Objectives: To report the results from a prospective multicentric study of patients with Peyronie's disease ( PD ) treated with the ‘sliding’ technique ( ST ). Patients and Methods: From June 2010 to January 2014, 28 consecutive patients affected by stable PD with severe penile shortening and end‐stage erectile dysfunction ( ED ) were enrolled in three European PD tertiary referral centres. The validated International Index of Erectile Function ( IIEF ) questionnaire, the Sexual Encounter Profile ( SEP ) Questions 2 and 3, and the Peyronie's disease questionnaire ( PDQ ) were completed preoperatively by all patients. At the follow‐up visits (at 3, 6 and 12 months), the IIEF , the SEP Questions 2 and 3, the PDQ , and the Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction ( EDITS ) were completed. The outcome analysis was focused on penile length restoration, and intra‐ and postoperative complications classified according the Clavien–Dindo Classification. Results: The mean (range) follow‐up was 37 (9–60) months. A malleable penile prosthesis ( PP ) was implanted in seven patients, while an inflatable three‐pieces PP was placed in the remainder. In the case of inflatable PP implantation, porcine small intestinal submucosa and acellular porcine dermal matrix were used to cover the tunical defects. While in patients undergoing malleable PP implantation, collagen‐fibrin sponge was used. The mean operative time was 145 min in the inflatable PP group and 115 min in the malleable PP group. There were no intraoperative complications. Postoperative complications included profuse bleeding requiring a blood transfusion in one patient (3.5%) on anticoagulation therapy for a mechanical heart valve (Grade II ) and PP infection requiring the removal of the device (7%) (Grade III ). There were no late recurrences of the shaft deformation. The postoperative functional data showed a progressive improvement in the score of all questionnaires, peaking at 12 months postoperatively. The mean (range) penile lengthening was 3.2 (2.5–4) cm and no patient reported recurrence of the curvature. Conclusions: The present series suggests that, in the hands of experienced high‐volume surgeons, penile length restoration with the use of the ST represents an effective option for end‐stage PD associated with ED and severe shortening of the shaft. Larger series and longer follow‐up will be required to fully establish the efficacy of this procedure.

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin and intravesical chemotherapy represent viable adjuvant options for intermediate risk nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. Although bacillus Calmette-Guérin is perceived as less tolerable than intravesical chemotherapy, to our knowledge no comparative studies have addressed quality of life issues. We compared the quality of life of patients with nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer who received adjuvant intravesical gemcitabine or 1/3 dose bacillus Calmette-Guérin. Our multicenter, prospective, randomized, phase II study included 120 patients with intermediate risk nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. Of these patients 88 remained assessable at 1-year followup. Only 1 patient was withdrawn because of adverse events. Overall 61 patients received 2,000 mg/50 cc gemcitabine weekly for 6 weeks (maintenance monthly for 1 year) while 59 received 1/3 dose bacillus Calmette-Guérin Connaught weekly for 6 weeks (maintenance 3 weekly instillations at 3, 6 and 12 months). Quality of life was measured by the EORTC QLQ-C30 (European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 version 3.0) and QLQ-BLS24 (Quality of Life Superficial Bladder Cancer-Specific 24) questionnaires. Group differences were calculated using ANOVA (ANOVA/MANOVA). Treatment was well tolerated in both groups, although local and systemic side effects were more frequently reported in the bacillus Calmette-Guérin arm. Multivariate analyses showed no significant differences between the 2 groups in all quality of life dimensions. No significant changes over time in quality of life domains were detected for patients on bacillus Calmette-Guérin and gemcitabine except for physical functioning, which decreased significantly in both groups (p = 0.002). No significant differences were detected in terms of recurrence and progression between the 2 groups at 1-year followup. While a higher rate of side effects, albeit mild to moderate, was detected with 1/3 dose bacillus Calmette-Guérin compared to gemcitabine, our study failed to show significant differences between the 2 drugs in terms of quality of life.