1.Extracorporeal shockwave therapy for Peyronie's disease: an alternative treatment?
Vassilis POULAKIS ; Konstantinos SKRIAPAS ; Rachelle de VRIES ; Wolfgang DILLENBURG ; Nikolaos FERAKIS ; Ulrich WITZSCH ; Michael MELEKOS ; Edward BECHT
Asian Journal of Andrology 2006;8(3):361-366
AIMTo determine retrospectively the safety and efficacy of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in patients with Peyronie's disease.
METHODSFifty-three patients with stable Peyronie's disease underwent ESWT (group 1). Fifteen patients matched with the baseline characteristic of the patients in group 1, who received no treatment, were used as the control (group 2). The patients' erectile function (International Index of Erectile Function [IIEF-5] score), pain severity (visual analog scale), plaque size and degree of penile angulation were assessed before and after the treatment in group 1 and during the follow-up in group 2.
RESULTSThe mean follow-up time was 32 months (range: 6-64 months) in group 1 and 35 months (range: 9-48 months) in group 2. All the patients were available for the follow-up. Considering erectile function and plaque size, no significant changes (P > 0.05) were observed in group 1 before or after the ESWT. A total of 39 patients (74%) reported a significant effect in pain relief in group 1 after ESWT. However, regarding improvement in pain, IIEF-5 score and plaque size, no significant differences were observed between the two groups. In 21 patients (40%) of group 1, the deviation angle was decreased more than 10 degrees with a mean reduction in all patients of 11 degrees (range: 6-20 degrees). No serious complications were noted considering ESWT procedure.
CONCLUSIONESWT is a minimally invasive and safe alternative procedure for the treatment of Peyronie's disease. However, the effect of ESWT on penile pain, sexual function and plaque size remains questionable.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lithotripsy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pain ; Penile Erection ; Penile Induration ; therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome
2.Previous Bladder Cancer History in Patients with High-Risk, Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer Correlates with Recurrence and Progression: Implications of Natural History.
Lampros P MITRAKAS ; Ioannis V ZACHOS ; Vassileios P TZORTZIS ; Stavros A GRAVAS ; Erasmia C ROUKA ; Konstantinos I DIMITROPOULOS ; Gerasimos P VANDOROS ; Anastasios D KARATZAS ; Michael D MELEKOS ; Athanasios G PAPAVASSILIOU
Cancer Research and Treatment 2015;47(3):495-500
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation of previous bladder cancer history with the recurrence and progression of patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer treated with adjuvant Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and to evaluate their natural history. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients were divided into two groups based on the existence of previous bladder cancer (primary, non-primary). A logistic regression analysis was used to identify the possible differences in the probabilities of recurrence and progression with respect to tumor history, while potential differences due to gender, tumor size (> 3 cm, < 3 cm), stage (pTa, T1), concomitant carcinoma in situ (pTis) and number of tumors (single, multiple) were also assessed. Univariate and multivariate models were employed. In addition, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to compare recurrence- and progression-free survival between the groups. RESULTS: A total of 192 patients were included (144 with primary and 48 with non-primary tumors). The rates of recurrence and progression for patients with primary tumors were 27.8% and 12.5%, respectively. The corresponding percentages for patients with non-primary tumors were 77.1% and 33.3%, respectively. The latter group of patients displayed significantly higher probabilities of recurrence (p=0.000; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.067 to 18.804) and progression (p=0.002; 95% CI, 1.609 to 7.614) in a univariate logistic regression analysis. Previous bladder cancer history remained significant in the multivariate model accounting for history, age, gender, tumor size , number of tumors, stage and concomitant pTis (p=0.000; 95% CI, 4.367 to 21.924 and p=0.002; 95% CI, 1.611 to 8.182 for recurrence and progression respectively). Kaplan-Meier curves revealed that the non-primary group hadreduced progression- and recurrence-free survival. CONCLUSION: Previous non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer history correlates significantly with recurrence and progression in patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive disease treated with adjuvant BCG.
Bacillus
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Carcinoma in Situ
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Disease Progression
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Disease-Free Survival
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Humans
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Logistic Models
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Mycobacterium bovis
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Natural History*
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Recurrence*
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Urinary Bladder Neoplasms*