Continuous increase of the cost of medical services around the world has become a major topic in the world today. Multiparametric prostate MRI has recently become a new standard in prostate cancer detection, especially in repeated biopsy settings. The method, although superior in cancer detection rates, is costly and requires additional training and equipment. The purpose of our study was to determine the costs and benefits that arise when introducing this method in prostate cancer diagnostics. Repeated prostate biopsy was performed in 101 consecutive patients in the period from 1 October 2016 to 1 July 2017. Patients were divided into two groups based on whether prostate mp-MRI was performed or not. The prices of specific procedures were obtained from the billing service of the Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center and patient models were created to determine financial costs and benefits. The cost of the entire diagnostic process per patient in the non-MRI group was HRK 1.931,05 and HRK 1.848,42 in the mpMRI group, or 4.28% less. Prostate mpMRI and subsequent mpMRI guided biopsies can reduce the overall cost in prostate cancer diagnostics despite the procedure itself being an additional cost. This is achieved by omitting prostate biopsies in patients with low malignancy risk.

All malignancies, including prostate cancer, require accurate diagnosing and staging before making a treatment decision. The introduction of targeted biopsies based on prostate MRI findings has raised prostate biopsy accuracy. Guided biopsies targe...

Spontaneous regression of testicular germ cell tumors is a well-known phenomenon; however, the precise mechanisms of spontaneous regression are still unknown. Our study aimed to investigate programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in spontaneously regressed testicular germ cell tumors, exploring the link between the immune response and spontaneous regression. From a sample of 356 testicular germ cell tumors, we singled out 5 completely regressed and 6 partially regressed tumors. In four out of six cases with partial regression, a residual seminoma component was found, while in the remaining two cases, an embryonal carcinoma component was found. Comparisons were made with 20 pure seminomas and 20 mixed germ cell tumors (MGCTs). A semiquantitative immunohistochemical analysis of PD-L1 expression in tumor cells and intra/peritumoral lymphocytes was performed. There was no PD-L1 expression in tumors with complete regression. All partially regressed tumors showed expression in intra/peritumoral lymphocytes within the tumor remnants. Expression was significantly more frequent in pure seminomas compared to MGCTs (P = 0.004). A positive correlation was demonstrated between the seminoma component and the proportion of PD-L1 positive lymphocytes, with a Kendall's Tau-b coefficient of 0.626 (P < 0.001). Tumor cells showed PD-L1 expression in three MGCTs within the embryonal carcinoma component. Our results support an immunological mechanism of spontaneous tumor regression, with the strongest potential in testicular tumors containing seminoma components. However, further research is necessary to determine the role of PD-L1 ligand more precisely in the microenvironment of spontaneously regressed tumors.