Patients' perception of surgical outcomes and quality of life after retroperitoneoscopic and open pyeloplasty.

Purpose: To report postoperative health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and patients' subjective evaluations of open pyeloplasty (OP) and retroperitoneoscopic pyeloplasty (RP) and influences on preoperative counselling.

Methods: 107 patients (age 16-80 years, mean 31.5) with symptomatic primary ureteropelvic junction obstruction who underwent OP (32) or RP (75) were evaluated prospectively.

Laparoscopic marsupialisation of pelvic lymphoceles in different anatomic locations following radical prostatectomy.

Background: Pelvic lymphoceles (LCs) following radical prostatectomy (LC-RPs) are a well-described complication. Symptomatic LC-RPs are the most frequent, nonfunctional, postradical prostatectomy complications.

Objectives: Description of the clinical presentations of LC-RPs and the detailed technique of laparoscopic pelvic LC marsupialisation (LM), including perioperative results and follow-up.

Outcome assessment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma under systemic therapy using artificial neural networks.

Background: The outcome of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) under systemic therapy shows remarkable variability, and there is a need to identify prognostic parameters that allow individual prognostic stratification and selection of optimal therapy. Artificial neural networks (ANN) are software systems that can be trained to recognize complex data patterns. In this study, we used ANNs to identify poor prognosis of patients with RCC based on common clinical parameters available at the beginning of systemic therapy.

In vitro investigations of repulsion during laser lithotripsy using a pendulum set-up.

Ureteroscopic laser lithotripsy is a commonly used technique to treat ureteral calculi.The type of energy source used is one of the main influences of retrograd calculi propulsion. Using a momentum pendulum under-water set-up the induced momentum and the initial velocity were investigated.

Simultaneous anti-angiogenic therapy and single-fraction radiosurgery in clinically relevant metastases from renal cell carcinoma.

Objective: • To analyse the safety and efficacy of simultaneous standard anti-angiogenic therapy and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in patients with spinal and cerebral metastases from renal cell carcinoma.

Patients And Methods: • In all, 106 patients with spinal (n= 55) or cerebral (n= 51) metastatic lesions and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group status of 0 or 1 were treated with sorafenib or sunitinib and simultaneous SRS. • The primary endpoint was local control.

Profile of temsirolimus in the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Temsirolimus is a potent inhibtor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). In various clinical trials temsirolimus has shown an overall survival benefit for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Thus it is approved for first-line therapy in high-risk mRCC patients.

Feasibility and effects of high-dose hypofractionated radiation therapy and simultaneous multi-kinase inhibition with sunitinib in progressive metastatic renal cell cancer.

Objectives: Radiotherapy (RT) is considered oncologically ineffective in metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC). Inhibition of angiogenetic pathway may lead to radiosensitization in mRCC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the simultaneous combination of RT with systemic treatment of bulky (mRCC) using sunitinib.

DNA hypermethylation in papillary renal cell carcinoma.

Objective: To investigate the pattern of DNA CpG island hypermethylation in papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC).

Material And Methods: DNA from pRCC (n= 32) and adjacent normal tissue (n= 15) was isolated. A quantitative methylation-specific PCR was performed to analyse the methylation pattern at APC (actin beta), CDH1 (E-cadherin), GSTP1 (glutathione S-transferase pi 1), RASSF1A (Ras association domain family member 1A) and TIMP3 (TIMP metallopeptidase inhibitor 3); a sequence of ACTB without CpG was used to normalize for DNA input and to calculate the relative amount of methylated DNA (normalized index of methylation, NIM).

Liver resection for metastatic disease prolongs survival in renal cell carcinoma: 12-year results from a retrospective comparative analysis.

Unlabelled: The value of surgical resection of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) liver metastases still remains unclear.

Objective: Of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of liver resection by comparing patients who could have undergone metastasectomy due to limited disease, but refused surgery.

Materials And Methods: Eighty-eight patients were identified with liver metastases and indication of surgery between 1995 and 2006.

Plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide as prognostic marker in fatal cardial decompensation with sunitinib malate therapy.

A 74-year-old man with metastatic renal cell carcinoma and a history of cardiac failure was treated with sunitinib malate. MUGA echocardiography could not detect a relevant change in the ejection fraction although the clinical situation of the patient worsened dramatically. The only parameter to hint at the deteriorated cardiac function was plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (BNP).

The growth rate of large renal masses opposes active surveillance.

Objective: To retrospectively determine the growth rate of renal masses with a diameter of > or =4 cm at the time of surgery, as the average growth rate of untreated small (<4 cm) renal masses is assumed to be 0.1-0.7 cm/year, but little is known about the progression of large masses.

Renal surgery in the elderly: morbidity in patients aged >75 years in a contemporary series.

Objectives: To evaluate the surgical complications in a contemporary group of elderly patients with renal masses, as almost a quarter of patients with newly diagnosed renal mass are aged >74 years, with the potential for significant comorbidity.

Patients And Methods: From April 2004 to June 2007, of 379 surgical resections of renal tumours, we assessed 117 consecutive patients aged >or=75 years, who had either radical nephrectomy (RN) or partial nephrectomy (PN) for assumed renal cell carcinoma. Also elderly patients who had nephroureterectomy (NU) for upper urothelial cancer were followed.

Dual energy CT characterization of urinary calculi: initial in vitro and clinical experience.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the accuracy of dual energy CT (DECT) in the characterization of renal and ureteral stones.

Material And Methods: Twenty-four renal calculi of known variable composition were scanned on a dual-source CT scanner (Somatom Definition; Siemens Medical Solutions, Forchheim, Germany) in dual energy (DECT) mode. Scan parameters for DECT were: tube potentials, 80 and 140 kV; tube current, 342 and 76 mA.