Nonpalpable Intratesticular Mass in a Young Man With a History of Contralateral Retractile Testis
June 15th 2017A 24-year-old otherwise healthy man with a history of retractile right testicle managed with right orchidopexy at age 9 presented with a several weeks’ history of discomfort in the left testicle. He has no family history of testicular cancer.
Combining Artificial Neural Networks and Transrectal Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer
October 1st 2003Prostate cancer management issurrounded by controversy.From the screening debatethrough choosing the best treatmentoption for localized disease, there islittle consensus on the approach to themost common solid tumor in men. Avariety of predictive models are beingdeveloped to assist in clinical decisionmaking.[1,2] Although transrectal ultrasound(TRUS)-directed prostatebiopsies represent the “gold standard”in the diagnosis of the disease, limitationsof this approach have been recognized.[3] To compensate for theselimitations, the absolute number of needlecores taken has increased from 6 to10–12 or more. TRUS enhancementssuch as color Doppler and the use ofcontrast agents hold promise, but theyhave not yet replaced the TRUS grayscaleapproach.[4]
Imaging Prostate Cancer: Current and Future Applications
March 1st 2001Various treatment options are available for adenocarcinoma of the prostate-the most common malignant neoplasm among men in the United States. To select an optimum management strategy, we must be able to identify an organ-confined disease (in which local therapy such as surgery or radiation may be beneficial) vs prostate cancer beyond the confines of the gland (for which other treatment approaches may be more appropriate). At present, no standard imaging modality can by itself reliably diagnose and/or stage adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Standard transrectal ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography, bone scans, and plain x-ray are not sufficiently reliable when used alone. Fortunately, advances in imaging technology have led to the development of several promising modalities. These modalities include color and power Doppler ultrasonography, ultrasound contrast agents, intermittent and harmonic ultrasound imaging, MR contrast imaging, MRI with fat suppression, MRI spectroscopy, three-dimensional MRI spectroscopy, elastography, and radioimmunoscintigraphy. These newer imaging techniques appear to improve the yield of prostate cancer detection and staging, but are limited in availability and thus require further validation. This article reviews the status of current imaging modalities for prostate cancer and identifies emerging imaging technologies that may improve the diagnosis and staging of this disease. [ONCOLOGY 15(3):325-342, 2001]
Molecular Staging of Prostate Cancer: Dream or Reality?
February 1st 1999Dr. de la Taille and colleagues from Columbia University provide an overview of the concept of molecular staging” of prostate cancer using reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). They do an admirable job of summarizing all of the currently available data on the results of this assay in the clinical staging of prostate cancer. As they note, only their group and one other have been able to demonstrate that a positive assay correlates with final pathologic stage. A limited number of other studies have suggested that the RT-PCR assay can predict prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence.