Systematic review of ablative therapy for the treatment of renal allograft neoplasms

BACKGROUND To date,there are no guidelines on the treatment of solid neoplasms in the transplanted kidney.Historically,allograft nephrectomy has been considered the only reasonable option.More recently,nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) and ablative therapy (AT) have been proposed as alternative procedures in selected cases.AIM To review outcomes of AT for the treatment of renal allograft tumours.METHODS We conducted a systematic review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2009 Checklist.PubMed was searched in March 2019 without time restrictions for all papers reporting on radiofrequency ablation (RFA),cryoablation (CA),microwave ablation (MWA),high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU),and irreversible electroporation (IRE) of solid tumours of the kidney allograft.Only original manuscripts describing actual cases and edited in English were considered.All relevant articles were accessed in full text.Additional searches included all pertinent references.Selected studies were also assessed for methodological quality using a tool based on a modification of the Newcastle Ottawa scale.Data on recipient characteristics,transplant characteristics,disease characteristics,treatment protocols,and treatment outcomes were extracted and analysed.Given the nature and the quality of the studies available (mostly retrospective case reports and small retrospective uncontrolled case series),a descriptive summary was provided.RESULTS Twenty-eight relevant studies were selected describing a total of 100 AT procedures in 92 patients.Recipient age at diagnosis ranged from 21 to 71 years whereas time from transplant to diagnosis ranged from 0.1 to 312 mo.Most of the neoplasms were asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally during imaging carried out for screening purposes or for other clinical reasons.Preferred diagnostic modality was Doppler-ultrasound scan followed by computed tomography scan,and magnetic resonance imaging.Main tumour types were: papillary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and clear cell RCC.Maximal tumour diameter ranged from 5 to 55 mm.The vast majority of neoplasms were T1a N0 M0 with only 2 lesions staged T1b N0 M0.Neoplasms were managed by RFA (n = 78),CA (n = 15),MWA (n = 3),HIFU (n = 3),and IRE (n = 1).Overall,3 episodes of primary treatment failure were reported.A single case of recurrence was identified.Follow-up ranged from 1 to 81 mo.No cancer-related deaths were observed.Complication rate was extremely low (mostly < 10%).Graft function remained stable in the majority of recipients.Due to the limited sample size,no clear benefit of a single procedure over the other ones could be demonstrated.CONCLUSION AT for renal allograft neoplasms represents a promising alternative to radical nephrectomy and NSS in carefully selected patients.Properly designed clinical trials are needed to validate this therapeutic approach.

Safety and feasibility of thullium laser transurethral resection of prostate for the treatment of benign prostatic enlargement in overweight patients

Objective:We aimed to determine safety and feasibility of thulium laser transurethral vapoenucleation of prostate(ThuVEP)for treatment of obese patients affected by benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH).Methods:We retrospectively analysed data of 452 patients with BPH who underwent ThuVEP from February 2012 to March 2016 in a single center.Patients were divided into three groups according to body mass index(BMI,kg/m^2):Normal weight(18.5≤BMI<25;Group A),overweight(25≤BMI<30;Group B)and obese(BMI≤30;Group C),for a total of 412 patients evaluable for this study.Preoperative total serum prostate-specific antigen(PSA),digital rectal examination of the prostate,transrectal ultrasound(TRUS),renal ultrasound,urine culture,uroflowmetry,International Prostate Symptoms Score(IPSS),and Quality of Life(QoL)score were analyzed.Post-operative complications,hospital stay and days of catheterization,questionnaires and uroflowmetry at 1 and 3 months after surgery were evaluated.Preoperative data,surgical outcomes,complication rate and clinical outcomes were compared between groups.Results:The median age of patients was 69 years(Interquartile Range[IQR 10]).The preoperative median IPSS among groups was 19(IQR 8.75),20(IQR 10),and 18(IQR 10)respectively.At 1 and 3 months of follow-up,this value was 8(IQR 7),8(IQR 4),7(IQR 5)and 5(IQR 6.25),5(IQR 6),6(IQR 5),respectively(all p between groups>0.05).There was no statistically significant difference among three groups as for hospital stay and days of catheterization(p>0.05).Conclusion:Our results showed that ThuVEP was safe and feasible even in overweight patients with substantially enlarged prostate.