External validation and calibration of the HoLISTIC Consortium's advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma international prognostic index (A-HIPI) in the Brazilian Hodgkin lymphoma registry.

The Hodgkin lymphoma International Study for Individual Care (HoLISTIC) Consortium's A-HIPI model, developed in 2022 for advanced-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), predicts survival within 5 years amongst newly diagnosed patients. This study validates its performance in the Brazilian Hodgkin lymphoma registry. By 2022, the Brazilian HL registry included 1357 cHL patients, with a median 5-year follow-up.

Prostate cancer focal therapy: surgeon experience influences oncological results.

Introduction: Characterization of the index lesion of prostate cancer (PCa) has facilitated the development of focal therapy to reduce complications caused by radical treatments. In the present study, we sought to identify factors associated with the oncological results of focal therapy for PCa.

Methods: Between April 2017 and February 2020, 123 PCa patients received focal therapy performed with high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).

Are very thin patients at a higher risk of complications when submitted to percutane-ous nephrolithotomy?

Purpose: To assess the impact of thinness on the outcome of the percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).

Materials And Methods: A matched case-control study was performed using a prospectively collected database of all patients who underwent PCNL between June 2011 and October 2021. The patients were stratified into two groups according to their phenotypic characteristics, arbitrarily defined according to their body mass index (BMI): <0kg/m2 (Group 1, very thin patients, G<20) and ≥25 kg/m2 (Group 2, non-thin patients, G≥25).

Increased risk of bladder cancer recurrence due to bacillus Calmette-Guérin shortage in Brazil.

Objective: Our study aimed to evaluate the impact of bacillus Calmette-Guérin shortage on recurrence and progression in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer in a Brazilian cohort.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinicopathological data of 409 patients who had their first transurethral resection of the bladder tumor for intermediate or high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer between June 2014 and May 2021 in a tertiary public hospital in Brazil. Patients included had non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder resected completely for the first time, regardless of bacillus Calmette-Guérin use.

Treatment patterns and outcomes for Hodgkin Lymphoma patients aged 60 and older: a report from the Brazilian Prospective Hodgkin Lymphoma Registry.

The treatment of older patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) remains a challenge. We sought to identify the treatment patterns and outcomes in older HL patients included in the Brazilian HL registry (NCT02589548). A total of 136 patients with HIV-negative classic HL, aged ≥ 60 years, diagnosed between 2009 and 2018, were analyzed.

Lower access to risk stratification tests and drugs, and worse survival of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patients treated in public as compared to private hospitals in Brazil: A retrospective analysis of the Brazilian registry of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) has a highly variable clinical course. In addition to biological factors, socioeconomic factors and health system characteristics may influence CLL outcome. Data from the Brazilian Registry of CLL were analyzed to compare clinical and treatment-related characteristics in patients with CLL, from public or private institutions.

Effectiveness of Intrarectal Povidone-iodine Cleansing Plus Formalin Disinfection of the Needle Tip in Decreasing Infectious Complications After Transrectal Prostate Biopsy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: Prostate biopsy is mostly performed through the transrectal route worldwide and infectious complications may occur in up to 7% of cases. Therefore, alternative strategies to decrease infectious complications are needed. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of intrarectal povidone-iodine cleansing plus formalin disinfection of the needle tip in decreasing infectious complications after transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy does not increase peri-operative morbidity following radical cystectomy.

Objective: To determine whether use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is associated with a higher risk of post-operative complications following radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer (BCa).

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed records of patients undergoing RC for non-metastatic urothelial BCa at 13 tertiary care centres from 2007-2019. Patients who received NAC ('NAC + RC' group) were compared with those who underwent upfront RC ('RC alone' group) for intra-operative variables, incidence of post-operative complications as per the Clavien-Dindo classification (CDC) and rates of re-admission and re-intervention.

Ultrasound guided endoscopic combined Intrarenal surgery - 10 steps for the success.

Background: Endoscopic combined intrarenal surgery (ECIRS) has been used to treat complex kidney stones (1). The combined use of ultrasound (US) has the potential to improve safety and reduce radiation exposure, however, it is still underutilized (2).

Objectives: Our objective is to describe, in a step-by-step manner, the ultrasound-guided ECIRS (USG ECIRS) technique, in order to facilitate learning by urologists.

Development and validation of an instrument for measuring parkinsonian motor impairment: TRAPS-D.

Background: Parkinson's disease is incurable, idiopathic, degenerative, and progressive, and affects about 1% of the elderly population. Multidisciplinary clinical treatment is the best and most adopted therapeutic option, while surgical treatment is used in less than 15% of those affected. In practice, there is a lack of reliable and validated scales for measuring motor impairment, and monitoring and screening for surgical indications.

Supine versus Prone Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy for Complex Stones: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: High-quality evidence comparing supine to prone percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) for the treatment of complex stones is lacking. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of supine position (SUP) and prone position (PRO) PCNL.

Materials And Methods: A noninferior randomized controlled trial was performed according to the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards for Reporting Trials) criteria.

Mutation Is Not a Molecular Biomarker of Long-Term Response to First-Generation Somatostatin Receptor Ligands in Acromegaly.

Background: It is still controversial if activating mutations in the stimulatory G-protein α subunit ( mutation) are a biomarker of response to first generation somatostatin receptor ligands (fg-SRL) treatment in acromegaly. Thus, we aimed to evaluate whether mutation predicts long-term response to fg-SRL treatment and to characterize the phenotype of patients harboring mutations.

Methods: sequencing was performed by Sanger.

High CD39 expression is associated with the non-muscle-invasive phenotype of human bladder cancer.

Background: An accurate prediction of progression is critical to define the management of bladder cancer (BC). The ectonucleotidases CD39 and CD73 play strategic roles in calibrating purinergic signals via an extracellular balance between ATP and adenosine. The altered expression of these enzymes plays a potential role in tumor invasion and metastasis, therefore, has been proposed to be used for prognosis of solid tumor.

Effect of medication withdrawal on pain in Parkinson's disease patients - an observational study based on a sample of patients without antiparkinsonian medications.

Objectives: To assess the effect of withdrawal of the antiparkinsonian drug regimen administration on patients with PD and its relation to pain.

Methods: The sample included 22 men and 12 women who were candidates for neurosurgery to control motor signs and symptoms treated with L-dopa as a drug, alone or in combination with others (Cholinergic Antagonists; Dopamine Agents). All of them were examined at two different moments, with and without medication, and analyzed for painful symptoms.

Updating recommendations of the Brazilian Group of Flow Cytometry (GBCFLUX) for diagnosis of acute leukemias using four-color flow cytometry panels.

Introduction: Flow cytometry has become an increasingly important tool in the clinical laboratory for the diagnosis and monitoring of many hematopoietic neoplasms. This method is ideal for immunophenotypic identification of cellular subpopulations in complex samples, such as bone marrow and peripheral blood. In general, 4-color panels appear to be adequate, depending on the assay.

Higher nodal yield with robot-assisted pelvic lymph node dissection for bladder cancer compared to laparoscopic dissection: implications for more accurate staging.

Objectives: To compare the lymph node (LN) yield and adequacy of laparoscopic pelvic lymph node dissection (L-PLND) and robot-assisted PLND (R-PLND), as PLND is a fundamental component of radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer (BCa), where a positive status is the most powerful predictor of disease recurrence and survival.

Patents And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients undergoing RC with PLND for BCa from January 2007 to July 2019 and grouped them in to L- and R-PLND. Until 2011, patients underwent a standard PLND (S-PLND) with the cranial limit as bifurcation of common iliac artery.

Machine Learning-based Prediction Model for Treatment of Acromegaly With First-generation Somatostatin Receptor Ligands.

Context: Artificial intelligence (AI), in particular machine learning (ML), may be used to deeply analyze biomarkers of response to first-generation somatostatin receptor ligands (fg-SRLs) in the treatment of acromegaly.

Objective: To develop a prediction model of therapeutic response of acromegaly to fg-SRL.

Methods: Patients with acromegaly not cured by primary surgical treatment and who had adjuvant therapy with fg-SRL for at least 6 months after surgery were included.

Tranexamic acid in patients with complex stones undergoing percutaneous nephrolithotomy: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of single-dose tranexamic acid on the blood transfusion rate and outcomes of patients with complex kidney stones undergoing percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).

Patients And Methods: In a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, 192 patients with complex kidney stone (Guy's Stone Scores III-IV) were prospectively enrolled and randomised (1:1 ratio) to receive either one dose of tranexamic acid (1 g) or a placebo at the time of anaesthetic induction for PCNL. The primary outcome measure was the occurrence rate of perioperative blood transfusion.

Patients with encrusted ureteral stents can be treated by a single session combined endourological approach.

Purpose: To describe our experience in the management of retained encrusted ureteral stents using a single session combined endourological approach.

Materials And Methods: Patients with retained encrusted ureteral stents who had been submitted to a single session combined endourological approach from June 2010 to June 2018 were prospectively evaluated. Patients were divided according to the Forgotten-Encrusted-Calcified (FECal) classification.

Early Effects of High-intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Treatment for Prostate Cancer on Fecal Continence and Anorectal Physiology.

Objective: To evaluate high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) effects on anorectal physiology and fecal continence or constipation, and on quality of life (QoL).

Methods: We prospectively evaluated 26 patients with localized prostate cancer who underwent HIFU. The Rome III criteria for functional constipation, the Cleveland Clinic Florida Fecal Incontinence Score, and the Fecal Incontinence QoL Score questionnaires were answered before and after treatment.

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy in patients with spinal cord injury: should all these patients be automatically assigned a Guy's stone score of 4?

Purpose: To assess the complication and stone-free rates of PCNL in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to evaluate whether this population should be assigned a Guy's stone score (GSS) of 4.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted, and electronic charts were reviewed to search for patients with SCI, bladder dysfunction, and kidney stones who had undergone PCNL. Control cases were randomly selected from among patients with complete staghorn calculus (GSS = 4).