Urology Flashcards
(304 cards)
What is the mean age of diagnosis for prostate cancer?
70-79, increasing with age
Which lower urinary tract symptoms are considered irritative and which obstructive?
Irritative- due to storage of urine
Urgency, incontinence, frequency, nocturia
Obstructive- voiding issues
Hesitancy, poor flow, intermittent stream, terminal dribbling, incomplete emptying
How would prostate cancer be investigated?
Digital rectal exam
Age-related prostate-specific antigen levels
Free: total PSA levels
(the amount of free floating PSA compared to protein-bound PSA reduces in prostate cancer)
Transrectal ultrasonography with guided biopsy.
CT/MRI + isotope bone scan if PSA >10ng/ml
How is prostate cancer graded and staged?
Which system is most useful for prognosis?
GRADING- Gleason score- x+y
Looks at architectural pattern rather than cytology.
Looks at the organisation of the glands to determine how differentiated cells are- are glands recognisable
x = the most frequent pattern seen (more than 50% of the tumour)
y = the next most frequent pattern seen in sample
STAGING TNM score will be given
T= tumour size, related to it’s infiltration of the lobes or the prostate capsule etc
N= nodes, M= metastases
Gleason grade is more useful for estimation of prognosis, but PSA TNM and Gleason will be considered when classifying risk as low, medium or high.
When would active surveillance be suitable in prostate cancer?
For patients with low risk:
low PSA (below 10ng/ml)
stage T1/T2- tumour extends throughout prostate lobes but not the capsule
Low gleason score (6)
NB: PSA is a serine protease used to liquify seminal fluid
What are the potential side effects of radical prostatectomy + external beam radiotherapy used in prostate cancer?
impotence and incontinence
aka
erectile + bowel dysfunction
When would active surveillance, prostatectomy, external beam radiotherapy, hormones or brachytherapy be used in prostate cancer?
Active surveillance- low risk disease or reduced life expectancy due to comorbidity
Prostatectomy- localised disease
Radiotherapy- localised or localised advanced disease.
Brachytherapy (radioactive seeds)- less incontinence than other Rx, but if significant obstructive/irritative symptoms they may worsen.
Makes resection more difficult afterwards.
Hormone treatment- when life expectancy is below 10 years or metastatic disease.
70 year old man with prostate cancer taking LHRH agonist (Goserelin) has had numbness in his legs and has fallen twice.
What question to ask and what management?
Spinal cord compression from bony metastases.
LHRH used to inhibit LH release, may cause initial peak in testosterone, which is converted to oestrogen and increases bone growth.
‘Has there been any urinary incontinance?’
Rx: High dose prednisolone, MRI spine, radiotherapy, start hormone therapy.
What type of cancer is prostate cancer and where does it arise in the prostate?
95% adenocarcinoma- as tissue is glandular
5% sarcoma- from stroma of prostate
70% arise in the peripheral zone, many multifocal
In hormonal treatment of prostate cancer, LHRH agonists are given. How can an initial surge in testosterone be prevented?
Anti-androgen cover for the first 2 weeks may be offered using:
Biclutamide (androgen receptor antagonist)
Flutamide
Cyproterone acetate
What are the risk factors for bladder cancer?
Find 5.
- Commoner in men than women (2:1)
- SMOKING!!!!! -aromatic amines (2-6x increased risk)
3. Jobs: Textiles Rubber industries- analine dye Gas works Sewage treatment
- Chronic irritation:
Long term catheter
Stones
Schistosomiasis (haematobium) via squamous cell cancer. - Previous radiation exposure
Pathology of bladder cancer- types
90% transitional cell carcinoma
squamous cell carcinoma- if chronic irritation from catheters, stones or schistosomiasis
adenocarcinomas- from urachal remnants of the bladder.
(urachus is the fibrous remnant of the allantois- which drains the fetal baldder)
phaeochromatomas rarely.
Patient with frank haematuria or persistent haematuria after UTI is treated.
25% of macroscopic haematuria = cancer
Tends to be painless
Irritative symptoms of: frequency, nocturia, urgency and incontience may also present in bladder cancer.
How should suspected bladder cancer be investigated?
Cystoscopy
Transurethral resection of bladder tumour
include detrusor muscle to determine muscle invasion.
Urine cytology-prior to cystoscopy
Pelvic exam/bimanual under anaesthesia to see if pelvic mass is present- indicates T3 level of disease at least.
Intravenous Urogram
In superficial non-invasive bladder cancers (pTa and pT1) how can reoccurrence be prevented following resection?
pTa and pT1 mean no invasion into bladder muscle yet.
Mitomycin C made be given into the bladder within 6-24 hours, post-resection.
Mitomycin C= potent DNA crosslinker
In high grade non-invasive/superficial bladder cancer- pT1 G3:
intravesical BCG floods the bladder to stimulate the immune system.
Given weekly for 6 weeks.
Regular follow-up cystoscopies needed to monitor disease.
How should ‘carcinoma in situ’ of the bladder be treated?
Carcinoma in situ is where malignant cells that are highly dysplastic have not yet invaded the epithelium to enter muscle.
BCG may be given weekly for 6 months or radical cystectomy may be better (removal of the bladder).
How should muscle-invasive bladder cancer be treated?
Surgery
Men- cystoprostatectomy and pelvic node dissection
Women- pelvic exenteration
anterior pelvic clearance, hysterectomy, salpingo-oopherectomy and upper third vaginectomy
May reconstruct bladder- orthotopic neobladder may use small bowel as the reservoir then reconnect this to the urethra, like a normal bladder.
Ileal conduit takes a piece of small bowel (joining the bowel back up after piece removed) and connects ureters to it, this then connects to urostomy bag on skin.
Neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy afterwards.
What percentage of cancer in men is due to prostate?
What proportion of cancer mortality is due to prostate cancer?
Commonest cancer in men
1 in 10 men aged 70 get it.
13% of deaths from cancer in men are due to prostate cancer.
What type of bone lesions are seen if prostate cancer metastases to bone?
Osteoblastic thickening of the bone (sclerotic), resembling Paget’s disease.
Other cancer mets- breast/renal cancers form lytic thinning lesions.
How does the risk of prostate cancer increase with the number of first degree relatives who’ve had it?
One 1st degree relative = 2x
Two relatives = 5x
Three relatives =11x
How should locally advanced prostate cancer be treated?
How should metastatic prostate cancer be treated?
With hormone therapy and external beam radiotherapy.
Metastatic- LHRH analogues + anti-androgen cover (to obstruct adrenally produced androgens).
What is intermediate risk prostate cancer?
Gleason 7
PSA 10-20
T stage- 2b
means tumour is in more than half of one of the lobes.
(T3 is both lobes but within capsule)
What is Peyronie’s disease?
Localised connective tissue disorder
Fibrous inelastic scar following inflammation of tunica albuginea
inability to extend corpus cavernosum causes penile angulation
PC: pain, penile nodes, penile angulation, erectile dysfunction
What is phimosis?
At birth the foreskin is fused to the glans penis and is therefore not retractable.