(1) Background: There are no real-world data evaluating the incidence of false-positive results. We analyzed the clinical and analytical factors associated with the presence of false-positive results in PSA determinations in practice. (2) Methods: A prospective cohort study of patients with a PSA test was performed in clinical practice. We followed the patients by reviewing their medical records for 2 years or until the diagnosis of PCa was reached, whichever came first. (3) Results: False-positive PSA rate was 46.8% (95% CI 44.2–49.2%) and false-negative PSA rate was 2.8% (95% CI 2–3.5%). Patients aged 61–70 years and those over 70 years were more likely to have a false-positive result than those under 45 years (aOR 2.83, 95% CI 1.06–7.55, p = 0.038, and aOR 4.62, 95% CI 1.75–12.22, p = 0.002, respectively). Patients with urinary tract infection were more likely to have a false-positive result (aOR 8.42, 95% CI 2.42–29.34, p = 0.001). Patients with diabetes mellitus were less likely to have a false-positive result (aOR 0.63, 95% CI 0.41–0.98, p = 0.038); (4) Conclusions: This study has generated relevant information that could be very useful for shared decision making in clinical practice.
Introduction: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the main tool for early detection, risk stratification and monitoring of prostate cancer (PCa). However, there are controversies about the use of PSA as a population screening test because of the high potential for overdiagnosis and overtreatment associated. The net benefit of screening is unclear and according to the available recommendations, it should be offered to well-informed men with an adequate health status and a life-expectancy of at least 10 years or to men at elevated risk of having PCa. In addition, the factors that influence test results are unclear, as is impact of false positive or negative results on patient health. Our objective is to assess the clinical and analytical factors associated with the presence of false positive and false negative results and the diagnostic/therapeutic process followed by these patients. Methods and analysis: A prospective observational cohort study will be carried out. We will include a cohort of patients with a positive PSA result (1.081 patients) and a sample of patients with negative results (572 patients); both will be followed for 2 years by reviewing medical records to assess the variables associated with these results, as well as characteristics of patient management after a positive PSA value. We will include those patients with a PSA determination from 2 hospitals in the Valencian Community. Patients who have been previously diagnosed with prostate cancer or who are being followed for previous high PSA values will be excluded. Discussion: The study will estimate the frequency of false positive and false negative PSA results in routine clinical practice, and allow us to quantify the potential harm caused. Study registration: Clinicaltrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/): NCT03978299, June 7, 2019.
Radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) is the gold standard for the surgical treatment of localized prostate cancer. New techniques are being developed with less invasive methods, including laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) and robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP). The aim of the study is to compare LRP and RALP outcomes during the learning curve with RRP, especially operative time and surgical complications. We performed a retrospective observational study of all the RRP cases attended from January 2000, allthe LRPs performed at the Urology Department of the Galdakao Usansolo Hospital and the first 60 RALPs treated by the Clinic Urology group. Baseline parameters, operative and perioperative parameters (nerve preservation, positive margins, intraoperative bleeding, duration of catheterization, hospital stay) and surgical complications were assessed, and the three techniques were compared. The total number of patients was 192. The mean time operation was of 210 min in the RRP group, 345 min in the LRP group and 209.5 min in the RALP group (p = 0). Intraoperative bleeding was of 1500 mL in RRP, 1275 mL in LRP and 400 mL in RALP (p = 0) (Table 1). Six months after the procedure the continence rate was 60% in the RALP group, 45.90% in the RRP group and 36.40% in the group LRP (p = 0.001) (Table 2). Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy requires a longer learning curve than robotic-assisted prostatectomy. Operative time in RALP procedures was comparable to RRP cases. RALP showed benefits in terms of continence and intraoperative bleeding.
A major limitation of the treatment of low-grade upper tract urothelial carcinoma is the difficulty of intracavitary instillation of adjuvant therapy. Therefore, the aim of this in vitro study was to develop and to assess a new design of biodegradable ureteral stent coated with a silk fibroin matrix for the controlled release of mitomycin C as a chemotherapeutic drug. For this purpose, we assessed the coating of a biodegradable ureteral stent, BraidStent®, with silk fibroin and subsequently loaded the polymeric matrix with two formulations of mitomycin to evaluate its degradation rate, the concentration of mitomycin released, and changes in the pH and the weight of the stent. Our results confirm that the silk fibroin matrix is able to coat the biodegradable stent and release mitomycin for between 6 and 12 h in the urinary environment. There was a significant delay in the degradation rate of silk fibroin and mitomycin-coated stents compared to bare biodegradable stents, from 6–7 weeks to 13–14 weeks. The present study has shown the feasibility of using mitomycin C-loaded silk fibroin for the coating of biodegradable urinary stents. The addition of mitomycin C to the coating of silk fibroin biodegradable stents could be an attractive approach for intracavitary instillation in the upper urinary tract.