Kidney Cancer Journal | Volume 5, Issue 4
Sarcomatoid Renal Cell Carcinoma: The Present and Future of Treatment Paradigms Abstract...
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Posted by Kidney Cancer Journal | Dec 2021
Sarcomatoid Renal Cell Carcinoma: The Present and Future of Treatment Paradigms Abstract...
Read MorePosted by Sangeet Ghai, MD, FRCR | Dec 2021
In part 1 of a 2-part series on micro-ultrasound for prostate cancer imaging, Sangeet Ghai, MD, FRCR, Deputy Chief of Research and Associate Professor in the Joint Department of Medical Imaging (JDMI) at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, considers micro-ultrasound and data evaluating its ability to produce better results than conventional imaging from a radiologic perspective. He explains that micro-ultrasound is a system that functions on a higher frequency than conventional options and uses the PRIMUS protocol, a prostate risk identification system similar to PIRADS. Dr. Ghai states that micro-ultrasound has been shown to increase detection rates by 12%, have sensitivity as high as 91%, and find cancer that was missed by MRI. He also discusses data comparing micro-ultrasound to other imaging modalities that shows that micro-ultrasound can find 1.05 times as much grade group 2 and higher disease as multiparametric MRI and has a 14.6% higher detection rate than robotic elastic fusion. Dr. Ghai concludes by reviewing data looking at micro-ultrasound visibility of MRI lesions and real-time targeting showing that 90% of MRI lesions were visible on micro-ultrasound and that 61% of those harbored clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) on targeted biopsy, that 43% of MRI lesions were retrospectively visible on TRUS and that 58% of those harbored csPCa, and that 24% of micro-ultrasound lesions with normal MRI were positive for csPCa.
Read MorePosted by Evan R. Goldfischer, MD, MBA | Dec 2021
Evan R. Goldfischer, MD, MBA, FACS, urologist and Director of the Research Department at Premier Medical Group in Poughkeepsie, New York, discusses hospital service line agreements and the process of negotiating beneficial pay for call contracts. He begins by explaining physician health system alignment and how alignment can look different depending on how much autonomy a physician desires. Dr. Goldfischer explains that hospitals want to partner with urologists because they need urologic specialization for a wide variety of patients and do not know how to effectively manage service lines, and that urologists should desire partnership because it reduces the incentive for internal urology departments and gives urologists the opportunity to improve the condition of their practice. He also states that there is a great deal of benefit to patients due to access to well-trained and educated specialists. Dr. Goldfischer also describes how call coverage and quality improvement service arrangements function to benefit a hospital, and outlines the call coverage responsibilities, including 24/7 coverage 365 days a year, unassigned inpatients, daily rounds, and more. He then details call coverage compensation in terms of flat fee coverage. Dr. Goldfischer explains the variables involved in deciding flat fees such as extent of burden, extent of treatment, fair market value, and probability of providing uncompensated care. He details quality based payment strategies and how to collect evidence on the positive changes a physician has made as part of a hospital as a way to prove value. Dr. Goldfischer concludes by stating that physicians understand their specialty and should be compensated for achieving higher quality work and lower costs.
Read MorePosted by Shyam S. Sukumar, MD | Dec 2021
Shyam S. Sukumar, MD, Assistant Professor of Urology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, poses the question, “What is the most accurate modality to diagnose an anterior urethral stricture?” He discusses studies that conclude that a retrograde urethrogram (RUG) is recommended over urethral ultrasonography (sono-urethrography, or SUG) or magnetic resonance urography (MRU) due to its widespread availability, familiarity, and ability to evaluate the entire urethra. Dr. Sukumar outlines treatments including endoscopic and reconstructive options. He homes in on the question of optimal initial treatment for short (1-2cm) bulbar urethral strictures, sharing data that emphasize the low success rate of direct visual internal urethrotomy (DVIU) and points out that successive DVIUs also negatively impact subsequent urethroplasty. He concludes that DVIU and dilation have similarly poor efficacy, that urethroplasty is more cost effective and clinically effective than endoscopic management, and that a single attempt at endoscopic management is appropriate for select patients but practitioners should avoid further attempts. Dr. Sukumar then turns to anastomotic urethroplasty, illustrating methods to shorten the distance in anastomotic urethroplasty and concluding the procedure has an 86-95 percent success rate at five years and an 86 percent success rate at 15 years. He explains non-transecting anastomotic urethroplasty and substitution urethroplasty, pointing out that buccal grafts are now considered standard of care. He shares data on substitution urethroplasty, noting that it is not as successful as anastomotic urethroplasty. Dr. Sukumar poses the question of whether ventral versus dorsal graft placement is desirable, citing a review concluding that the success rates are comparable, thereby recommendations take into consideration surgeon experience and that dorsal placement is preferable for distal bulbar or penile urethra. He also discusses synchronous urethral strictures, post-hypospadias recurrences for staged urethroplasty, perineal urethrostomy, and augmented perineal urethrostomy. Dr. Sukumar addresses failed prior urethroplasty, recommends one attempt at a DVIU over a dilation, and describes recommended procedures. Dr. Sukumar concludes that urethroplasty provides patients with the best outcomes, that practitioners should be prepared to adapt since no single type of repair can be presumed to be optimal preoperatively, and that evidence-based management of urethral stricture disease will benefit from better-quality studies.
Read MorePosted by Edward Weber, MD | Dec 2021
This Commentary looks at gene mutations in the BRCA Family and PARP inhibition therapy for advanced prostate cancer.
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