Publications by authors named "Monique Roobol"

Background And Objective: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly being used to capture the patients' perspective of their functional status and quality of life (QoL). Big data can help us better understand patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Using prospectively collected data from the Prostate Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Enhancement Through the Power of Big Data in Europe (PIONEER) consortium, we aimed to describe the functional status and QoL in men with prostate cancer (PCa) treated with active surveillance (AS), radical prostatectomy (RP), and radiotherapy (RT), and to demonstrate the applicability of PROM data on a large scale and at a European level.

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Background And Objective: In 2019 and 2021, Europa Uomo initiated the Europa Uomo Patient Reported Outcome Study (EUPROMS) and the EUPROMS 2.0 survey, with the goal of collecting data on patients' self-reported perspective on physical and mental well-being outside of a clinical trial setting, to be able to investigate the burden of prostate cancer (PCa) treatment from a patient-to-patient perspective. Acknowledging the importance of collecting quality of life (QoL) follow-up data, a 1-yr follow-up (1yrFU) study was conducted to assess the effect of additional PCa treatment on QoL.

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Objective: To explore patients' experience of decision making regarding treatment of localised kidney cancer.

Methods: A total of 21 patients with localised kidney cancer, across three countries, participated in either four focus groups or seven semi-structured interviews that lasted on average 2 h. Focus groups and interviews were all conducted in the participants' native language, recorded, transcribed and (if applicable) translated into English.

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Background And Objective: A standardized intraoperative frozen section analysis of the prostate resection margin adjacent to the neurovascular bundle according to the NeuroSAFE technique is performed to maximize nerve sparing during radical prostatectomy (RP) for prostate cancer (PCa). The aim of this review was to analyze oncological and functional outcomes of NeuroSAFE.

Methods: A systematic search of the Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases until July 2024 was performed.

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Background: Historical prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening studies reduced prostate cancer-related deaths but also led to overdiagnosis/overtreatment. Since then, opportunistic PSA testing has increased, and late-stage diagnoses and prostate-cancer related deaths are rising.

Objectives: To review current trends regarding PSA testing in primary care and propose a collaborative approach to improve early prostate cancer detection.

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Unlabelled: For men with prostate cancer (PCa) within the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC), the cause of death is determined by a Cause of Death Committee (CODC) that evaluates all medical records using a fixed algorithm. The aim of this study was to compare the classification of PCa-specific mortality (PCSM) between the CODC and Statistics Netherlands. We calculated the sensitivity (PCSM agreement divided by total PCSM deaths according to the CODC) and specificity (agreement for other-cause mortality [OCM] divided by total OCM deaths according to the CODC) using the last 21-yr follow-up data from ERSPC Rotterdam.

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Background And Objective:  Clinical practice guidelines for prostate cancer (PCa) are a valuable resource for everyday clinical practice. The clinical practice guidelines and recommendations produced by various societies should demonstrate a considerable level of consistency in terms of quality, regardless of the society that developed these given the common evidence base. However, to date, no study has assessed the quality of PCa clinical practice guidelines.

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Background And Objective: Tailored treatment for prostate cancer (PCa) requires accurate risk stratification. This study examines the effectiveness of the European Association of Urology (EAU) classification in predicting long-term PCa-specific mortality (PCSM) and assesses whether an alternative system can improve the identification of patients with low-risk disease.

Methods: This study included two cohorts of patients with localized PCa: one with screen-detected PCa (n = 1563; S-cohort) and the other with clinically detected PCa (n = 755; C-cohort), all from a population-based, randomized screening study, who underwent primary radical prostatectomy or radiation monotherapy.

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Purpose: To investigate the detection and predictors of prostate cancer (PCA) and clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCA) in patients with positive multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) followed by a negative MRI - guided target biopsy (TB) and systematic biopsy (SB).

Materials And Methods: This retrospective multicenter study included 694 patients from 10 tertiary referral centers with an initial positive mpMRI (PI-RADS ≥ 3) and negative results on both MRI-TB and SB. Patients were classified into three groups based on follow-up: Group 1 (prostate re-biopsy without new mpMRI), Group 2 (standardized second prostate mpMRI and subsequent re-biopsy), and Group 3 (follow-up with mpMRIs and biopsy based on clinical and radiological triggers).

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Objectives: To understand how best to further reduce the inappropriate use of pre-surgical androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), we investigated the determinants (influences) of ADT prescribing in urologists in two European countries using an established behavioural science approach. Additionally, we sought to understand how resource limitations caused by COVID-19 influenced this practice. Identification of key determinants, of undistributed and disrupted practice, will aid development of future strategies to reduce inappropriate ADT prescribing in current and future resource-limited settings.

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Article Synopsis
  • - PIONEER is a European initiative that combines the efforts of 34 organizations across 9 countries to enhance prostate cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment using big data analytics.
  • - The project has created a comprehensive platform that integrates various data sources, helping to respond to critical research questions and improve understanding of prostate cancer management at different stages.
  • - Despite successes, challenges with real-world data persist, necessitating ongoing collaboration and knowledge sharing, which PIONEER aims to support as part of the UroEvidenceHub initiative by the European Association of Urology.
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Background And Objective: While prostate cancer (PCa) incidence and mortality rates continue to rise, early detection of PCa remains highly controversial, and the research landscape is rapidly evolving. Existing systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) provide valuable insights, but often focus on single aspects of early detection, hindering a comprehensive understanding of the topic. We aim to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive SR of contemporary SRs covering different aspects of early detection of PCa in the European Union (EU) and the UK.

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Aims: To investigate the surgical margin status in patients with prostate cancer who underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) with intraoperative neurovascular structure-adjacent frozen-section analysis (NeuroSAFE) and evaluate differences compared to patients who underwent radical prostatectomy without NeuroSAFE.

Patients And Methods: Between September 2018 and January 2021, 962 patients underwent centralized RARP with NeuroSAFE. A secondary resection was performed in case of a positive surgical margin (PSM) on intraoperative frozen section (IFS) analysis to convert a PSM into a negative surgical margin (NSM).

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Unlabelled: In 2022, the European Commission updated its recommendation on cancer screening, inviting the Member States (MSs) to explore the feasibility of stepwise implementation of population-based screening for prostate cancer (PCa). In line with this recommendation, the PRAISE-U (Prostate Cancer Awareness and Initiative for Screening in the European Union (EU)) project was initiated. As part of the PRAISE-U, we aim to understand the current practice towards early detection in the EU MSs, the barriers to implementing or planning population-based screening programmes, and potential solutions to overcome these barriers.

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Article Synopsis
  • Active surveillance (AS) is a safe and acceptable treatment strategy for men with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer, showing a high overall survival (OS) rate of 84.1% and metastasis-free survival (MFS) exceeding 99% over a follow-up period of more than 6 years.
  • The study analyzed clinical data from nearly 27,000 men across 15 countries, revealing that while there was no significant change in overall survival rates over time, metastasis-free survival rates improved notably.
  • Treatment changes were primarily driven by anxiety or tumor progression, with the most common radical treatment being surgery, which resulted in 90% of men remaining free from biochemical recurrence after 5 years.
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  • The study aimed to see how the Prostate Health Index (PHI) affects clinical decisions for men with PSA levels between 4-10 ng/mL and normal digital rectal exams in Hong Kong public hospitals from 2016 to 2017.
  • Of 2828 patients followed for 2 years, 82% showed low PHI risk scores (under 35), leading 83% of those with elevated PSA to choose against biopsy, while higher PHI scores correlated with increased detection of high-grade prostate cancer.
  • The conclusion suggests that using PHI in clinical decisions helped reduce unnecessary biopsies and improved the detection of significant prostate cancer compared to traditional PSA methods.
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Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) (early) detection poses significant challenges, including unnecessary testing and the risk of potential overdiagnosis. The European Association of Urology therefore suggests an individual risk-adapted approach, incorporating risk calculators (RCs) into the PCa detection pathway. In the context of 'The PRostate Cancer Awareness and Initiative for Screening in the European Union' (PRAISE-U) project ( https://uroweb.

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Background And Objective: In Europe, prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer in men. Screening may therefore be crucial to lower health care costs, morbidity, and mortality. This systematic review aimed to provide a contemporary overview of the costs and benefits of PCa screening programmes.

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Objective: To evaluate whether a subgroup of men can be identified that would benefit more from screening than others.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study was based on three European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) centres, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden. We identified 126 827 men aged 55-69 years in the study who were followed for maximum of 16 years after randomisation.

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Background And Objective: The treatment landscape of metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa) has evolved significantly over the past two decades. Despite this, the optimal therapy for patients with mPCa has not been determined. This systematic review identifies available predictive models that assess mPCa patients' response to treatment.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study looked at how well doctors and patients talk to each other, especially for men with prostate cancer in Europe.
  • The researchers asked 372 men about their communication experiences with their doctors during diagnosis and treatment.
  • Most men felt their conversations were good, but there were still ways to improve communication, like making sure patients understand their treatment and addressing their emotional needs.
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Population-based organised repeated screening for prostate cancer has been found to reduce disease-specific mortality, but with substantial overdiagnosis leading to overtreatment. Although only very few countries have implemented a screening programme on a national level, individual prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing is common. This opportunistic testing may have little favourable impact, while stressing the side-effects.

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