therapy and Prevention of Cardiotoxicity.

Topoisomerases are ubiquitous enzymes involved in maintaining genomic stability of the cell by regulating the over- or underwinding of DNA strands. Besides their customary functions, topoisomerases are important cellular targets of widely used anticancer drugs. In particular, topoisomerase IIα (Top2α) has been postulated as the primary molecular target of anthracycline's anticancer activity, whereas topoisomerase IIβ (Top2β), the only Top2 present in heart tissue, seems to be involved in the development of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity.

Adverse Features and Competing Risk Mortality in Patients With High-Risk Prostate Cancer.

Purpose: To assess survival and competing causes of mortality in prostate cancer (PCa) patients referred to radical prostatectomy through a combination of unfavorable characteristics.

Patients And Methods: We evaluated 615 PCa patients referred to radical prostatectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection at single tertiary-care center with at least one adverse feature (AF): preoperative prostate-specific antigen ≥ 20 ng/mL, pathologic Gleason score 8 to 10, and no organ-confined disease at final pathology (seminal vesicle involvement, positive surgical margins, and/or lymph node invasion). Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to assess cancer-specific mortality (CSM)-free survival rates by stratifying patients into 3 risk categories according to the number of AFs (namely, 1, 2, and 3 AFs).

Predicting survival in node-positive prostate cancer after open, laparoscopic or robotic radical prostatectomy: A competing risk analysis of a multi-institutional database.

Objectives: To investigate cancer-specific mortality and other-cause mortality in prostate cancer patients with nodal metastases.

Methods: The study included 411 patients treated with radical prostatectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection for prostate cancer with lymph node metastases at 10 tertiary care centers between 1995 and 2014. Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to assess cancer-specific mortality-free survival rates at 8 years' follow up in the overall population, and after stratifying patients according to clinical and pathological parameters.

Can the multiphasic computed tomography be useful in the clinical management of small renal masses?

Background Small renal masses (SRMs; ≤4 cm) represent a challenging issue. Computed tomography (CT) is widely used for investigating renal tumors even if its ability to differentiate among the different subtypes has not yet been definitively established. Purpose To assess the potential role of the morphological features and angiodynamic behavior on multiphasic CT in the preoperative evaluation of SRMs.

PADUA and R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry scores correlate with perioperative outcomes of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy: analysis of the Vattikuti Global Quality Initiative in Robotic Urologic Surgery (GQI-RUS) database.

Objectives: To evaluate and compare the correlations between Preoperative Aspects and Dimensions Used for an Anatomical (PADUA) and R.E.N.

(18)F-FACBC (anti1-amino-3-(18)F-fluorocyclobutane-1-carboxylic acid) versus (11)C-choline PET/CT in prostate cancer relapse: results of a prospective trial.

Purpose: To compare the accuracy of (18)F-FACBC and (11)C-choline PET/CT in patients radically treated for prostate cancer presenting with biochemical relapse.

Methods: This prospective study enrolled 100 consecutive patients radically treated for prostate cancer and presenting with rising PSA. Of these 100 patients, 89 were included in the analysis.

Role of Inter-Observer Variability and Quantification of Muscularis Propria in the Pathological Staging of Bladder Cancer.

Introduction: Pathological staging of bladder cancer (BC) on trans-urethral bladder resection (TURB) specimens is critical for the indication of radical cystectomy (RC).

Materials And Methods: We aimed to assess the inter-observer variability among dedicated and not dedicated genito-urinary pathologists (GUP) and the predictive value of the amount of muscularis propria (MP) in the TURB specimens to predict accurate staging in RC. We selected 101 patients with at least 1 diagnosis of pT1 high grade BC who underwent RC during the history of disease.

Cancer Biomarkers Discovery and Validation: State of the Art, Problems and Future Perspectives.

Cancer is one of the major public health problems worldwide representing the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries. To reduce cancer morbidity and mortality as well as to facilitate the evolution from the traditional "one size fits all" strategy to a new "personalized" cancer therapy (i.e.

Inhibition of Anthracycline Alcohol Metabolite Formation in Human Heart Cytosol: A Potential Role for Several Promising Drugs.

The clinical efficacy of anthracyclines (e.g., doxorubicin and daunorubicin) in cancer therapy is limited by their severe cardiotoxicity, the etiology of which is still not fully understood.

The Prognostic Impact of Tumor Size on Cancer-Specific and Overall Survival Among Patients With Pathologic T3a Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Background: We aimed to determine the prognostic role of tumor size in patients with stage pT3a renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Patients And Methods: We analyzed our database of patients who underwent radical nephrectomy for RCC between July 2000 and December 2013. Clinical and pathologic data were obtained for each patient.

18F-Fluciclovine PET/CT for the Detection of Prostate Cancer Relapse: A Comparison to 11C-Choline PET/CT.

Purpose: In recent years, a new PET compound (anti-3-(18)F-FACBC or (18)F-fluciclovine) was tested for the detection of prostate cancer relapse. Despite very promising results, only preliminary data were available with regard to the comparison to (11)C-choline. The aim of this study was to compare the detection rate of (18)F-FACBC and (11)C-choline in patients presenting a biochemical relapse.

State of the art of PET/CT with 11-choline and 18F-fluorocholine in the diagnosis and follow-up of localized and locally advanced prostate cancer.

Objective: To provide an updated state of the art about the role of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with 11C-Choline and 18F-fluorocholine in the localized and locally advanced Prostate Cancer (PCa) in the staging and restaging setting.

Methods: We performed a non-systematic review of the literature based on a free-text search in the National Library of Medicine Database (MEDLINE) to select English-language published papers evaluating PET and PET/CT imaging with radiolabelled choline in initial diagnosis and in post-treatment phase in PCa patients.

Results: PET and PET/CT with 11C-choline and 18F-fluorocholine have been largely investigated as non-invasive diagnostic tools in PCa.

Oxidative stress and metabolic syndrome: Effects of a natural antioxidants enriched diet on insulin resistance.

Background & Aims: Oxidative stress (OS) could play a role in metabolic syndrome-related manifestations contributing to insulin resistance (IR). The aim of the present study was to gain insight the relationships between OS, IR and other hormones involved in caloric balance, explaining the effects of a natural antioxidant-enriched diet in patients affected by metabolic syndrome.

Methods: We investigated the effects of dietary antioxidants on IR, studying 53 obese (20 males and 33 females, 18-66 years old, BMI 36.

Active surveillance for clinically localized renal tumors: An updated review of current indications and clinical outcomes.

The widespread use of abdominal imaging has led to an increasing detection of small renal masses, and approximately 20-30% of those tumors will prove to be benign, with low metastatic potential if not immediately treated. In elderly or comorbid patients diagnosed with small renal masses, competing cause mortality seems to exceed cancer-specific mortality at short- and intermediate-term follow up. In these cases, surgery might represent an overtreatment, and an expectant management, such as active surveillance, might be proposed.

Effects of barriers on chemical and biological properties of two dual resin cements.

The aim of this study was to investigate the degree of conversion, monomer release, and cytotoxicity of two dual-cure resin cements (Cement-One and SmartCem2), light-cured across two indirect restorative materials in an attempt to simulate in vitro the clinical conditions. The results obtained show that the degree of conversion was influenced by both barriers, but the effect of the composite material was greater than that of the ceramic one. The amount of monomers released from the polymerized materials in the absence of barriers was significantly lower than that released in the presence of either the ceramic or the composite barrier.