A nomogram to predict Gleason sum upgrading of clinically diagnosed localized prostate cancer among Chinese patients

Although several models have been developed to predict the probability of Gleason sum upgrading between biopsy and radical prostatectomy specimens, most of these models are restricted to prostate- specific antigen screening-detected prostate cancer. This study aimed to build a nomogram for the prediction of Gleason sum upgrading in clinically diagnosed prostate cancer. The study cohort comprised 269 Chinese prostate cancer patients who underwent prostate biopsy with a minimum of 10 cores and were subsequently treated with radical prostatectomy. Of all included patients, 220 （81.8%） were referred with clinical symptoms. The prostate-specific antigen level, primary and secondary biopsy Gleason scores, and clinical T category were used in a multivariate logistic regression model to predict the probability of Gleason sum upgrading. The developed nomogram was validated internally. Gleason sum upgrading was observed in 90 （33.5%） patients. Our nomogram showed a bootstrap-corrected concordance index of 0.789 and good calibration using 4 readily available variables. The nomogram also demonstrated satisfactory statistical performance for predicting significant upgrading. External validation of the nomogram published by Chun et aL in our cohort showed a marked discordance between the observed and predicted probabilities of Gleason sum upgrading. In summary, a new nomogram to predict Gleason sum upgrading in clinically diagnosed prostate cancer was developed, and it demonstrated good statistical performance upon internal validation.     

Outcomes after definitive radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer in a national health care delivery system

Purpose

Accurate information regarding real-world outcomes after contemporary radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer is important for shared decision-making. Clinically relevant end points at 10 years among men treated within a national health care delivery system were examined.

Methods

National administrative, cancer registry, and electronic health record data were used for patients undergoing definitive radiation therapy with or without concurrent androgen deprivation therapy within the Veterans Health Administration from 2005 to 2015. National Death Index data were used through 2019 for overall and prostate cancer–specific survival and identified date of incident metastatic prostate cancer using a validated natural language processing algorithm. Metastasis-free, prostate cancer–specific, and overall survival using Kaplan–Meier methods were estimated.

Results

Among 41,735 men treated with definitive radiation therapy, the median age at diagnosis was 65 years and median follow-up was 8.7 years. Most had intermediate (42%) and high-risk (33%) disease, with 40% receiving androgen deprivation therapy as part of initial therapy. Unadjusted 10-year metastasis-free survival was 96%, 92%, and 80% for low-, intermediate-, and high-risk disease. Similarly, unadjusted 10-year prostate cancer–specific survival was 98%, 97%, and 90% for low-, intermediate-, and high-risk disease. The unadjusted overall survival was lower across increasing disease risk categories at 77%, 71%, and 62% for low-, intermediate-, and high-risk disease (p < .001).

Conclusions

These data provide population-based 10-year benchmarks for clinically relevant end points, including metastasis-free survival, among patients with localized prostate cancer undergoing radiation therapy using contemporary techniques. The survival rates for high-risk disease in particular suggest that outcomes have recently improved.     

Imaging metastatic bone disease from carcinoma of the prostate

Imaging bone metastases from prostate cancer presents several challenges. The lesions are usually sclerotic and appear late on the conventional X-ray. Bone scintigraphy is the mainstay of lesion detection, but is often not suitable for assessment of treatment response, particularly because of a ‘flare'' phenomenon after therapy. Magnetic resonance imaging is increasingly used in assessment, and newer techniques allow quantitation. In addition to ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸FDG), newer PET isotopes are also showing promise in lesion detection and response assessment. This article reviews the available imaging modalities for evaluating prostatic bony metastases, and links them to the underlying pathological changes within bone lesions.     

Predictors of clinical metastasis in prostate cancer patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy

BACKGROUND:

Virtually all patients with prostate cancer who receive androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) will ultimately develop evidence of resistance to treatment. The prognosis for patients who develop metastatic castrate‐resistant disease is reported to be poor, with overall survival historically estimated to be 24 to 36 months. The goal of the current study was to identify predictors of clinical disease progression in patients with prostate cancer who were receiving ADT.

METHODS:

Of the 13,740 men with biopsy–proven prostate cancer who were enrolled in the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urological Research Endeavor (CaPSURE) database from 1995 to 2007, 4003 men treated with ADT after diagnosis without evidence of metastases at treatment initiation were identified. The primary endpoint was the development of bone metastasis. Clinical and pathologic characteristics were compared between patients who developed metastasis and those who did not using chi‐square tests in a Cox proportional hazards regression model.

RESULTS:

The mean age of the men in the cohort was 70 years (range, 39‐94 years). One hundred ninety‐one men (4.8%) progressed to metastatic disease at a median of 18 months from the initiation of ADT (range, 1‐139 months). On multivariate analyses, risk category (hazards ratio [HR], 2.58; P < .0001), percent of biopsies positive >33% (HR, 3.36; P = .003), age ≤65 years at diagnosis (HR, 2.11; P = .001, and prostate–specific antigen velocity on ADT (HR, 1.04; P < .001) were found to be significantly associated with the development of metastatic disease after ADT.

CONCLUSIONS:

Younger men with high–risk disease appear to have worse prognosis than older men with similar disease. This, along with the other prognostic variables established in the current study, may help identify candidates for clinical trials evaluating secondary treatments for patients with castrate‐resistant disease. Cancer 2009. © 2009 American Cancer Society.     

Staging in prostate cancer

This article reviews the conventional current techniques that are used for staging prostate cancer. The advantages and limitations of each modality are described. Attention is focused on the areas in which progress is rapidly being made and is likely to be developed in the future.     

64排螺旋CT在直肠癌术前分期的诊断价值

目的：评价64排螺旋CT进行直肠癌术前分期的准确性及诊断价值。方法：纳入51例经手术病理检查证实为直肠癌,并在术前行全腹CT扫描的患者,分析CT影像在确定肿瘤侵犯范围、淋巴结转移及远处转移方面的特点,并与病理结果进行对比。结果：64排螺旋CT对直肠癌T分期、N分期、M分期的准确度分别为84．3％（43／51）,84．3％（43／51）,98．0％（50／51）,对直肠癌TNM分期总准确度为74．5％（38／51）。结论：利用64排螺旋CT腹部平扫技术,能够较为准确地进行直肠癌术前分期,有助于临床选择恰当的手术方案和制定有效的综合治疗措施。     

Influence of stage at diagnosis on survival differences for rectal cancer in three European populations.

Important differences have recently been highlighted between European countries in the survival of colorectal cancer patients. As data on stage at diagnosis were available for rectal cancers in three European population-based registries (Geneva Switzerland; Côte d''Or, France; Mallorca, Spain), we compared relative survival while assessing the effect of stage in a multiple regression model. We analysed 1005 rectal cancer cases diagnosed between 1982 and 1987 and followed up for at least 5 years. In the Mallorca registry, 16% of the patients were diagnosed in the TNM stage I (versus 21% in the Côte d''Or registry and 29% in the Geneva registry, P < 10⁻⁴) and the 5-year relative survival rate was lower (35%) than in the other two registries (Côte d’Or 47%, Geneva 48%, P = 0.01). In the multivariate analysis, stage was the only independent prognostic factor, whereas the excess death risk did not vary significantly among registries (compared to Geneva, Côte d''Or relative risk was 1.0, Mallorca relative risk 1.11, 95% confidence interval 0.76–1.32 and 0.85–1.44 respectively). Survival differences between the registries were mainly due to stage at diagnosis. Thus, diagnostic conditions appear to be the main determinant of the survival inequalities found in those three European populations. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaign     

Real-time detection of hepatic micrometastases from pancreatic cancer by intraoperative fluorescence imaging: preliminary results of a prospective study

BACKGROUND:

Recently, a highly sensitive fluorescent imaging technique was developed for the real‐time identification of hepatic tumors. The authors applied this procedure for the intraoperative detection of radiographically occult hepatic micrometastases from pancreatic cancer.

METHODS:

Forty‐nine consecutive patients with pancreatic cancer who underwent surgical intervention were examined. Preoperative clinical images had not revealed any hepatic metastases. On the day before surgery, indocyanine green was injected intravenously. During the operation, the liver was observed with a near‐infrared camera system, and abnormal fluorescent foci were examined by frozen‐section histology. The patients with hepatic micrometastases were judged to have unresectable disease and underwent only palliative surgery followed by systemic chemotherapy using gemcitabine.

RESULTS:

Abnormal hepatic fluorescence at least 1.5 mm in greatest dimension without any apparent tumor was observed in 13 patients. Among them, histologic examination confirmed micrometastases in 8 of 49 patients (16%). All patients with hepatic micrometastases had clinical T3 or T4 disease and high serum CA19‐9 levels (P = .042). On follow‐up computed tomography images that were obtained within 6 months after surgery, the patients with hepatic micrometastases manifested hepatic overt metastases (7 of 8 patients; 88%) more frequently than the patients without hepatic micrometastases (4 of 41 patients; 10%; P < .001). Regardless of histologic confirmation, the positive predictive value of abnormal fluorescence for the manifestation of hepatic relapse within 6 months was 77% (10 of 13 patients), and the negative predictive value was 97% (35 of 36 patients).

CONCLUSIONS:

Indocyanine green‐fluorescent imaging can detect hepatic micrometastases of pancreatic cancer during surgery. The hepatic micrometastases seem to have an adverse clinical impact identical to that of evident distant metastases. Cancer 2011. © 2011 American Cancer Society.     

Patient delay and stage of diagnosis among breast cancer patients in Germany -- a population based study

Early diagnosis is a tenet in oncology and should enable early treatment with the expectation of improved outcome. Extent and determinants of patient delay of diagnosis in breast cancer patients and its impact on stage of disease were examined in a population based study among female breast cancer patients in Germany. Two hundred and eighty-seven women, aged 18 to 80 years with newly diagnosed invasive symptomatic breast cancer, were interviewed with respect to the diagnostic process. Patient delay was defined as time from onset of first symptoms to first consultation of a doctor. Median patient delay was 16 days among symptomatic patients. Eighteen per cent of all breast cancer patients waited longer than 3 months before consulting a physician. Long patient delay was associated with old age, history of a benign mastopathy, obesity, and indices of health behaviour such as not knowing a gynaecologist for out-patient care and non-participation in general health screening examinations. A strong association between patient delay and stage at diagnosis was observed for poorly differentiated tumours. These results suggest that at risk groups for delaying consultation can be identified and that a substantial proportion of late stage diagnoses of poorly differentiated breast cancer cases could be avoided if all patients with breast cancer symptoms would present to a doctor within 1 month.     

A comparison of virtual touch tissue quantification and digital rectal examination for discrimination between prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia

Background

Virtual touch tissue quantification (VTTQ) is a new, promising technique for detecting the stiffness of tissues. The aim of this study is to compare the performance of VTTQ and digital rectal examination (DRE) in discrimination between prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Patients and methods

VTTQ was performed in 209 prostate nodular lesions of 107 patients with BPH and suspected prostate cancer before the prostate histopathologic examination. The shear wave velocity (SWV) at each nodular lesion was quantified by implementing an acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI). The performance of VTTQ and DRE in discrimination between prostate cancer and BPH was compared. The diagnostic value of VTTQ and DRE for prostate cancer was evaluated in terms of the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy.

Results

Prostate cancer was detected in 57 prostate nodular lesions by histopathologic examination. The SWV values (m/s) were significantly greater in prostate cancer and BPH than in normal prostate (2.37 ± 0.94, 1.98 ± 0.82 vs. 1.34 ± 0.47). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for VTTQ (SWV>2.5m/s) to differentiate prostate nodules as benign hyperplasia or malignancy was 0.86, while it was 0.67 for DRE. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy were 71.93 %, 87.5 %, 68.33 %, 89.26 %, 83.25 %, respectively for VTTQ (SWV>2.5m/s), whereas they were 33.33 %, 81.57 %, 40.43 %, 76.54 %, 68.42 % respectively for DRE.

Conclusions

VTTQ can effectively detect the stiffness of prostate nodular lesions, which has a significantly higher performance than DRE in discrimination between prostate cancer and BPH.     

比较经阴式三维超声与磁共振成像在临床早期宫颈癌分期中的应用

目的:探讨经阴式三维超声（3D-TVUS）与磁共振成像（MRI）在早期宫颈癌分期中的应用价值。方法:分析30例Ib1-Ⅱa2期临床早期宫颈癌手术患者,术前宫颈癌用临床FIGO、3D-TVUS、MRI进行分期,并与术后病理分期进行比较。比较用3D-TVUS和MRI对肿块大小、宫旁组织浸润和淋巴结转移的诊断。结果:3D-TVUS和MRI分期与术后病理分期一致性较好,在诊断宫颈癌肿块直径、宫旁组织浸润都有较高的准确率,诊断淋巴结转移3D-TVUS比MRI较优。结论:3D-TVUS与MRI对宫颈癌分期均有较好的准确率,MRI在宫颈癌分期中优于3D-TVUS技术,但3D-TVUS实用、方便、可重复检查,有实用价值,两种方法均有助于提高宫颈癌在术前的分期。     

前列腺癌的基因治疗研究进展

前列腺癌是西方国家常见肿瘤，在我国的发病率也逐年上升。对于晚期。复发性或激素非依赖的患者，目前缺乏有效的治疗手段。前列腺癌的基因治疗是近年来国内外学者研究的热点，作为一种全新的治疗方法。其临床前实验研究已显示出令人鼓舞的前景，本文综述前列腺癌基因治疗的主要策略及其研究进展。     

Late rectal complications after prostate brachytherapy for localized prostate cancer

This review of the literature on late rectal complications after prostate brachytherapy indicated that it is a highly effective treatment modality for patients with clinically localized prostate cancer but can cause chronic radiation proctitis. The most common manifestation of chronic radiation proctitis was anterior rectal wall bleeding, which often occurred within the first 2 years after brachytherapy. It is interesting to note that the rates of late rectal morbidity appear to have declined over time, which may reflect improvements in implantation techniques and imaging. Rectal biopsy as part of the workup to evaluate rectal bleeding can lead to rectal fistula and the need for colostomy, a rare but major complication. The authors recommend 1) screening colonoscopy before brachytherapy for patients who have not had a screening colonoscopy within the preceding 3 years to rule out colorectal malignancies and, thus, facilitate conservative management should rectal bleeding occur; 2) lifestyle modifications during treatment to limit exposure of the rectum to radiation; and 3) conservative management for rectal bleeding that occurs within 2 years after brachytherapy. Cancer 2009. © 2009 American Cancer Society.     

The quantitative Gleason score improves prostate cancer risk assessment

BACKGROUND:

In the current study, the authors propose the quantitative Gleason score (qGS), a modification of the current Gleason grading system for prostate cancer, based on the weighted average of Gleason patterns present in the pathology specimen. They hypothesize that the qGS can improve prostate cancer risk stratification and help prevent the overtreatment of patients with clinically indolent tumors.

METHODS:

The qGS was applied to patients in the University of California San Francisco urologic oncology database with tumors determined to have a GS of 7 on prostate biopsy or final pathology after radical prostatectomy (RP). Using multivariable logistic regression, Cox proportional hazards regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and decision curve analyses, the ability of qGS to predict pathological GS and the risk of disease recurrence after RP was assessed.

RESULTS:

A total of 225 men were included in the analysis of biopsy specimens and 618 men were included in the assessment of RP specimens. Compared with traditional Gleason scoring, the qGS improved concordance between biopsy and pathological GS on decision curve and ROC analyses (area under the curve ROC curve, 0.79 vs 0.71). On regression analysis, the qGS of biopsy specimens was found to be significantly associated with pathological grade after RP (hazard ratio [HR], 1.78; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.49‐2.12) and the qGS of RP specimens was significantly associated with the risk of biochemical disease recurrence after RP (HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.04‐1.24).

CONCLUSIONS:

The qGS, a simple modification of the current Gleason system, appears to improve the correlation between biopsy and pathological GS, as well as the prediction of biochemical disease recurrence after RP. This scoring system may allow more men to pursue active surveillance, thereby avoiding the morbidity of prostate cancer treatment modalities. Cancer 2012. © 2012 American Cancer Society.     

经直肠超声检查前列腺癌100例

目的评价经直肠超声（TRUS）检查前列腺癌(PCA)的临床价值。方法回顾性分析TRUS检查并经穿刺活检证实的100例PCA声像图和临床资料。结果59例声像图显示为单发癌肿,17例为弥漫性癌肿,其中35例PCA瘤体最大径线≤1.5cm。TRUS对前列腺癌的诊断率为76.0%,特异性89.4%,假阳性率10.6%,阴性预测值88.9%。前列腺特异抗原（PSA）随癌肿最大径线增加而升高(P<0.05),且低分化组PSA明显高于高分化组（P<0.05）。结论TRUS操作方便,无需特殊准备,有助于提高早期PCA的确诊率。