European Urology Today Vol. 34 No. 3 - Aug/Sept 2022

Let’s take a look at the very best of

Great topics, great research and great teamwork

The European Association of Urology delved into the very latest in urological science at the 37th Annual Congress, EAU22, on 1-4 July in Amsterdam. It was such a delight to see so many people have the opportunity to share knowledge face-to-face again and there was an ecstatic atmosphere amongst the urological community at the Amsterdam RAI.

The four-days were filled to the brim with 2,580 presentations by more than 900 speakers and 56 courses organised by the European School of Urology. This included six game-changing sessions, a day of live surgery, eight plenary sessions, nineteen thematic sessions, eighteen Section meetings, fifteen Urology Beyond Europe sessions poster presentations, prestigious awards, patient day and industry sessions. The European Association of Urology Nurses also held their annual meeting during this time.

The congress attracted over 8,000 participants from 124 countries, with some also opting to participate via the virtual option. The opening night not only honoured pioneering and promising urologists, it also commemorated the beginning of the 50th celebratory year of the EAU. Former Secretary General Prof. Frans Debruyne was awarded a bronze bust to mark his extraordinary contributions to the EAU during its 50-year existence.

This article provides a condensed overview of some highlights from EAU22, but for the most complete coverage of the Congress, you can read the full reports on www.eau2022.org/news.

Prof. Thomas Powles (GB) shared promising 30-month disease-free survival benefit with adjuvant pembrolizumab in KEYNOTE-564 study, and Prof. André Deschamps (BE) highlighted results from EUPROMS 2.0 and the importance of active surveillance, and shared decision-making for PCa treatment.

Visible haematuria case

Plenary Session 1 began with Dr. Teele Kuusk (GB) introducing a patient case of a 58-year-old female with a small renal mass centred on bilateral CT1 in her presentation, “Challenges in renal cancer”. This was followed by expert lectures on various treatment approaches and sequences addressing the case.

Prof. Alessandro Volpe (IT) said that renal tumour biopsies (RTBs) can support treatment decisions for cT1 renal masses. In his presentation “When do we perform biopsy?”, he stated that the added value of RTBs is significant in the setting of bilateral tumours, especially in older patients and patients with less than three renal masses. In addition, RTBs are safe and should be proposed especially when different treatment approaches (including active surveillance) are reasonable options. Prof. Volpe added that genetic and molecular characterisation beyond traditional histology on RTBs will have the potential to further optimise patient decision making.

"... the added value of RTBs is significant in the setting of bilateral tumours, especially in older patients and patients with less than three renal masses."

Viral concerns

The lessons we have learnt during COVID-19, including its impact on urological care, as well as urological research; and a call to action in the elimination of HPV-related cancers are some of the topics that were covered during Plenary Session 2.

Experts Dr. Oscar Brouwer (NL) and Prof. Florian Wagenlehner (DE) chaired this highly informative session.

and EULIS” (the EAU Sections of Robotic Urology and Urolithiasis, respectively), held a seven-hour “live surgery session” which is always a highlight at every Annual Congress.

Dr. Patricia Zondervan (NL) demonstrated a 3D laparoscopic radical nephrectomy on a “sticky” older female patient, leading to some discussion with the panel on the choices of her approach and also her preference for 3D laparoscopy, even for radical nephrectomy: “Especially combined with 4K, I find 3D offers a clear advantage over 2D.” The eURO Auditorium then switched focus to Prof. Henk Van

Der Poel (NL) and his robotic-assisted prostatectomy with sentinel lymph node mapping. The use of indocyanine green (ICG) under nearinfrared light, combined with radioactive tracer and the Crystal Probe device made it a (relative) breeze to find the sentinel nodes.

State-of-the-art lectures

The presentation “Landscape of current trials with intravesical treatment in high-risk BCG naïve NMIBC” by Prof. Dr. Ashish Kamat (US) kickstarted Plenary

Early bird catches the worm! Day one was set in motion at 7:30AM with the delivery of four Game Changing sessions. Prof. James Catto (GB) gave his conclusions on the “Effect of robot-assisted radical cystectomy with intracorporeal urinary diversion vs. open radical cystectomy among bladder cancer patients: a randomised clinical trial”. He stated that participants undergoing complete robotic radical cystectomy spent statistically significantly more time out of the hospital than those receiving open surgery.

Prof. Marc-Oliver Grimm (DE), shared his presentation on the “Complications with open versus robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy (OpeRa) in patients with intermediate/high complexity kidney tumours”. He concluded that the 30-day complication rate (primary outcome) was numerically lower with RAPN than OPN.

In his presentation “Large simple trials after the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learnt for urology research”, Prof. Kari Tikkinen (FI) discussed the need for better evidence-based research. His take home message was “Trials need to be as large as possible, as simple as possible, practical with minimal trouble, and deliver patient important outcomes.”

Prof. Daniel Kelly (BE), Co-Chair of the European Cancer Organisation HPV Action Network, delivered his pre-recorded lecture on “Eliminating HPV-related cancers: A call to action”. “HPV is largely preventable, yet it is the fourth most common cancer in some areas of Europe. We need to all be involved and urologists have a role to play in HPV prevention, not just in dealing with the consequences.”

Live surgery and lively debate

Day two had a strong surgical theme beginning with the Nightmare Session which presented several challenging cases during Plenary 3. Of note was the case of a ruptured kidney tumour, and the intense debate proceeding this between Prof. Andrea Minervini (IT) and medical lawyer Mr. Bertie Leigh (GB). This was an in-depth thought-provoking cross-examination!

In the afternoon the “Meeting of the EAU Section of Uro-Technology (ESUT) in cooperation with ERUS

Pfizer’s commitment to genitourinary (GU) cancer medicine.

Powered by experience. Led by science. Driven by patient care.

Learn more about

Session 4. During his lecture, he underscored that for the purpose of clinical studies, all high-grade tumours should be considered high-risk. “This is not to take away from the EAU Guidelines classification which is good for counselling patients,” said Prof. Kamat.

In his lecture “Lynch syndrome: What urologists need to know”, Prof. Rouprêt stated that Lynch syndrome is the most common familial cancer syndrome that was first described by Aldred Warthin in 1895.

In identifying Lynch syndrome in patients, Prof. Rouprêt mentioned the Bethesda criteria to test tumour for microsatellite instability (MSI), which included colorectal cancer in a patient who is younger than 50 years old, and presence of synchronous or metachronous syndromeassociated tumours regardless of age, to name a few. In addition, he mentioned the Amsterdam criteria, which involved a patient’s three relatives with a Lynch syndrome-associated cancer (e.g. colorectal cancer, endometrial, etc.) wherein one is a first-degree relative of the other two and at least two successive generations are affected; and other indicators.

More breaking news!

Day three began with several Game Changing presentations. On behalf of his team, Prof. Declan Murphy (AU) shared encouraging initial trial results for LuTectomy. “Neoadjuvant Lu-PSMA is safe, effective and surgery is very straight forward”. The session followed with Prof. Steven (BE) presenting updates on the ARNEO trial “Randomised phase II trial of neoadjuvant degarelix with or without apalutamide prior to radical prostatectomy for unfavourable intermediate- and high- risk prostate cancer. He concluded that Degarelix+apalutamide achieved better tumour response, PSMA PET SUVmax after neoadjuvant therapy predict pathological response and PTEN loss is a negative predictor of minimal residual disease.

Prof. Chapple complimented the trial as “the benchmark in a market where slings are introduced with little or no research or trials.”

Delegates then had an update on the ALTAR trial from Mr. Christopher Harding (GB) with his Game Changer presentation: Alternative to prophylactic antibiotics for the treatment of recurrent urinary tract infections in women: multicentre, open label, randomised, non-inferiority trial. He concluded that non-antibiotic prophylactic treatment with methenamine Hippurate might be appropriate for women with a history of recurrent episodes of urinary tract infections, informed patient preferences and antibiotic stewardship initiatives, given the demonstration of non-inferiority to daily antibiotic prophylaxis seen in this trial

Plenary session 6 covered the topic of personalised surgical management of LUTS/BPO, which included lectures on all of the available surgical options from resection to vaporisation, and novel techniques like the temporarily-placed urethral opening system. The session ended with a panel discussion between the 11 experts, weighing the merits of the huge variety of approaches available to urologists in 2022.

Updates on PROpel and ARASENS trial Prof. Noel William Clarke (GB) launched Game Changing Session 5 with his lecture “Exploratory endpoints from PROpel: A Phase III trial of abiraterone + olaparib vs. abiraterone + placebo in 1st line metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer” wherein he provided the findings of the trial.

shared by L.M. Wong (AU). He stated that mpMRI of the prostate remains 1st line for now and has a better diagnostic accuracy to detect any prostate cancer.

All facets of stone surgery

Some of the stone-related topics covered in session 8 were the use of access sheaths in children, devising the “perfect” algorithm for a follow-up schedule for stone disease, and several case discussions that served to highlight different approaches and different instruments.

A potentially promising new technology was presented by Prof. Jonathan Harper (US), the burst wave ESWL which uses ultrasound pulses instead of shock waves. This new technology might allow for shorter and in-office procedures. The first careful conclusions from Prof. Harper, based on the first series of in-human tests were that comminution was effective with only minimal safety concerns and that the treatment was well-tolerated and effective.

How useful is MRI?

There were plenty of scientific updates and even more lively debate in Plenary 5 on PCa high-risk local treatment. Experts Dr. Alberto Bossi (FR) and Prof. Alberto Briganti (IT), chaired this highly informative morning.

In Dr. Giorgio Gandaglia’s (IT) state-of-the-art lecture

“How does MRI change the local strategy in high-risk men? – Surgery”, he stated that MRI in high-risk patients is important to provide the prognostic information to guide the delivery of tailored surgical approaches; to identify nervesparing candidates; and to identify patients who should receive wider excision.

According to Dr. Gandaglia, MRI does have an impact on changing surgical plans in the rising risk category by up to 52%, and the surgical decisionmade based on MRI was correct on average in 91% of the high-risk group.

New mini-sling trial results

During a Game Changer session Prof. Mohamed Abdel-Fattah (GB) presented the recent results of the Single Incision Mini-Slings versus Standard Synthetic Mid-Urethral Slings in the Surgical Management of Stress Urinary Incontinence in Women (SIMS RCT). The percentage of patients reporting success remained similar in the two groups at the three-year follow-up, as recently reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. The trial will continue up to the ten-year mark.

At discussion time Prof. Chris Chapple (GB), made it clear that that the results of the trial were welcomed.

In the next presentation “Overall survival (OS) by circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) status in patients with post-operative muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma (MIUC) treated with atezolizumab (atezo): update from IMvigor010”, Prof. Jürgen Gschwend (DE) shared that with longer follow-up since the interim analysis, ctDNA-positive status continued to identify patients at high risk of relapse who have improved OS with atezolizumab in contrast to observation.

The ”Overall Survival With Darolutamide Versus Placebo in Combination With Androgen-deprivation Therapy and Docetaxel by Stratification Factors in the Phase 3 ARASENS Trial” update was presented by Prof. Bertrand Tombal (BE) and the “Phase III study comparing diagnostic accuracy of mpMRI prostate to 18F-DCPyL PSMA PET/CT” results were

EAU Speciality Session – “The best of EAU22”

On the afternoon of day four an EAU Specialty Session on the “BEST of EAU22” was held, with a panel of experts sharing condensed summaries on 11 topics covering important research and data. This gave delegates an opportunity to a highly concentrated dose of the EAU22 scientific programme.

All webcasts, videos, posters and full-text abstracts are currently accessible via the EAU22 Resource Centre. Delegates have full access. If you did not attend EAU22, you can still register for on demand access if you would like to view all of the EAU22 content (accreditation is no longer valid). For more details, see www.eau22.org

Update from the Guidelines Office

A warm welcome to our newly appointed Board Members and Panel Chairs

New appointments to Guidelines Office Board

The Guidelines Office (GO) is delighted to welcome Prof. Monique Roobol to the GO Board. Prof. Roobol is an epidemiologist and Professor in Decision Making in Urology and the Head of the Scientific Research Office within the Department of Urology at Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Since 2018 Prof. Roobol has played an important role within the IMI PIONEER project for big data in prostate cancer coordinated by the EAU. She is also the current chairwoman of the European Randomized study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) Foundation, and the Dutch Prostate Cancer Research Foundation (SWOP).

As part of her role within the GO Board, Prof. Roobol will provide expertise on epidemiology and guidance on the role of real world evidence and big data in guidelines development, drawing from her PIONEER and OPTIMA experience.

The Guidelines Board is also pleased to announce the appointment of Prof. Steven Canfield as the new Chair of the GO Methods Committee, whose remit is the development and implementation of methodological standards across all EAU guidelines.

Prof. Canfield has been a member of the GO Methods Committee since 2016 and has been instrumental in driving forward the GO’s implementation of GRADE. He was formerly a member of the Renal Cell Carcinoma Guidelines Panel and has vast experience in the development of clinical guidelines.

Going forward he is committed to the methodological support of all Guidelines Panels and also to developing methodological guidance for how real-world data might be incorporated into the guidelines to inform recommendation statements.

He is currently an Associate Professor and Chair of the Division of Urology at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston.

New EAU Guidelines Office Panel Chairs

The Guidelines Office is pleased to announce the appointment of three new Panel Chairs, following the departure of existing Chairs who had completed their terms of office. Each new appointment brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the Chair role and, building upon the work of their predecessors, will ensure that the EAU Guidelines continue to remain leaders in the field of urological guidelines.

Prof. Jean-Nicolas Cornu has succeeded Prof. Gravas as the Chair of the Male LUTS Panel. As a full professor of Urology since 2016, and a previous associate editor for European Urology, Prof. Cornu has dedicated his clinical, research, and educational activities to the field of functional urology and incontinence. With his knowledge and experience, he is full of energy and ambition to lead the Male LUTS panel.

Prof. David Nicol has taken over as Chair of the Testicular Cancer Panel from Prof. Pilar Laguna. From a clinical perspective, over the past 10 years, Prof. Nicol has practised exclusively in testicular and kidney cancer. With strong leadership skills and extensive experience in the field of testicular cancer, his solid background will be relied upon in the course of guiding the panel.

Prof. Paolo Gontero succeeds the departing Prof. Marek Babjuk as Chair of the Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Panel. Prof. Gontero has served as a panel member of the Non-MuscleInvasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC) Panel since 2016. Prof. Gontero is passionately committed to ensuring the best new evidence is incorporated into the guidelines and promoting their dissemination amongst the urological community. Not only does he plan to liaise with patient associations to better

General

The EAU General Assembly took place on the morning of day two at the annual congress, giving members an update on the Association’s activities, as well as voting in and approving new positions. This was the first in-person General Assembly since 2019.

EAU Secretary General, Prof. Chris Chapple (GB) began his report with the following statement: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues on the executive, and my colleagues on the board, for all the hard work they are doing with their committees, and also in particular, the staff of the EAU, without whom and very clearly, none of this would be possible.“

There was a special mention on the EAU 50th anniversary celebrations which began at EAU22 in Amsterdam and will end at EAU23 in Milan.

EAU Treasurer, Prof. Jen Sønksen (DK) delivered the previous year’s financial results, and then communicated the current updates and future activities planned by the executive team from the EAU Offices.

Communications

European Urology is now the top-ranking journal in the fields of urology and nephrology and general surgery (highest IF according to ISI Thompson), with a current Impact Factor of 24,267. There were more than 2.5 million PDF downloads in 2021 and more than 1.7 million visits to www. europeanurology.com.

The EAU’s website, www.uroweb.org was completely redesigned earlier this year and page views have increased by 54% when comparing statistics from March-June 2021 and March-June

2022. There were close to 1.9 million page views, and just over 252,000 users within this quarterly time period.

Several new ways of communicating educational information have been established, and are full steam ahead - EAU podcasts, Urology Cheat Sheets and two web platforms, UROONCO and UROLUTS.

The EAU’s Twitter account is ranked number #1 in urology and has increased its followers in the last three years by a whopping 550%! When looking at statistics from all the EAU social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram) there has been an increase in followers by 94% over the past year, with a total of 78,755 at June 2022.

New meetings and guidelines

The Section Office gave an update on the

understand the unmet needs and expectations of patients, but also aims to analyse more in-depth sub-topics.

The GO welcomes the three new Panel Chairs and thanks them for their magnanimous investment of time and expertise to improve the field of urology. The GO would also like to thank the previous Chairs for all their time and commitment, and for providing a solid foundation for the new chairs to build upon.

The 2022 Guidelines Print

Although the pocket and extended versions of the 2022 EAU Guidelines had been officially launched on-line in March, the new editions of both publications were handed out at the Annual EAU Congress in Amsterdam and were in high demand. We were pleased to make more than 1,000 doctors happy with their own copy. Copies of the 2022 EAU Guidelines can be ordered through MyEAU (also for non-EAU members): https://myeau.uroweb.org/myeau/signup

UROtech meeting, which was held in Instanbul in May. This was a joint meeting of the EAU Sections of Uro-technology (ESUT) and Urolithiasis (EULIS), in collaboration with the Robotic Urology section (ERUS). Another new meeting format, UROonco is planned in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 30 June to 2 July 2023, which will replace the ESOU standalone meeting. The Section Office will continue to work together with the ESU on a variety of UROwebinars.

The Guidelines Office released the 2022 Guidelines on 9 March this year. Within the first 10 days alone, they recorded more than 390,000 views online, which resulted in over 100,000 guidelines sessions generated on Uroweb, and more than 50,000 downloads.

The Patient Office shared several new initiatives, one that is becoming particularly popular is the animated educational videos made with simple language, and in several different languages. There are 18 in total, with the latest additions on ADT-related CVD and OAB Syndrome. There have been 6,866,485 views of these videos on YouTube and Facebook to date.

The EAU Research Foundation delivered its future strategy, with four pillars, the development of a urological international research programme; to stimulate, facilitate and conduct clinical registries; to promote innovative work on research questions; and to have a data haven for real-world-evidence.

A new Secretary General in 2023 It was a conclusive result at the General

Assembly for Prof. Arnulf Stenzl (DE) to be the next Secretary General when Prof. Chapple stands down at the end of EAU23 in Milan in March next year. Stenzl previously served as Chair of the Scientific Congress Office and joined the EAU Executive as Adjunct Secretary General – Science in 2019.

Prof. Stenzl will be only the 7th General Secretary in over 50 years when he succeeds Prof. Chapple. His historic predecessors are Profs. Gregoir, Steg, Debruyne, Teillac and Abrahamsson.

Prof. Stenzl: “It is truly a great honour to follow these giants, who have achieved so much not only for the European Association of Urology, but for urologists and urology in Europe and beyond.”

Over the next eight months as the Secretary General Elect, Prof. Stenzl will shadow Prof. Chapple. “I am happy and thankful to be able to

learn and observe from such a great personality and leader, as Prof. Chapple.”

Asked what priorities he holds for the EAU in the coming years, Prof. Stenzl replied: “I want to see stability and continuity in the many wellfunctioning segments of the EAU, like the Central Office, Education and Guidelines. Priorities are increasing our membership, building up databases to create useful patient-reported outcomes, which in turn can be used to adjust diagnosis and treatment in urology.”

Prof. Chapple has held the position of Secretary General for two four-year terms and he was confident in the qualities of his successor: “I know that the association will be in very capable and strong hands under the leadership of Prof. Stenzl.”

New Chair – Young Urologists Office Dr. Juan Luis Vásques (DK) was approved as the

new Chair of the Young Urologists Office. He thanked his predecessor: “This is a huge pleasure, thank you to Michiel Sedelaar over these last few years for his guidance and leadership, it has been an honour to work with you.”

“I would like to focus very much on recruiting young urologists and collaborating throughout all the EAU Offices’. That is my goal, and I will do my best to do so.”

EAU Membership

Total EAU membership stands at 19,883 as measured on 30 June 2022. Three new Honorary EAU Members were proposed and approved by the General Assembly: Dr. John Denstedt (Canada), Mrs. Romana Nijman (NL) and Prof. Manfred Wirth (DE).

The next General Assembly will take place at EAU23 in Milan, Italy in March.

Report: 2022 EAU Meets National Societies Meeting

First meeting since 2019 organised around five important topics for Europe’s urological societies

There are many important areas in urology where the national interests intersect with the international, which is why the EAU and Europe’s national urological societies have many shared interests and need each other to succeed.

Holding a National Societies Meeting every year is a proven way for EAU to engage and work directly with representatives of Europe’s urological societies and to better assess and address their needs. This meeting is traditionally held in the Dutch coastal town of Noordwijk and this year marked its return after a three-year absence. The meeting is the perfect occasion for the EAU and the representatives to discuss urological topics that resonate on both a continental and national level, like education, regulation and long-term research.

In Noordwijk, on 7 May 2022, the EAU welcomed representatives from 34 European countries. The 57 representatives were divided into five smaller working groups. EAU board members then rotated between the groups to discuss the following pressing topics: EU support for PCa early detection programmes; how the EAU can support educational and scientific needs in Europe; how to engage patients; building a network of clinical practice guideline stakeholders; and finally the importance of involving younger urologists in research and data management.

This edition of the Noordwijk meeting was also the first for many of the new EAU board members who took their positions during the pandemic and had yet to attend.

Representation of Europe in ESU faculty

There was a passionate appeal from the Chairman of the European School of Urology (ESU) Prof. Evangelos Liatsikos (Patras, GR) to attract ESU faculty from more countries in Europe. “We can’t have a situation where there’s 93 ESU faculty members from one country but none from another,” Prof. Liatsikos gave as an example. “I call upon the national urological societies to propose candidates, highly motivated and academic urologists who can be called upon to teach at ESU events.”

The school also has the potential to help national societies directly, by supporting national meetings with a masterclass or course. In group discussions, the question was raised of how much ESU faculty ‘represented’ their country, and in how far the national societies actually are aware of ‘their’ urologists being involved in the European School. It was concluded that while participation in ESU is a personal matter, there is a role for national societies to spot and nominate faculty from their country. New faculty members will be rated by course participants, like all ESU faculty, and participation could be a stepping stone for further international opportunities.

New EAU offices with European scope

The Patient Office is the newest Office to be added to the EAU’s organisation, and together with the Policy Office this was the first Noordwijk meeting where the national societies were introduced to their respective chairs: Prof. Eamonn Rogers (Galway, IE) and Prof. Hein Van Poppel (Leuven, BE).

“…while participation in ESU is a personal matter, there is a role for national societies to spot and nominate faculty from their country.”

In one discussion group, Prof. Rogers tried to get a sense of how Europe’s national societies approached patient advocacy groups, and whether or not they provided patient information in their local languages. He also explained how the creation of the new Patient Office reflected the EAU’s commitment to patient empowerment. Being based on the EAU Guidelines, any EAU Patient Information publications or portal has a huge advantage in quality and potential for other societies who currently lack their own. There was discussion about a potential drop in quality when patient information is translated, and also about representatives’ experiences with patient groups and in some cases their industry ties. Prof. Rogers also pointed out how involvement from patients helps rethink certain priorities for urologists, who might historically tend

to focus on curing certain ailments with less concern for lifestyle.

Prof. Van Poppel spoke to the groups regarding Europe-wide efforts to improve urological care, and how the EAU can best represent the interests of urologists in this international arena. The Policy Office is asking the national societies to share PCa mortality rates, current strategies for early detection and reimbursement policies. Urologists with access to their countries’ respective ministries of health would be extremely helpful in formulating a continent-wide approach as is currently taking shape.

There was some discussion among participants about the historic concerns with the use of the word “screening” when it comes to prostate cancer, and strong preference for “early detection”. However, because screening is one of the official pillars for the European Commission, the EAU’s efforts had to clearly correspond to those efforts and adopt some of this terminology.

Research and the EAU Guidelines

The two other major topics concerned urology research and the EAU’s Guidelines. Prof. Maria Ribal (Barcelona, ES) was another new chair who could introduce herself to representatives in Noordwijk. Prof. Ribal presented the Guidelines Office’s efforts and initial results with the IMAGINE project: an impact assessment that measures baseline adherence to EAU Guidelines recommendations across Europe and identifies barriers which drive non-adherence. Seeking to attract more participants in the project, the discussion turned to “data fatigue”

and streamlining the efforts to share data from participating centres.

The final topic addressed research, science and the EAU Data Haven and specifically how to get young urologists involved. Discussions were led by Prof. Anders Bjartell (Malmö, SE) on behalf of the EAU Research Foundation, Dr. Juan Gómez Rivas (Madrid, ES) and Juan Luis Vásquez (Roskilde, DK) on behalf of the Young Academic Urologists and EAU Young Urologists Office respectively. Together with the national representatives, they discussed the challenges of motivating younger colleagues to pursue a career in research, or to combine their surgical activities with an academic career.

Challenges included: motivating young urologists to delay or postpone their surgical career in favour of a long-term approach that includes research and academia, and a more general lack of available residents in certain less populous countries. The EAU’s role could be to approach medical students and stimulate research at an earlier stage in their careers; to organise regional meetings that attract abstract submissions and to offer a toolset that helps residents conduct research and publish.

EAU Secretary General Prof. Chris Chapple (Sheffield, GB) closed the meeting, reflecting on how the Association evolved since the last Noordwijk meeting. The pandemic conditions forced new realities on the EAU’s events but also its offices’ activities and priorities. Cooperation with Europe’s national societies remains key in raising the level of urological care across the whole continent.

First year of the EAU Policy Office - An update

Europe-wide PCa early detection, digital health and patient advocacy key topics

Prof. Hein Van Poppel Chairman EAU Policy Office Leuven (BE)

hendrik.vanpoppel@ kuleuven.be

Prof. Philip Van Kerrebroeck Vice Chairman EAU Policy Office Leuven (BE)

urolmaas@ hotmail.com

Mrs. Sarah Collen

EAU Policy Coordinator Brussels (BE)

Bladder cancer

Along with the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition (WBCPC), we are working on a White Paper on Bladder Cancer which we aim to launch at the beginning of 2023, hopefully in the European Parliament.

Kidney Cancer

The International Kidney Cancer Coalition (IKCC) plans to run a Roundtable in Brussels in November 2022/2023 and has secured MEP hosts for the event. The EAU Policy Office will support them as they develop the programme and recommendations for this first policy event in Brussels.

Bladder and prostate cancers and urinary problems

The EAU will co-organise a Roundtable on this subject in October 2022 in the European Parliament, hosted by MEP Tomislav Sokol. Co-organisers are Europa Uomo, WBCPC and the World Federation on Incontinence and Pelvic Pain (WFIPP).

We are also involved in two EU4Health funded projects coordinated by the European Cancer Organisation; one on the creation of an interspecialty cancer training programme - a project called INTERACT, and one on the creation of a Smart Card/ App for cancer patients - this one is called SmartCare.

Digital health and big data European Health Data Space

group of multiple stakeholders who are planning some joint advocacy work on the EHDS in the near future (watch this space!).

The EAU is also collaborating with EU member state governments as they start to plan for the implementation of the European Health Data Space in a Joint Action called TEHDAS and we are following the EMA’s Big Data Taskforce. [3]

“The opinion of the Chief Scientific Advisors followed the evidence and recommended to “extend screening programmes to prostate specific antigen (PSA)based prostate cancer screening, in combination with additional MRI scanning as a follow-up test,”…”

Regulation of medicines and devices

implementation of the Medical Devices Regulation.

Research and innovation

We are actively involved in a coalition that draws on the experience of medical societies and patient organisations on combatting bureaucracy in clinical trials. Additionally we were able to provide input to clinical networks considering EU funding as an option, either through Horizon Europe or the EU4Health Programme and have been involved in submissions for EU funded projects related to the EAU vision and mission.

Patient advocacy

Patient advocacy is a theme that runs across all EAU Policy Office activities, but we also want to draw attention to it in our work as a priority issue. A new project that is exemplary for the integration of patient engagement in our strategy is Continence Health, a new theme of work that has commenced under the leadership of Prof. Van Kerrebroeck.

s.collen@uroweb.org

It has been a year since the EAU Policy Office was officially established and that year has gone by quickly. We would like to update you on the progress we have made at the European level with governmental institutions, national urological societies, patient organisations and in the field of digital health and big data.

EU Cancer Plan

Early detection of prostate cancer

You will remember that, following the update of the White Paper on Prostate Cancer, a key priority has been to get Prostate Cancer added to the EU Cancer Screening Recommendations. The European Commission is updating these recommendations from 2003 as part of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. The Commission appointed a group of Chief Scientific Advisors to look into this on their behalf.

The evidence review [1] performed came out positively for the addition of Prostate and Lung Cancers. Policy Office Chairman Prof. Van Poppel’s input and the EAU’s Recommendations were considered as part of that review. The opinion of the Chief Scientific Advisors [2] followed the evidence and recommended to “extend screening programmes to prostate specific antigen (PSA)-based prostate cancer screening, in combination with additional MRI scanning as a follow-up test, as there is good evidence that screening with PSA testing can reduce deaths from prostate cancer.” This is without doubt a landmark opinion.

What is on the horizon?

• The European Commission will issue the updated review of the EU Cancer Screening Recommendations in Q3. A leaked version of this reveals that the Commission will recommend Prostate Cancer screening guidelines to be developed.

If this is successful, the EAU will be committed to continuing the work with the European Commission to ensure evidence-based guidelines are drawn up on prostate cancer screening. Our work with national patient organisations, national urological societies and national governments must be ramped up to ensure that national cancer plans adopt and implement these guidelines.

• The EAU recently led a consortium in a bid for EU4Health funds on producing guidelines and implementing pilots of Prostate Cancer Screening programme, called PRAISE-U. If this is successful, we hope to begin work in Q4 2022. None of the above is possible without the strong support and involvement of the national urological societies in Europe and patient associations.

On 3 May 2022 the European Commission published a proposal for Regulation on the European Health Data Space. This proposal will now be debated and amended by Members of the European Parliament and EU member states. Once approved, as a Regulation, this piece of legislation will become law across each EU member state and each country will have to comply with the provisions.

What is the proposal about and why is it important for urologists?

There are three main goals;

• Empowering citizens to access and control their personal electronic health data - each EU citizen should have access to electronic health records such as patient summaries and e-prescriptions by 2030 - and be able to use these records in other EU countries (when they go on holiday or live abroad).

Ensuring a consistent framework for the use of individuals’ data for research, innovation, policymaking and regulatory activitiesproviding infrastructure and a legal framework that will allow safe and secure re-use of electronic data across the EU.

• Creating a genuine single market for digital health services and products through introducing new rules on the interoperability of Electronic Health Records in line with the European Commission’s Recommendations on a European EHR Exchange Format, including a self-assessed conformity assessment procedure and market surveillance agencies to monitor conformity of products on the market.

There will be two infrastructures - one for primary care (MyHealth@EU), and one for the re-use of health data (HealthData@EU). MyHealth@EU already exists and builds on voluntary work that is already ongoing between member states.

In short, it means that urologists will all have to come to terms with entering data into electronic records and the different benefits and challenges that brings.

The Commission has also proposed that patients will have the right to add and amend their data (this will be clearly marked) and restrict data from being accessed by health care practitioners.

On the re-use of data, the vision is in line with EAU-led projects such as OPTIMA (https://optima-h2020.eu/ trials/) and PIONEER (https://prostate-pioneer.eu/) and the EAU aims to make sure that what is proposed is practical, workable and genuinely supportive for clinicians and researchers as data holders and users of this system to conduct much-needed health research on unanswered questions. The Policy Office contributes actively to the work of the European Medicine Agency’s Big Data taskforce through interactions with both PIONEER and OPTIMA.

Prof. N’Dow and Mrs. Collen also co-chair the Health Data Task Force of the Biomed Alliance which issues joint statements and opinions on the European Health Data Space (EHDS) and we lead an informal

It is with great pleasure that we announce that, after an application process, we were reinvited to be members of the European Medicines Agency Healthcare Practitioners Working Party. Prof. De Reijke and Prof. Sakalis will represent the EAU in this working party of the EMA.

As well as authorising new medicines and monitoring their use, the EMA issues related guidelines and guidance. The most recent is a guideline on Good practice guidance for patient and healthcare professional organisations on the prevention of shortages of medicines for human use. (4)

Prof. Van Kerrebroeck is also contributing to a paper on the regulation of medicines and frailty and the elderly. Prof. Rassweiler continues to represent the EAU on the scientific expert group of the European Commission that was created as part of the

The EAU will be developing an advocacy strategy on this to raise awareness and bring attention to these important issues, working with WFIPP, the International Continence Society (ICS) and other key partners. It will draw on the recommendations made during the Roundtable on Sustainable Continence Care at the Patient Day at EAU22. If you are interested in becoming more involved in this work, please reach out to s.collen@uroweb.org.

References

1. https://sapea.info/topic/cancer-screening/

2. European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Group of Chief Scientific Advisors, (2022). Cancer screening in the European Union, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data. europa.eu/doi/10.2777/867180

3. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/about-us/how-we-work/ big-data

4. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/other/ good-practice-guidance-patient-healthcare-professionalorganisations-prevention-shortages-medicines_en.pdf

PTNS in neurogenic and non-neurogenic LUTS Understanding the role of tibial nerve electric stimulation after 20 years of research

Prof. Enrico Finazzi Agrò ESFFU Board Member Unit of Urology Director

Policlinico Tor Vergata University Hospital Rome (IT) finazzi.agro@ med.uniroma2.it

Dr. Eleonora Rosato Resident in Urology

Tor Vergata University Hospital Rome (IT)

eleonoraros92@ gmail.com

Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) is a neuromodulation treatment, usually indicated for the treatment of patients with overactive bladder (OAB) after the failure of conservative management. [1] It is a minimally invasive therapy, usually performed in an outpatient setting over the course of 10-12 weeks. It consists of electrical stimulation of the sacral micturition centre via the sacral nerve plexus, via a 34-gauge needle or a patch positioned above the medial malleolus. [2-3] Mild pain and discomfort at the puncture site are the most common adverse events, treatment adherence is as high as 89.7%. [4] Contra-indications include a cardiac pacemaker and skin disease at the site of stimulation.

This technique was described by Stoller in the late 1990s for the treatment of overactive bladder syndrome [5], following a study carried out by

McGuire. [6] He showed that the transcutaneous electric stimulation of the posterior tibial nerve can suppress neurogenic detrusor overactivity (DO). EAU guidelines recommend PTNS in female patients with urinary urge incontinence (UUI) who have no benefit from anticholinergic drug administration [1] and in male patients to reduce anal pain and Chronic Primary Prostate Syndrome (CPPS) refractory to conventional therapeutic approaches. [24] PTNS may also be effective for faecal incontinence (FI): 63-82% of patients reported more than 50% reduction of FI. Nevertheless, recent data do not seem to support the use of PTNS in this indication. [7-8]

Frequency, bladder capacity and nocturia improvements were documented in randomised controlled trials (RCTs), carried out mostly in women. The overall success rates reported vary between 43% and 94%. [9] There is some evidence that PTNS may benefit male patients with OAB, but available data are scarce. [1]

Mixed neurogenic patients

Few reports have been published on the effects of PTNS in mixed neurogenic patients (Parkinson’s disease (PD), multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injury (SCI)). In PD, LUTS frequency was estimated as 30% at onset and 70% after 5 years. Kabay et al. [10] demonstrate an improvement of LUTS and urodynamic parameters in PD patients treated with a tapering protocol during 24 months (nocturia decreased by 2.4 voids; p = < 0.001) and voided volume improved by a mean of 71.4 cc (p < 0.05). In MS, efficacy of a single PTNS session shows a significant suppression of the DO and a significant decrease of OAB symptoms (urge frequency, warning time). 50% of patients show an increment in the first involuntary detrusor contraction volume and maximum cystometric capacity. [11]

Other indications

PTNS has also been used in the treatment of non-obstructive urinary retention (NOUR) [12] with a success rate of 41-100%, according to the parameters

chosen to classify ‘success’ (reducing catheterised bladder volume/24h, reduction of at least two pads/ day recorded in the bladder diary). [3] It is demonstrated in some RCTs including male patients with chronic pelvic pain that PTNS may improve the QoL and pain scores measured by validated questionnaires. [24,13] Few data demonstrate the improvements of voiding diaries, ICSI, ICPI and VAS scores after 12 weeks of PTNS [14] in patients with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). [15] Significant improvements in mean voiding volume (MVV) and decreasing nocturia were observed. [16] Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an independent risk factor for overactive bladder (OAB) and could be treated with PTNS. There is scarce evidence of efficacy of this type of neuromodulation. [17]

Predictive success factors

Predictive factors of success of PTNS seem to be the urodynamic characteristics of OAB (OAB patients not showing detrusor overactivity) and, in NOUR, patients with milder symptoms. [12] Bad mental health seems to be a negative predictive success factor of PTNS in all patients. [18] BMI of obesity (= 30 kg/m2) is another significant variable predictive of failure in the response to PTNS (p = 0.002). [19] Unfortunately, no predictive factors can help foresee patient response to the treatment, but flexion of the big toe seems to correlate with the success of PTNS. [20] All studies on idiopathic OAB demonstrate that combination therapy (PTNS + antimuscarinic drug) is more effective compared to drug alone in OAB symptoms improvement. [21]

TTNS

Transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) is an effective, safe intervention for idiopathic or neurogenic OAB in adults, also in combination with antimuscarinic drugs. In MS and in refractory OAB, daily TTNS sessions show significant clinical improvement. Available data seem to indicate that PTNS and TTNS have the same efficacy. [22] TTNS could also be considered for home-based therapy in patients who have positively responded to PTNS.

TTNS therapy combined with pelvic floor exercises and bladder training improves OAB symptoms in elderly women. [22]

Implantable technologies

Over the last years, new implantable technologies have become available. They can be implanted under local anaesthesia in on-stage procedures. They are less invasive than implantable sacral neurostimulators. There are no data about treatment protocol but daily stimulation at home seems to be safe. Few data are available, but these are superimposable with PTNS (70.6% of patients show improved OAB symptoms after 6 weeks). [23]

Key points

• PTNS is a neuromodulation therapy indicated for OAB symptoms in idiopathic patients; some neurogenic patients with nOAB may also benefit.

• The most frequently used protocol is a 30-minute weekly session for 10 - 12 weeks.

• Bad mental state and BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 are negative predictive factors for success.

• PTNS may also be indicated in chronic pelvic pain, interstitial cystitis but not in faecal incontinence.

• Non-obstructive urinary retention (NOUR) improves after PTNS treatment (reducing CIC/day).

• Combination therapy (PTNS+ antimuscarinic drugs) is more effective compared with drugs or PTNS alone.

• TTNS seems to have the same efficacy as PTNS.

• Over the last years, new implantable PTNS systems have become available.

The complete reference list of this article is available from the EUT Editorial Office. Please send an e-mail to: h.lurvink@uroweb.org with reference to the article “PTNS in neurogenic and non-neurogenic LUTS” by Prof. E. Finazzi Agró, Aug/Sep. issue 2022.

ARIETTATM 65 IntuitiveFusion Ultrasound System

Streamline Map Application Rigid Target

procedure with a

step-by-step technique for highly accurate needle placement & advanced reporting system

prostate and

easily for targeted and systematic template cores biopsy guidance. Fully customisable environment!

with optimized workflow, provided by the foot pedal keeping the user’s hands free from touching the control panel & preserve the focus on patient care.

and

Creating intelligent SMART solutions for prostate fusion biopsy

Thank you for being with

at

2022!

for a

Clinical challenge

Oliver.Hakenberg@ med.uni-rostock.de

Case study No. 72

This 40-year-old man was an emergency referral for acute anuria, severe dyspnea

(10x20

the

was

of the

The Clinical challenge section presents

interesting or difficult clinical problems which in a subsequent issue of EUT will be discussed by experts from different European countries as to how they would manage the problem.

Readers are encouraged to provide interesting and challenging cases for discussion at h.lurvink@uroweb.org

as

• serum creatinine 119 µmol/l

• serum potassium 6.0 mmol/l

The patient was tested positive for COVID-19. The CT scan, performed without contrast media because of acute renal failure, is shown in fig. 1-3.

Discussion point

What immediate and further management is necessary?

Case provided by Prof. Oliver Hakenberg, Dept. of Urology, University Hospital Rostock, Germany.

E-mail: oliver.hakenberg@med.uni-rostock.de

Covid-19 pneumonia, acute renal failure and metastatic non-seminoma

This patient is in a dire situation with a metastatic non-seminomatous germ cell tumour. He must be immediately transferred to a specialist testicular cancer centre given the complexity of care he will require. Orchiectomy should not be considered at this point as the diagnosis is clearly based on clinical and radiological parameters. Nephrostomy drainage must be undertaken for both kidneys to correct his acute renal failure as an initial step. His chest CT demonstrates pulmonary changes. These do not appear typical of metastatic disease and

thus may reflect active COVID infection – limiting or preventing treatment.

Systemic chemotherapy needs to be commenced immediately, if feasible, despite his clinical condition. This should comprise an initial cycle of etoposide and carboplatin at reduced doses. Cis-platinum should not be used at this stage due to its nephrotoxicity and potential exacerbation of acute kidney injury.

Bleomycin should also not be considered due to its pulmonary toxicity. G-CSF support will be required and should be commenced before cytopenia emerges. Issues related to his disease, drug toxicity and sepsis will need to be addressed during this early period. A protracted period in intensive care is likely as well as a mortality risk in excess of 50%.

With subsequent cycles it may be feasible to use standard drug doses, replace carboplatin with

cis-platinum and possibly commence ifosfamide as a third drug. His nephrostomies could also be substituted for internal stents when his renal function stabilises.

Given the drug and dosage restrictions as well as deviations from standard protocol timing at least four cycles of treatment will be required based on marker response, side effects and his clinical course. If this is feasible surgery would then need to be considered. Assuming markers return to normal orchiectomy should be performed as the primary may still harbour active disease despite systemic response. Similarly, residual metastatic masses persist with full marker response surgical resection, if feasible, will need to be considered. Significant deconditioning is almost certain to occur and thus any major surgical intervention may need to be deferred for some time.

Haemodialysis due to life-threatening acute renal failure

Based on the short description of the medical history and the attached CT scans, the patient is facing three significant clinical problems: Non-seminomatous testicular germ cell tumour of intermediate or poor prognosis with large retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis acute renal failure with hyperkalaemia due to obstructive nephropathy or prerenal aetiology acute COVID-19 infection associated with significant pulmonary disease and dyspnoea, which also might be caused by lung oedema due to renal insufficiency

The immediate treatment should consist of

1. haemodialysis (HD) to lower serum potassium levels due to the life threatening condition of potassium ≥ 6.0 mmol/l. Conservative measures such as high dose furosemide, intravenous calcium gluconate, intravenous insulin plus glucose most probably will not work sufficiently

2. blood pH should be measured to rule out metabolic acidosis which should be managed by 8.4% bicarbonate iv

3. oxygen supply in case of decreased oxygen saturation; due to moderate COVID-associated symptoms the addition of systemic corticosteroids is not indicated according to ESCMID COVID-19 guidelines

4. placement of endoluminal stents due to anticipated upper urinary tract obstruction. Although the 2 CT images do not allow a sufficient visualization of both kidneys the large mass with encasement of the large retroperitoneal vessels and the displacement of the bowel raises the suspicion of urinary obstruction.

Further management should consist of • cytotoxic chemotherapy, which should be initiated once the immediate measures have resulted in metabolic stabilization of the patient

• induction course of chemotherapy with either one cycle of PE or 50% dose of TIP followed by 4 cycles of TIP/PEI with regular dosing. Induction chemotherapy is appropriate to avoid tumour lysis syndrome in the situation of both, a large tumour mass and renal insufficiency. Due to renal insufficiency, pulmonary disease and age, bleomycin should be avoided.

Chemotherapy can be delivered in patients with no or mild COVID-19 associated symptoms since there is no evidence that those cancer patients are at an increased mortality risk from COVID-19

Case study No. 72 continued

This patient was severely ill with metastatic non-seminoma germ cell tumour, acute renal failure and COVID-19 pneumonia. We admitted him to intensive care and implemented dialysis.

Anti-COVID antibodies (casrivimib/imdevimib) were given. We then performed radical orchidectomy, with histopathology showing a pT3 L1 V1 R1 non-seminoma with 60% embryonal carcinoma and 40% yolk sac tumour, multiple lymph and blood vessel invasions and extensive infiltration of the spermatic cord.

The day after orchidectomy, dose-reduced chemotherapy with cisplatinum, etoposide and ifosfamide (PIE) was started. Bleomycine was not chosen because of the existing pulmonary disease and a long smoking history. Dose reduction to 50% of the normal doses was used. Dialysis treatment was continued and invasive respiration had to be done temporarily.

Neutropenia, marked electrolyte imbalance,

Case study

A 29-year-old man had previous hypospadias surgery with good functional and cosmetic results on the distal urethra. But a few years later, he complains of dysuria. A voiding urethrogram showed a short bulbar stricture (Fig. 1).

Two direct vision internal urethrotomies were performed without lasting success. Following that, another excision and primary anastomosis was done, also with complete failure.

disease as compared with those not on active cancer treatment

• In the specific situation, at least cycle 1 of chemotherapy needs to be delivered with the patient on HD. Cisplatin is predominantly metabolized by the kidneys and only the free form but not the plasma bound form is haemodialysable. With regard to etoposide, it is partially excreted by the kidneys and it cannot be eliminated by HD. Therefore, chemotherapy is reduced in dose by about 50% followed by HD about 1 hour post chemotherapy. Once the renal function has been re-established full dose can be delivered Following chemotherapy, radical orchiectomy and most probably post-chemotherapy RPLND has to be performed.

hypoalbuminemia and hypothyroidism occurred and had to be treated. Assisted respiration was discontinued after a few days and renal function returned to normal.

After timely full clinical recovery, chemotherapy was recommenced without delay in the usual regimen and a further three courses of PIE chemotherapy were given in full dosage with pegfilgastrim prohylaxis. The response to chemotherapy was good, with regression of the metastatic lesions on CT after two cycles and further regression seen after completion of four cycles. After two cycles of chemotherapy, AFP was down to 2295 IU/ml and had normalized after the fourth cycle.

Following that, post-chemo retroperitoneal lymph node dissection was performed and the left kidney was removed due to complete encasement of the left renal hilus by residual lymph nodes and the presence of a substantial renal tumour which had not been seen on the initial CT scan due to the large

Fig. 1

Discussion point 1: What was wrong in the decision-making?

An open redo-surgery was done. One year later, the patient presents with dysuria and a urethrocutaneous fistula. A new urethrogram was performed (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2

Discussion point 2: Which surgical option is advisable?

Case provided by Dr. Amin Bouker, Clinique Taoufik, Tunis, Tunisia Email: aminbouker@gmail.com

surrounding lymph node masses, but was clearly visible on the CT scan after chemotherapy (fig.1). Histology showed no vital tumour residues in the removed lymph node tissues and a moderately differentiated clear cell carcinoma without VHL-deletions.

Postoperative recovery was uneventful.

Follow-up since then over 6 months has been uneventful, with good physical condition, normal tumour markers and no sign of an early relapse.

Key articles from international medical journals

Non-inferiority of methenamine hippurate to daily antibiotic prophylaxis in women with recurrent UTI

We are heading rapidly towards a world in which our antibiotics no longer work. Health authorities in many countries recommend a strong focus on infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship. One aim of this strategy is to reduce antimicrobial use. The objective of the present study was to test and compare the efficacy of methenamine hippurate with the current standard prophylaxis of daily low dose antibiotics in the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections. The study was designed as a multicentre, open label, randomised, non-inferiority trial in eight centres in the UK, recruiting patients from June 2016 to June 2018.

Patients

Women aged ≥ 18 years with recurrent urinary tract infections requiring prophylactic treatment were recruited from secondary care urology and urogynaecology centres in the UK. Recurrent UTI was defined as at least three episodes of symptomatic UTI in the previous 12 months or at least two episodes in the past six months.

Investigators excluded women with correctable urinary tract abnormalities contributory to recurrent UTI (e.g. urinary tract calculi) and women with neurogenic dysfunction of the lower urinary tract. Women already taking antibiotic prophylaxis or methenamine hippurate were allowed to take part, but a washout period of three months without preventive treatment was required before randomisation.

Study design and interventions

There was random assignment (1:1, using sophisticated permuted blocks via a web-based system) to receive antibiotic prophylaxis or methenamine hippurate for 12 months. Permutation consisted of blocks of variable length (2/4/6/8), stratified by menopausal status (pre-menopausal/ peri-menopausal/post-menopausal) and UTI frequency in the preceding year (< 4 vs. ≥ 4).

Randomisation lists were generated by an individual not otherwise involved in the trial and administered centrally via a web-based service. This pragmatic trial was designed to reflect contemporary practice, and there was no masking of participants, clinicians or local research staff. Crossover between arms was allowed.

Antibiotic alternatives were nitrofurantoin (50 or 100 mg), trimethoprim (100 mg) or cefalexin (250 mg) given orally once daily, depending on previous urine culture results and individuals’ history of allergy or intolerance. Methenamine hippurate was prescribed as a twice-daily oral dose (1 g).

The main outcome measure was the absolute difference in incidence of symptomatic, antibiotic treated, urinary tract infections. A patient and public involvement group predefined the non-inferiority margin as one episode of urinary tract infection per person year. Analyses were performed in a modified intention-to-treat population comprising all participants observed for at least six months.

The occurrence of the primary outcome was always

can make an important contribution to antibiotic stewardship and reduce prescription and usage of antibiotics. Finding the name of the deceased Robert Pickard among the authors reminds the reader of the high standard of scientific conduct among the investigators in this study.

defined by the independent prescribing clinician via confirmation of the likely diagnosis and recommendation of antibiotic treatment. Secondary outcomes were the incidence of symptomatic, antibiotic treated UTI in the six months after treatment; microbiologically confirmed UTIs; antibiotic resistance profiles in Escherichia coli isolated from urine and perineal swabs; asymptomatic bacteriuria; total antibiotic use; and hospital admissions due to UTI. Participant satisfaction with treatment was measured using the treatment satisfaction questionnaire for medication, which assessed four domains of treatment satisfaction: effectiveness, side effects, convenience, and global satisfaction.

Findings

Participants were randomly assigned to antibiotic prophylaxis (n = 120) or methenamine hippurate (n = 120). The modified intention-to-treat analysis comprised 205 (85%) participants (antibiotics, n = 102 (85%); methenamine hippurate, n = 103 (86%)).

Incidence of antibiotic treated urinary tract infections during the 12-month treatment period was 0.89 episodes per person year (95% confidence interval 0.65 to 1.12) in the antibiotics group and 1.38 (1.05 to 1.72) in the methenamine hippurate group, with an absolute difference of 0.49 (90% confidence interval 0.15 to 0.84) confirming non-inferiority.

Adverse reactions were reported by 34/142 (24%) in the antibiotic group and 35/127 (28%) in the methenamine group and most reactions were mild.

Incidence of microbiologically confirmed UTIs was 0.41 (95% confidence interval 0.27 to 0.56) in participants allocated to antibiotic prophylaxis and 0.53 (0.34 to 0.72) for those allocated methenamine hippurate (absolute difference 0.11 (−0.12 to 0.35)).

During the 18-month trial period, the rate of asymptomatic bacteriuria was similar between treatment groups. However, a post-hoc analysis of urine samples submitted during the 12-month treatment period identified a significantly higher rate in the methenamine hippurate group than in the antibiotic prophylaxis group (44 (14%) of 326 samples vs. 22 (7%) of 323; χ2 test, p = 0.0048).

Incidence of microbiologically confirmed UTIs was 0.41 (95% confidence interval 0.27 to 0.56) in participants allocated to antibiotic prophylaxis and 0.53 (0.34 to 0.72) for those allocated methenamine hippurate(absolute difference 0.11 (−0.12 to 0.35)).

A higher proportion of participants in the antibiotic prophylaxis than in the methenamine hippurate group showed resistance to cotrimoxazole (6/13 (46%) vs. 3/14 (21%)) during the 12-month treatment period and resistance to trimethoprim (6/8 (75%) vs. 5/13 (38%)) during the six months after treatment.

Similarly, a higher proportion of E coli isolates from symptomatic urine samples submitted during the 12-month treatment period demonstrated resistance to cephalosporins in those allocated to antibiotic prophylaxis compared to methenamine hippurate.

Conclusions and comments

Non-antibiotic prophylactic treatment with methenamine hippurate might be appropriate for women with a history of recurrent episodes of urinary tract infections, informed by patient preferences and antibiotic stewardship initiatives, given the demonstration of non-inferiority to daily antibiotic prophylaxis seen in this trial.

By implementing the findings in this study, urologists

Source: Alternative to prophylactic antibiotics for the treatment of recurrent urinary tract infections in women: multicentre, open label, randomised, non-inferiority trial. Chris Harding, Helen Mossop, Tara Homer, Thomas Chadwick, William King, Sonya Carnell, Jan Lecouturier, Alaa Abouhajar, Luke Vale, Gillian Watson, Rebecca Forbes, Stephanie Currer, Robert Pickard, Ian Eardley, Ian Pearce, Nikesh Thiruchelvam, Karen Guerrero, Katherine Walton, Zahid Hussain, Henry Lazarowicz, Ased Ali.

BMJ 2022;376:e068229 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ bmj 2021 068229.

Electronic symptom monitoring in patients with metastatic cancer

The treatment possibilities for patients with cancer have evolved considerably. While improved survival rates are seen across cancer diagnoses, patients are often faced with side-effects and treatment burden. Clinical trials have shown that implementation of electronic symptom monitoring using patient reported outcomes (PRO) can improve patient satisfaction and well-being. Nevertheless, integration of symptom monitoring into routine clinical practice is still lagging.

The authors have demonstrated that electronic symptom monitoring can improve quality of life outcomes in patients with metastatic cancer.

Basch and colleagues examined whether electronic symptom monitoring improved quality of life outcomes in cancer patients. They conducted a multicentre cluster randomized trial among community oncology practices in the US. Fifty-two oncology practices were randomized 1:1 to either enrol patients to weekly electronic symptom monitoring with PRO surveys or usual care. In all, 1,191 patients with metastatic cancer receiving oncological treatment were included.

Patients in the PRO group received an electronic link to information on selfcare if they experienced symptom worsening or if the symptoms met a severity threshold. At the same time the treating facility was notified. Follow-up from the clinical staff was at the treating facility’s discretion.

The primary endpoint of the trial was overall survival. These data are still immature and not yet published. In the current publication, results from the key secondary endpoints were reported. These included differences in physical function, symptom control and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) at 3 months, assessed using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). The EORTC QLQ-C30 was measured at baseline and months 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12.

Compared to the usual care group, mean changes from baseline to 3 months improved for the PRO group on self-reported physical function (mean difference 2.47 [95% CI,0.41-4.53] points; p = 0.02), symptom control (mean difference 2.56 [95% CI, 0.95-4.17] points; p = 0.002), and HRQoL (mean difference, 2.43 [95%CI,0.90-3.96] points; p = 0.002). More patients in the PRO group experienced a clinically meaningful improvement and fewer reported worsening in all three outcomes compared with usual care. The improved quality of life outcomes were sustained at 6 and 9 months.

It is important to note that 91.5% of all expected weekly surveys were completed in this trial. Extensive efforts were made to ensure that patients completed the PRO surveys. This included electronic reminders or calls from the clinical staff. This aspect of the trial could be crucial for successful implementation of electronic symptom monitoring in clinical practice.

The authors have demonstrated that electronic symptom monitoring can improve quality of life outcomes in patients with metastatic cancer. The survival analyses are eagerly awaited and may prove to be practice changing. From a urological oncology standpoint, we will need to look further into how PRO monitoring is best implemented to cater the needs of our patients and how it complements different clinical set-ups.

Source: Effect of Electronic Symptom Monitoring on Patient-Reported Outcomes Among Patients With Metastatic Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Basch E, Schrag D, Henson S, et al. JAMA. 2022 Jun 28;327(24):2413-2422. doi: 10.1001/ jama.2022.9265. PMID: 35661856; PMCID: PMC9168923.

A wider spectrum of cancer risk in BRCA1/2 carriers

BRCA1/2 were first identified as the causative genes of hereditary ovarian and breast cancers. Strong associations with prostate and pancreatic cancers have been suggested, leading to a wider use of genetic testing for screening and treatment of patients and their relatives.

Recently, polyadenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors were developed based on the mechanism of the homologous recombination repair defects associated with pathogenic variants in these genes. The therapeutic, life-prolonging effect of these drugs have recently been proven in metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer. Thus, the importance of genetic testing (mainly based on family history) is constantly increasing and is currently highlighted in guidelines for prostate cancer patients. In addition to breast, ovarian, prostate and pancreatic cancers, the risks for additional cancer types, such as biliary tract, cervical, colorectal, endometrial, oesophageal, and stomach cancers, have been reported in case-control studies. However, the evidence for an association with such cancer types has not been considered sufficient to be adopted into clinical management guidelines. Robust evidence for additional cancer types is needed.

In the present study, the authors performed a large-scale sequencing study across 14 common cancer types in 63,828 patients and 37,086 controls from a Japanese nationwide biobank. The aim was to provide a broad view of cancer risks associated with pathogenic variants in BRCA1 and BRCA2.

Clinical significance was defined by using the BRCA1 and BRCA2 variant classification criteria, which were developed by the Evidence-based Network for the Interpretation of Germline Mutant Alleles Consortium.

The mean age at cancer diagnosis varied between cancer types, from 49.7 years for cervical cancer to 70.2 years for prostate cancer, and so did the proportion of cases that reported a family history of the same cancer type (2.4% for endometrial cancer and 28.1% for gastric cancer). Among the 1,810 genetic variants, only 315 variants (17.4%) were assigned pathogenic. Male patients with breast cancer had a very high carrier frequency of pathogenic variants in BRCA2 (18.9%), but not in BRCA1 (1.89%).

Association analyses with all patients and controls for each cancer type was performed.

Among the 30 analyses, 17 results were statistically significant. Pathogenic variants in BRCA1 were significantly associated with increased risk of 5 cancer types: ovarian, female breast, biliary tract, gastric and pancreatic cancers. Pathogenic variants in BRCA2 were associated with increased risk of 7 cancer types: female breast, gastric, ovarian, male breast,

…the findings suggests that pathogenic variants of BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 are associated with increased risk of biliary tract, gastric, and esophageal cancers in addition to the 4 established cancer types.

pre-operative chronic kidney disease (60.4 vs. 31.3%, p < 0.001; and 12.5 vs. 33.4%, p = 0.035, respectively).

Overall, no statistical differences were detected in terms of intra/peri/post-operative complication rates. Nevertheless, patients of the SP group needed less opioids during hospital stay (median morphine milligram equivalents 5.1 vs. 9.3, p = 0.0357).

Patient- and surgeon-level variation in sexual function outcomes following radical prostatectomy

Among patient-reported outcomes for individuals undergoing radical prostatectomy, sexual function outcomes are among the most reported and the most detrimental to quality of life. Understanding variations at the patient and surgeon level may promote collaborative quality improvement.

The aim of this study was to describe patient and surgeon-level sexual function outcomes for patients undergoing radical prostatectomy in the Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MUSIC) and to examine the correlation between surgeon case volume and sexual function outcomes.

pancreatic, prostate and oesophageal cancers. The cumulative risk of cancer up to age 85 was 72.5%, 65.6%, 21.3% 16%, and 11.2% for ovarian, gastric, pancreatic, and biliary tract cancer, respectively in BRCA1 carriers. It was 58.3%, 24.5%, 19.3%, 14/8%, 13.7%, and 5.2% for breast, prostate, gastric, ovarian, pancreatic, and oesophageal cancer, respectively in BRCA2 carriers. Findings also suggested that BRCA1/2 alterations were associated with earlier age at diagnosis of female breast cancer (−5.7 years). Only BRCA2 was associated with earlier age at diagnosis of prostate cancer (−2.2 years). This large-scale registry-based case-control study also demonstrated that the proportion of pathogenic variants varied across different regions in Japan, mainly because of differences in the proportion of founder pathogenic variants.

Thus, the findings suggest that pathogenic variants of BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 are associated with increased risk of biliary tract, gastric and oesophageal cancers in addition to the 4 established cancer types. Although further studies are needed to evaluate the mechanisms linking pathogenic variants to these cancer types, these findings provide important considerations for improving patient counselling and for the potential efficacy of PARP inhibitors in other cancers. For male patients, it seems important to focus not only on pancreatic, breast, ovarian and prostate cancer when assessing the familial risk of BRCA1/2 alterations, but also on these other cancer types. Indeed, this study suggests that the family history of the 7 associated cancer types may relatively efficiently identify patients at high risk of carrying pathogenic variants. Therefore, despite the inherent limitations of this large cohort study (controls without family history to increase statistical power, analysis of only single- nucleotide variants and small indels, higher incidence rate of biliary and oesophageal cancers in East Asian countries compared with Europe/America), this information could be useful to expand indications for genetic testing.

Source: Expansion of Cancer Risk Profile for BRCA1 and BRCA2 Pathogenic Variants. Momozawa Y, Sasai R, Usui Y, et al.

JAMA Oncol. 2022 Jun 1;8(6):871-878

Single-port urological surgery: Building up evidence

Since the FDA approval in 2018, the single-port robotic platform of the Da Vinci system has gained relative popularity. Nevertheless, the limited availability of the robotic platform, the extra learning required and the small cohort of studies reported have not supported its spread.

One of the latest reports included a cohort of 48 patients undergoing single-port (SP) partial nephrectomy, whose records were retrospectively reviewed and compared to patients operated via a multi-port (MP) robotic partial nephrectomy. In order to adjust for patients’ baseline differences, a propensityscore matching analysis was undertaken.

Notably, even after matching, the SP and MP subgroups differed significantly in terms of proportions of patients undergoing the retroperitoneal approach and suffering from a

Furthermore, there was a statistically significant difference – although not clinically relevant - in terms of post-op length of stay (1.4 vs. 1.6 mean days, p = 0.045). After a sensitivity post-hoc analysis to further adjust for the remaining baseline differences, the latter difference was not confirmed.

Interestingly, the authors suggested that undergoing retroperitoneal partial nephrectomy via the single-port platforms is a more suitable approach for a high proportion of patients. This is also shown in other surgical fields (e.g. head and neck cancer), where the higher degree of manoeuvrability in tight spaces may provide a benefit to the surgeons. Considering that the retroperitoneal approach may allow for less pain, the authors then explain why the SP subgroup patients experienced less use of opioids. The mean follow-up was limited to a mean of 22 weeks, so that appropriate functional and oncological outcomes could not be reported.

…the authors suggested that undergoing retroperitoneal partial nephrectomy via the single-port platforms is a more suitable approach for a high proportion of patients.

Another group of scholars have recently investigated the impact of the SP platform vs. MP robotic surgery in the field of radical prostatectomy; a systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted. Five records were retrieved for analysis, all of them consisting of retrospective cohort studies.

In this case too, pooled outcomes showed a benefit of SP robotic prostatectomy in terms of lower use of post-op opioids and/or overall analgesia (26.2 vs. 56.6 %, p < 0.001; 60.6 vs. 90%, p < 0.0001, respectively). Furthermore, length of stay was shorter in the SP group of patients. No differences were found in terms of complication rates. The meta-analysis did not allow for appropriate functional and oncologic outcomes, given the lack of relevant data in the selected studies.

Overall, SP confirms to be an interesting robotic platform that may convey benefits to the patients especially in terms of lower pain and shorter hospital stay. However, appropriate longitudinal studies with mid/long-term follow-up are warranted.

Source 1: Single-port versus multiport partial nephrectomy: A propensity-scorematched comparison of perioperative and short-term outcomes. Robert Harrison, Mutahar Ahmed, Mubashir Billah, et al. J Robot Surg. 2022 Jun 1. doi: 10.1007/ s11701-022-01415-8. Online ahead of print.

Source 2: Single-Port versus multipleport robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Omar Fahmy, Usama A Fahmy, Nabil A Alhakamy, et al. J Clin Med. 2021 Dec 7;10(24):5723. doi: 10.3390/jcm10245723.

The investigators present a prospective cohort study using the MUSIC registry and patientreported sexual function outcome data. Patient and surgeon-level variation in sexual function outcomes were examined among patients undergoing radical prostatectomy between 2014 to 2019. Sexual function outcome data were collected using validated questionnaires, which were completed before surgery and at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months' follow-up following surgery. All participants were male. Race and ethnicity data were self-reported and were included to examine potential variation in outcomes by race and/or ethnicity.

Variation in surgeon-level sexual function outcomes presents an opportunity and model for surgical collaborative quality improvement…

There were 4 outcomes in this study, including the 26-item Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC-26) sexual function scores at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months' follow-up; patient-level sexual function recovery at 12 and 24 months follow-up; surgeon-level variation in sexual function outcomes at 12 and 24 months follow-up; and correlation between surgeon case volume and sexual function outcomes.

A total of 1,426 male patients met inclusion criteria for this study. The median (IQR) age was 64 (58-68) years. A total of 115 participants (8%) were black, 1197 (84%) were white, 25 (2%) were of another race or ethnicity (consolidated owing to low numbers), and 89 (6%) were of unknown race or ethnicity. Among patients undergoing bilateral nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy, mean (SD) EPIC-26 sexual function scores at 12 and 24 months follow-up (12 months, 39 [28]; 24 months, 63 [29]) did not return to baseline levels. There was wide variation in EPIC-26 sexual function scores at both 12 months follow-up (range 23-69; p < 0.001) and 24 months follow-up (range 27-64; p < 0.001). Similar variations were found in EPIC-26 sexual function scores and recovery of sexual function by surgeon. Recovery rates ranged from 0% to 40% of patients at 12 months follow-up (18 surgeons; p < 0.001) and 3% to 44% of patients at 24 months follow-up (12 surgeons; p < 0.001). Surgeon case volume and sexual function outcomes were not significantly correlated. On multivariable analysis, the following variables were associated with better recovery at 24 months follow-up: younger age (p < 0.001), lower baseline EPIC-26 sexual function score (p < 0.001), lower Gleason score (p = 0.05), and non-obesity (p = 0.03).

The authors conclude that in this study there was significant patient and surgeon-level variation in sexual function recovery over 2 years following radical prostatectomy. Variation in surgeon-level sexual function outcomes presents an opportunity and model for surgical collaborative quality improvement.

Source: Patient- and Surgeon-Level Variation in Patient-Reported Sexual Function Outcomes Following Radical Prostatectomy

Over 2 Years: Results From a Statewide Surgical Improvement Collaborative. Nnenaya Agochukwu-Mmonu, Ji Qi, Rodney L Dunn, et all.

JAMA Surg. 2022 Feb 1;157(2):136-144. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2021.6215.

The safety of steroid avoidance in immunologically low-risk kidney transplant recipients

Steroid-based immunosuppression after transplantation increases the risk of posttransplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM), with adverse effects on patient and graft survival. In the SAILOR study, the authors investigated the safety and efficacy of complete steroid avoidance in immunologically low-risk kidney recipients without diabetes on the current standard-of-care maintenance regimen with tacrolimus/ mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). In a 2-year, multicentre, open-label trial, a total of 222 patients were randomised to receive either steroid avoidance protocol (tacrolimus/MMF/ antithymocyte globulin [ATG] induction [n = 113]) or steroid maintenance protocol (tacrolimus/MMF/ prednisolone/basiliximab-induction [n = 109]).

At 1 year, no significant differences were found between steroid avoidance and steroid maintenance arms in the incidence of PTDM, the primary end point (12.4% vs. 18.3%, respectively, p= 0.30, CI: 16.34.4), or in overall biopsy-proven rejections (15% vs. 13.8%, respectively, p = 0.85).

Mounting evidence that renal transplantation can done be steroid-free

At 2 years, the composite end point of freedom from acute rejection, graft loss, and death (81% vs. 85%, respectively, p = 0.4), kidney function, or adverse events was comparable between the 2 arms. Moreover, 63.9% of the patients in the steroid avoidance arm remained free from steroids at 2 years. The authors concluded, that the SAILOR study provides further evidence for the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of early steroid-free treatment at 2 years in immunologically low-risk kidney recipients with tacrolimus/MMF maintenance regimen.

Source: A randomized controlled trial on safety of steroid avoidance in immunologically low-risk kidney transplant recipients. Ekberg, J., Baid-Agrawal,S. Jespersen, B., Kallen, R., Rafael, E., Skov, K., Lindner, P. KI Reports. 2022;7(2):259-269.

How did the first COVID-19 year affect elective paediatric urology surgeries?

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) obstructed the activity of paediatric urology cases in Europe and has caused a significant back-log of cases. Initially, guidelines from European and North American paediatric urological societies recommended only to perform surgery in cases of organ or life-threatening disease during lockdown. They further suggested that all outpatient clinic consultations were to be reduced during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. While these guidelines offered to prioritise cases relative to urgency for the lockdown period, in the later period clinics were challenged to deal with high number of less urgent, however already long-postponed, elective procedures.

This multi-centre survey was initiated in order to launch a collaborative European multicentre data collection on the COVID-19 pandemic and how this has affected paediatric urology cases. The primary aim was to analyse how cessation of elective interventions affected the paediatric urology population by increased time and number of patients on the surgical waiting list. The secondary aim was to evaluate the different strategies to deal

In men with moderate to severe LUTS/BPH at risk of disease

LONG-TERM EVIDENCE

11,868 patients studied in landmark trials, with 6,909 patients on dutasteride as monotherapy or in combination with tamsulosin*3-8

*The overall number of patients studied in landmark trials is 11,868 with Phase III: 4325; EPICS: 1630; SMART: 327; CombAT: 4844; CONDUCT: 742. The number of patients studied in landmark trials with dutasteride as monotherapy or in combination with tamsulosin is 6,909 with Phase III: 2167; EPICS: 813; SMART: 327; CombAT: 3233; CONDUCT: 369.

References: 1. Duodart EU Summary of Product Characteristics effective 23 November 2017. Available at: https://mri.cts-mrp.eu/portal/details?productnumber=DE/H/2251/001. Accessed July 2022. 2. Avodart EU Summary of Product Characteristics effective 23 November 2017. Available at: https://mri.cts-mrp.eu/portal/details?productnumber=SE/H/0304/001. Accessed July 2022. 3. Roehrborn CG, et al. BJU Int 2015;116:450–459. 4. Roehrborn CG, et al. Eur Urol 2010;57:123–131. 5. Roehrborn CG, et al. Urology 2002;60:434–441. 6. Barkin J, et al. Eur Urol 2003;44:461–466. 7. Debruyne F, et al. Eur Urol 2004;46(4):488–494. 8. Nickel JC, et al. BJU Int 2011;108:388–394. 9. Bramson HN, et al. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1997;282:1496–1502.

Abbreviations: LUTS/BPH, lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia. In the Netherlands the registered trade name for dutasteride is Avodart and for dutasteride-tamsulosin is Combodart.

Avodart and Duodart Safety Information

Adverse events Associated with Avodart and Duodart include impotence, decreased libido, ejaculation disorders, breast tenderness and enlargement, and dizziness. Patients taking Avodart or Duodart should be regularly evaluated for prostate cancer risk including PSA testing. Clinical trials events and post-marketing reports of congestive heart failure, male breast cancer and high-grade prostate cancer have occurred, although a causal relationship with Avodart /Duodart has not been established. Avodart and Duodart is contraindicated in women and children and adolescents; patients with hypersensitivity to dutasteride, other 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, soya, peanut or any of the other excipients and severe hepatic impairment. For Duodart additionally in patients with history of orthostatsic hypertension. For additional/complete safety information, please refer to the prescribing information for Avodart/Duodart.

Abbreviated Product Information – Avodart (dutasteride)

Indication: Treatment of moderate to severe symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Reduction in the risk of acute urinary retention (AUR) and surgery in patients with moderate to severe symptoms of BPH. Dosage, adults: Avodart can be administered alone or in combination with the alpha-blocker tamsulosin (0.4mg) Adults: 1 capsule (0.5mg dutasteride) daily. The capsule should be swallowed whole and not be chewed or opened. Contraindications: Women, children and adolescents. Hypersensitivity to dutasteride, other 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, soya, peanut or any of the other excipients. Patients with severe hepatic impairment. Precautions: Combination therapy should be prescribed after careful benefit risk assessment. A study (REDUCE) has shown an increased incidence of Gleason 8-10 prostate cancer compared to placebo. A regular evaluation for prostate cancer must be performed. The mean serum prostatespecific antigen (PSA) concentration during treatment is reduced by 50% after 6 months of treatment. After 6 months of treatment, a new PSA baseline should be established. Digital rectal examinations for prostate cancer prior to initiating treatment and periodically thereafter. In two 4-year clinical studies, the incidence of cardiac failure was marginally higher among subjects taking the combination however data from trials and other sources do not support a conclusion on increased cardiovascular risks with combination. Caution in mild to moderate hepatic impairment. Patients should be instructed to promptly report any changes in their breast tissue such as lumps or nipple discharge. Dutasteride is absorbed through the skin, therefore contact with cracked and leaking capsules should be avoided. Interactions: Verapamil, diltiazem, ritonavir, indinavir, nefazodone, itraconazole, ketoconazole administered orally. Pregnancy and lactation: Contraindicated. Using a condom is recommended if the partner is or may become pregnant. Reduced male fertility cannot be excluded. Side effects: Common: Dizziness, impotence, altered (decreased) libido, ejaculation disorders, breast disorders. Uncommon: Heart failure (collective term). Overdosage: In volunteer studies, single daily dose of 40 mg/day for 7 days had no significant safety concerns. There is no specific antidote for dutasteride, symptomatic and supportive treatment should be given as appropriate. Please refer to the Avodart SmPC for full information (Based on Avodart UK SmPC effective May 2020)

Full SmPC of AVODART (19 May 2020) for UK is available at - https://mhraproducts4853.blob.core.windows.net/ docs/06cda531d6b19e68f376ed3f91a0233cff41d191

Full SmPC of AVODART (16 April 2020) for Netherlands is available athttps://www.geneesmiddeleninformatiebank.nl/smpc/h28317_smpc.pdf

Abbreviated Product Information – Combodart/Duodart (dutasteride + tamsulosin)

Indication: Treatment of moderate to severe symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Reduction in the risk of acute urinary retention (AUR) and surgery in patients with moderate to severe symptoms of BPH. Dosage, adults: Adults: 1 capsule (0.5mg dutasteride/0.4mg tamsulosin) daily. May be used to substitute concomitant dutasteride and tamsulosin hydrochloride in existing dual therapy to simplify treatment. The capsule should be swallowed whole approximately 30 minutes after the same meal each day. Should not be chewed or opened. Contraindications: Women, children and adolescents. Hypersensitivity to dutasteride, other 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, tamsulosin (including tamsulosin-induced angio-edema), soya, peanut or any of the other excipients. A history of orthostatic hypotension or severe hepatic impairment. Precautions: Combination therapy should be prescribed after careful benefit risk assessment. A study (REDUCE) has shown an increased incidence of Gleason 8-10 prostate cancer compared to placebo. A regular evaluation for prostate cancer must be performed. The mean serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentration during treatment is reduced by 50% after 6 months of treatment. After 6 months of treatment, a new PSA baseline should be established. Digital rectal examinations must be performed for detection of prostate cancer prior to initiating treatment and periodically thereafter. In two 4-year clinical studies, the incidence of cardiac failure was marginally higher among subjects taking the combination however data from trials and other sources do not support a conclusion on increased cardiovascular risks with combination. Caution should be used in severe renal impairment and mild to moderate hepatic impairment. Patients should be instructed to promptly report any changes in their breast tissue such as lumps or nipple discharge. Orthostatic hypotension may occur during treatment, caution should be exercised when given concomitantly with drugs causing hypotension. Discontinue treatment 1-2 weeks prior to surgery for cataract due to risk of intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS). Dutasteride is absorbed through the skin, therefore contact with cracked and leaking capsules should be avoided. Contains Sunset Yellow (E110), which may cause allergic reactions. Interactions: Verapamil, diltiazem, ritonavir, indinavir, nefazodone, itraconazole, ketoconazole administered orally, warfarin, anesthetic agents, PDE5 inhibitors and other alpha1- adrenoceptor antagonists, paroxetine, cimetidine, diclofenac, warfarin, furosemide. Pregnancy and lactation: Contraindicated. Using a condom is recommended if the partner is or may become pregnant. Reduced male fertility cannot be excluded. Side effects: Common: Dizziness, impotence, altered (decreased) libido, difficulty with ejaculation, breast disorders. Uncommon: Headache, Heart failure (collective term), palpitations, orthostatic hypotension, rhinitis, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, urticaria, rash, pruritus, asthenia. Overdosage: Acute overdosage with 5mg tamsulosin hydrochloride has been reported. In volunteer studies, single daily dose of 40 mg/day for 7 days had no significant safety concerns. There is no specific antidote for dutasteride, symptomatic and supportive treatment should be given as appropriate. Please refer to the Combodart SmPC for full information. (Based on Combodart UK SmPC effective May 2020)

Full SmPC of COMBODART (19 May 2020) for UK is available at - https://mhraproducts4853.blob.core.windows.net/ docs/4dc3ac1b3936bccac9a2e55226931f98eb4f17ae

Full SmPC of COMBODART (16 April 2020) for Netherlands is available athttps://www.geneesmiddeleninformatiebank.nl/smpc/h104130_smpc.pdf

For medical questions about this product, please contact the operating company in the country of your residence or call +31 (0)33-2081100 or email to nl.medischevraag@gsk.com for the Netherlands. Please report adverse events to the operating company in the country of your residence or call +31 (0)33-2081100 or email to nl.bijwerking@gsk.com for the Netherlands

For the use of registered medical practitioner or a Hospital or a Laboratory only. Avodart/Duodart is for use in men only. Avodart/Duodart trade marks are owned by or licensed to the GSK group of companies. GlaxoSmithKline BV, Van Asch van Wijckstraat 55H, 3811 LP Amersfoort, The Netherlands PM-GBL-DTT-ADVT-220002 Date of preparation: July 2022.

RICH EXPERIENCE of >20 years in building the science behind dutasteride9

20 YEARS

ERUS22: Putting live surgery first

New focus for 19th ERUS meeting in “robotic capital” of Europe

“This is not one man’s ambitions for his surgical centre, this is six centres from across the city working together, and that’s why we call it ‘Barcelona Robotika’” ERUS Chairman Dr. Alberto Breda explained.

The ambitions for the 19th meeting of the EAU Robotic Urology Section are sizeable: the meeting features live cases from six different local centres, with 38 surgical cases presented on 16 different systems over the course of two and a half days. ERUS22 promises to be THE live surgical event of the year.

We spoke to ERUS Chairman Dr. Alberto Breda, who is also for all intents and purposes the local organiser in his hometown.

Focus on Surgery

“The ERUS Section meeting is moving towards an almost completely live surgery meeting. In my opinion this is the most interesting aspect of robotic urology, particularly as we now have a greater diversity in robotic platforms available. A lesson we have learnt from the past is that there should be one big meeting, the Annual Congress, with lots of scientific content. But then section meetings, and particularly the technical sections like ERUS, ESUT and EULIS (who worked together for UROtech22, see page 18), is where people are coming to see novelties, and new technology.”

“Six major hospitals in Barcelona are providing their ORs for ERUS22, retransmitting to the auditorium on a tight schedule. This will be a tremendous challenge for us and our technical partners, but I’m confident we’ll make it happen.”

“Live surgeries will be performed on fourteen Intuitive systems and two by Medtronic, all within the same city. We will be showing procedures from beginning to end, not just checking in with the surgeon for 20 minutes. As surgeons, we can learn from positioning of the trocars, how complications are managed, how surgeries are wrapped up, all of this is very important.”

Diversity in surgical platforms

“This year’s meeting is a paradigm shift. For the first time at a surgical meeting we will be seeing live demonstrations of the Medtronic system. Of course the majority of cases will be performed on Intuitive systems, including the new single-port systems, but we hope that eight cases, almost a quarter, will be performed on the Medtronic system, and perhaps even with the Medicaroid and Avatera systems. We cannot immediately offer similar numbers of cases on all systems because they have only been recently introduced (see: First experiences…) but that’s where we’re headed as a meeting.”

“In the coming years, we will also have to rely on live surgery being transmitted long-distance because it

will remain rare for a while for a single city to have so many different systems available. That’s also an exciting part of organizing meetings like this; a constantly evolving learning process of how to meet expectations of delegates and at the same time how to incorporate new technology in a meeting.

Technology beyond robotic surgery of course. We will see demonstrations of augmented reality and artificial intelligence during the meeting, with at least two companies showing applications of AR.”

Beyond oncology

“We received a lot of feedback from previous ERUS meetings. Of course positive, but also some criticism that we take to heart. Some delegates felt that the surgical demonstrations had too much emphasis on oncology-related cases: prostatectomies, partial nephrectomies, lymphadenectomies and so on. We also want to show how robotic surgery can be used in the non-oncological cases that our delegates might come across.”

“The programme now features more reconstructive surgery, reimplantations, paediatric cases, and sacrocolpopexy, all performed robotically. Diversity in programme is very important. People will be exposed to robotic urology in its widest sense and I think that will be appreciated.”

Expert speakers

“As I said, I think EAU Section meetings like ERUS should focus on surgery and practical cases. Our programme will certainly feature science and state-of-the-art lectures, but these will be very specific talks on certain topics, but only from the most experienced key opinion leaders. For instance, a talk on robotic radical prostatectomy given by a surgeon who’s performed thousands of cases. People will be interested to hear from this calibre of expert. We will have similar talks on other subjects but only super expert speakers with a real talent for communication.”

“While certainly interesting and important, we won’t be featuring systematic reviews or literature reviews in the main programme. Instead, we have an abstract session and the Junior ERUS-YAU meeting where our younger colleagues can find a platform for research and an educational atmosphere.”

Barcelona at it best

“It’s certainly ambitious, a meeting with six centres working together, but we want to demonstrate Barcelona at its best. In my experience, teamwork always pays off. It’s not Alberto Breda performing HIS meeting at HIS centre, we’ve seen this format several times. Now it’s ‘the Barcelona team’, like the football club, everyone from across the world working together.”

“People will get to know Barcelona as a robotic city. How unique is it to have 16 robotic systems in a

single city? Counting private hospitals we have around 20 in total. For a country where robotic surgery is not reimbursed, there was huge belief and investment in robotic surgery in Barcelona, which really means something.”

• ERUS22 will be a regular, in-person event with no “online-only” registration options. The discounted late fee is available until 22 September.

First experiences with new robotic systems

“Right now in Barcelona, Fundació Puigvert is the only one centre with a Medtronic machine. We’ve started using it and we have so far performed done 35 cases. Mainly prostatectomies but also partial nephrectomies and cystectomies. The Barcelona Hospital Clinic is in the process of receiving their first system but perhaps they will have it operational by the time ERUS22 takes place.”

“In Europe only four centres currently have Medtronic systems in use: Aalst, Barcelona and Copenhagen (urology) and Rome (gynaecology). Experience is limited: Medtronic wanted to start rolling out in dedicated centres. By now the platform is running smoothly. Only certain surgeons have enough experience currently to work on the Medtronic system and demonstrate it at ERUS22: myself, Prof. Alex Mottrie, Dr. Geert

De Naeyer, Prof. Joan Palou, and Dr. Ruben De Groote.”

“In my centre, robotic surgeons are robotic surgeons and there are no surgeons who will specialize in using only one system. We have the opportunity to work on two systems, and are trained in both. Prof. Palou and I working with both systems on daily basis, and our assistant surgeons will start to do their own work soon. By the end of next year, my team will have six to eight surgeons using both systems.”

“It might seem quick, but adoption is a little slower than anticipated. We had a few challenges when starting up, which the manufacturer fixed. We are a high volume centre, and in this situation training is fast and supposed to be quicker than other centres.”

ERUS 22

19th Meeting of the EAU Robotic Urology Section 26-28 October 2022, Barcelona, Spain

with the problem of back-log of cases. This analysis may provide some perspective in helping the future planning for dealing with similar conditions that may arise. Longer term data may also provide information to answer the question whether the delay of elective procedures may actually have an impact on the outcome.

This was a one-year prospective study, starting March 2020. A total of 10 tertiary European centres for paediatric urology, representing a population of 21.6 million people, were surveyed at 3-month intervals about waiting lists for several common procedures as well as operating room capacity and funding.

Furthermore, centres retrospectively reported on surgical and outpatient activity rates during 2019–2021. Waiting list tendencies were evaluated in relation to study baseline. There was a marked decrease in surgical and outpatient activity in the spring of 2020. Both the number of patients and the mean days waiting decreased during the summer of 2020 after the first wave of infections, whereas a corresponding decrease was not seen after the second wave.

Prioritisation of patients during the lock down period has been quite uniform. However, waiting list management has shown marked discrepancy. A few paediatric urology centres

included were able to increase their budget (15%) and staff working hours (20%) during part of the study period.

Still, at the end of the study, the centres showed an increase of the total number of patients on waiting lists with 11%, whereas the average days on waiting lists had accumulated with 73%, yielding a total of 6,102 accumulated waiting days in the study population. These changes correspond to a delay in seeing patients at the outpatient clinic for the planning of new surgical interventions. Centres with decreased resources showed markedly negative effects on waiting lists.

telemedicine or similar online consultations have been useful in many clinics during the pandemic. They helped to meet the emerging challenges and have proven to be a valuable tool in the reduction of physical outpatient activity. New telemedical guidelines have been proposed and might very well find a more permanent place in future practices.

continents with similar socio-economic health resources.

Patients perspectives have been reported to play a significant role. Implementation of

At present, several European countries are still faced with a heavy burden on healthcare due to the COVID-19 situation. In addition, we do not know how the European health care systems will react during a post-COVID-19 period. Health care workers have been exhausted by the emergency of high workload and long working hours. In addition, patients that are subjected to post-COVID-19 symptoms may cause further challenges to the healthcare systems to provide and prioritise patient care. Therefore, paediatric urology waiting lists may further increase before they go back to the same level as before the pandemic. The prospective study design has enabled consistent data flow throughout the study period. The study included many centres throughout Europe and the data gathered can be translated to other countries and other regions or

In conclusion, closure of elective interventions affected the paediatric urology population by an increase in number of patients waiting for surgery and an increase in time on waiting lists (70% longer) for surgical interventions. Some centres dealt with the problems by increasing their operating resources off-hours, however, it is still not known how many more patients will suffer from delays before things go back to normal again. Political decisionmaking and a newly integrated structure will be needed to restore a consistent health care system that will meet the needs and be able to solve the problems. The data available are yet still far from sufficient to draw solid conclusions and plan any strategy for the future. It is also crucial to monitor the next few years to see the outcome in the longer term.

Source: How the first year of COVID-19 affected elective pediatric urology patients: A longitudinal study based on waiting lists and surveys from 10 European centers. Nikolai Juul, Aurélie Cazals, Aybike Hofmann, et al. Front Public Health. 2022; 10: 874758. Published online 2022 Apr 28.

While these guidelines offered to prioritise cases relative to urgency for the lockdown period, in the later period clinics were challenged to deal with high number of less urgent, however already long-postponed, elective procedures.

EUSP Clinical Visit to reference transplantation centre Enriching experience improves knowledge and skills of Spanish fellow

Dr. Alberto Artiles Medina University Hospital Ramón y Cajal Dept. of Urology Madrid (ES)

alberc.artiles@ gmail.com

A brief overview of the host centre

The clinical visit took place in January and February 2022 at the Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra (University Hospital of Coimbra) (Portugal), a Residency Training Programme in Urology (RTPU) certified centre, under the guidance of Prof. Arnaldo Figueiredo. The University Hospital of Coimbra is a public health centre located in Coimbra and consists of six institutions: Hospital da Universidade, Hospital Pediátrico de Coimbra, Hospital dos Covões, Maternidade Dr. Bissaya Barreto, Maternidade Dr. Daniel de Matos and Hospital Sobral Cid. The University Hospital of Coimbra has obtained recognition as a reference centre in testicular cancer management and kidney transplantation. The hospital is located in Coimbra, Portugal's third largest city after Lisbon and Porto. It is located along the Mondego river. The University of Coimbra is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013. Coimbra is a welcoming city, which retains an important cultural and architectural heritage.

The host centre’s experience in kidney transplantation

The hospital offers heart, liver and kidney transplantation programmes. In 2017, 70 liver transplants and 128 kidney transplants were performed. The University Hospital of Coimbra has been recognised as an accredited centre for transplant training by the EAU Section of

Transplantation Urology (ESTU). In the field of kidney transplantation, the main remarkable feature is the recovery of abdominal organs (both liver and kidney) by a team of urologists. This is thanks to the surgical legacy of Professor Alexandre Linhares Furtado. He was the head of the urology department at the University Hospital of Coimbra and performed the first kidney transplantation in Portugal (1969).

A great team with highly qualified professionals Prof. Arnaldo Figueiredo is head of the urology department of the hospital. He has been Chairman of the European Section of Transplantation in Urology (ESTU) of the European Association of Urology (EAU) and President of the Portuguese Association of Urology. His staff is very friendly and willing to help and teach. Furthermore, all residents were very kind, so I felt welcome and easily became part of the team.

Time schedule

My daily routine at the University Hospital of Coimbra (Urology and Transplantation Department) can be summarised as follows:

Monday, Tuesday and Friday: Clinical ward round (transplant recipients and urology patients), department meeting and operating room (“Bloco operatório”).

• Wednesday: Clinical ward round (transplant recipients and urology patients) and operating room.

• Thursday: Clinical ward round (transplant recipients and urology patients), department meeting, and after that, “Bloco Periférico” (cystoscopies, prostate biopsies, etc.) or emergency department.

Along with the transplant nurses and surgeons (including urologists), I was on call for 24 hours a day, every day.

Managing kidney transplantation recipients

My experience at University Hospital of Coimbra has enriched my knowledge and skills in managing kidney transplantation patients. I have learnt a great deal

EAU Hans Marberger Award 2023

For the best European paper published on Minimally Invasive Surgery in Urology

The EAU Hans Marberger Award will be handed out for the best European paper published on Minimally Invasive Surgery in Urology. The award, annually given since 2004, is named after Prof. Hans Marberger to honour his pioneering achievements and contributions to endourology and the development of urologic minimally invasive surgical procedures.

The awardee will be honoured during the 38th Annual EAU Congress in Milan, 10-13 March 2023, during the Opening Ceremony.

Rules and Eligibility

• All urologists and scientists are invited to send in papers.

• The topic of the paper should deal with Minimally Invasive Surgery in Urology.

• The paper must have been published or accepted for publication in a European Journal between 1 October 2021 and 30 September 2022.

about the technique of kidney transplantation and organ recovery, as well as the medical complexities and surgical challenges surrounding kidney transplantation. During my clinical visit period, eight kidney transplantations and five organ recoveries were conducted (see the table below, which summarises the procedures during the clinical visit).

I remember, for example, my first “colheita” (organ recovery) in Guarda (more than 200 kilometres away from the hospital) with Dr. Edson Retroz. It was a unique experience and I made the most of it.

Number

Procedure

Organ procurement (“Colheitas”)

Kidney transplantation (cadaveric)

Ureteral reimplantation 4

Repair of incisional hernia after kidney transplantation 1 Nephrectomy of native kidneys 2

Transplant percutaneous nephrostomy catheter placement 2

Table: Summary of procedures performed

During my eight-week rotation I assisted in several procedures to treat (early and late) complications following kidney transplantation, such as ureter reimplantation in the context of graft ureteral stricture, incisional hernia repair surgery, graft biopsy to rule out graft rejection, etc.

Surgical activity

The activity of the urology department is focussed on oncological surgery and kidney transplantation, with an important role for minimally invasive techniques. I participated in laparoscopic renal surgery and observed single-port surgery (used in adrenalectomy). I assisted in several procedures, including kidney transplantations, open radical cystectomy and prostatectomy. I was also fortunate enough to participate in a kidney

transplantation that was very challenging due to vascular problems.

The staff members taught me about relevant aspects in the postoperative period of kidney transplant recipients. I attended the department meetings including the uro-oncology decision meetings and the multidisciplinary team meetings (radiology and radiation oncology).

Lessons learnt

I thoroughly enjoyed my EUSP Clinical visit programme at the centre. It has definitely exceeded my expectations by far. This experience has contributed to better teamwork and communication skills for me. I have also learnt useful tips and improved my practical skills and knowledge. Thanks to the perfect combination of surgical quality and the ‘human touch’ of the urology department staff, and especially the transplantation team, I have learnt many lessons that I will actively consider in my future as a urologist.

Apply now!

•

•

•

•

•

A

committee, consisting of members of the EAU Scientific Congress Office, will select the

How to apply

Please send your paper to the EAU Central Office at m.smink@uroweb.org and mention

“EAU Hans Marberger Award 2023” in the subject line of your e-mail.

The EAU Hans Marberger Award is supported by a grant of €5,000 from KARL STORZ SE & CO.KG

Treatment of anastomotic strictures after phalloplasty

Comparative studies needed to make strong clinical practice recommendations in transmen

Dr. Wesley Verla Dept. of Urology

Ghent University Hospital Ghent (BE) wesley.verla

@uzgent.be

Prof. Nicolaas Lumen Dept. of Urology

Ghent University Hospital Ghent (BE)

nicolaas.lumen@ uzgent.be

Dr. Marjan Waterloos Dept. of Urology AZ Maria Middelares

Ghent University Hospital Ghent (BE)

marjan.waterloos@ azmmsj.be

Background

Phalloplasty is considered one of the standard treatment options for transmen, especially for patients desiring both sexual function and the ability to void in a standing position. [1-5] Different techniques for phalloplasty have been described, but all come with significant morbidity. [6] Besides flap complications, the constructed neo-urethra accounts for an important amount of postoperative complications2. The two main problems at this level are urethrocutaneous fistulas, which are reported in up to 75%, and stricture formation, which is seen in up to 58% of patients. [2] These urethral strictures can occur in any segment of the constructed neo-urethra, but most commonly affect the anastomosis between the fixed and pendulous part of the neo-urethra. [1,4]

remains relatively scarce, especially when compared to data on cismen. [3,7] The therapeutic options for transmen are similar to the ones for cismen, although they come with worse outcomes, cfr. infra. The least invasive way to treat an anastomotic stricture after phalloplasty is by performing a direct vision internal urethrotomy (DVIU). [8] Lumen et al. described their experience in 22 patients. DVIU was considered successful in 44% of patients after a median follow-up of 51 months. [8] The investigators concluded that a maximum of two attempts with DVIU can be tried with reasonable outcomes. [8]

Anastomotic repair urethroplasty

Alternatively, for isolated, short anastomotic strictures, an anastomotic repair urethroplasty can be performed. [1,4] During this procedure the narrowed segment of the neo-urethra is resected and the pendulous urethra is mobilised as much as possible to create a new tension-free and wellvascularised end-to-end anastomosis (see figure 2). [4] However, unlike the outstanding results in cismen, anastomotic repairs appear to be far less effective for anastomotic strictures after phalloplasty. It shows a 5-year failure-free survival rate of only 47%, almost comparable to the results of DVIU. [4] However, in the patient series of Verla et al., almost half of the patients had a complete obliteration (making a DVIU impossible) and almost two-thirds of them were pre-treated with one or more endoluminal treatments, so these patients were probably a priori more challenging to treat. [4] In that same report, the outcomes of anastomotic repair were also stratified according to stricture length, which showed a steady decline in success rate with increased stricture length. [4] The investigators concluded that an anastomotic repair only leads to reasonable outcomes in anastomotic strictures up to 2 cm. [4]

challenging tissue conditions, even early in the course of stricture disease. This might be a reason to lower the threshold towards working in two or more stages, where the urethra is marsupialised in the first stage (see figure 3) and later closed around a catheter with or without graft augmentation in the next stage. [1,4] The only data to support this is given by Lumen et al. who reported an overall success rate of 70% (not specifically for anastomotic strictures) after two-stage urethroplasty with a mean follow-up of 39 months. [1]

Finally, a definitive perineal urethrostomy always remains an option in the treatment cascade. [1] This is generally well accepted by older or multi-operated cismen who accept to void in a sitting position. However, the transmasculine population is often far younger and for them, voiding in a standing position has high priority. Nonetheless, in selected patients, this may be preferred over another surgical attempt to restore urethral patency up to the level of the meatus.

Differences between cis- and transmen

Notably, the outcomes of urethral reconstruction in transmen are far worse than the outcomes in cismen. [3,7] This can be explained by a multitude of factors, all related to the differences between a neophallus and a native penis. First of all, the environment to perform a urethral reconstruction in is much poorer after phalloplasty, because the tissues are heavily operated and traumatised which leads to a tenuous vascularisation. Second, the high postoperative complication and reoperation rate after phalloplasty leads to increased fibrosis and a diminished vascular supply of the local tissues.

Third, a neo-urethra is far less mobile than a native urethra, especially at its bulbar segment. This in turn generates problems to create a tension-free anastomosis or to mobilise the urethra sufficiently to perform, for example, a dorsal onlay free graft urethroplasty. Also, the ventral coverage of the neo-urethra and the anastomotic site is often very thin and poorly vascularised which leads to an increased risk of fistula formation and graft failure when put on ventrally without the support of local tissue flaps.

"All recommendations on the treatment of urethral stricture disease in transmen are based on a low level of evidence, since only retrospective case series have been published so far."

which patients and to make strong clinical practice recommendations.

Key points

Strictures can occur in any segment of the neo-urethra, but most commonly affect the anastomosis between the fixed and pendulous part of the neo-urethra.

Different treatment options exist, albeit with strikingly poorer results than in cismen.

• Given the challenging local tissue conditions in these patients, the threshold to perform a two-stage procedure should perhaps be lower.

• Treatment of transmen with urethral stricture disease should only be performed by experts.

• Prospective, comparative studies are needed to better understand what works for which patients and to make strong clinical practice recommendations.

References

1. Lumen N, Monstrey S, Goessaert AS, Oosterlinck W, Hoebeke P. Urethroplasty for strictures after phallic reconstruction: a single-institution experience. Eur Urol. 2011 Jul;60(1):150-8.

Anatomy of the neo-urethra after phalloplasty

After phalloplasty, the neo-urethra can be divided into the following parts, from proximal to distal: native urethra, fixed part of the neo-urethra and pendulous or phallic part of the neo-urethra (see figure 1). [1]

The native female urethra remains untouched during phalloplasty. The fixed part of the neo-urethra represents the bridge between the native urethra and the pendulous part of the neo-urethra and is generally created by tubularising the vestibular mucosa of the vagina up to the level of the clitoris. The clitoris is then de-epithelialised and tunnelled underneath the pubic fat towards the prepubic area. There it is fixed onto the periost of the pubic bone, at the level where the neophallus is to be implanted later on in the procedure. The pendulous or phallic part of the neo-urethra is constructed by tubularising a skin flap (origin depending on graft harvest site and phalloplasty technique) which is in turn wrapped with the neophallic skin flap. This part of the neo-urethra is later anastomosed with the fixed part of the neo-urethra in an end-to-end fashion. As discussed above, this anastomosis is the most vulnerable for urethral stricture formation, a problem that is likely caused by the fact that this is a mucocutaneous junction, which has a natural tendency to narrow. [1,4]

Treatment options

Despite the high incidence of urethral stricture formation after phalloplasty, data on its management

For very short anastomotic strictures with little fibrosis, a Heineke-Mikulicz stricturoplasty can be performed as well. This is described by Lumen et al., although in their series only one patient was treated as such. [1]

What about grafts

And what about grafts? In 2016, Wilson et al. described a ventral onlay buccal mucosa graft augmentation urethroplasty where the graft was placed ventrally on the anastomotic stricture in three patients. [9] In all cases, they harvested an additional scrotal or medial thigh fasciocutaneous flap to reinforce the vascular supply of the graft. This led to a success rate of 100%, albeit after a mean follow-up of only 9 months. [9] More recently, Schardein et al. published a double-faced graft technique [10], based on the Palminteri technique used in cismen [11], where they do a dorsal inlay and a ventral onlay of buccal mucosa with a Martius flap to reinforce the ventral graft. They reported a 75% success rate after a mean follow-up of 31 months. [10]

For patients in whom the vascular supply of a free graft remains an issue, augmentation with a pedicled skin flap might be an option, as these flaps bring their own vascularisation in the pedicle. [1]

Two-stage procedure

Alternatively, a two-stage procedure may be carried out. In cismen, this option is increasingly reserved for patients with very poor local tissue conditions and very dense fibrosis, especially given the outstanding results of one-stage urethroplasties. [1,7] In transmen, however, the scenario is completely different. Patients often present with very

Given these challenging conditions, treatment of transmen with urethral stricture disease should only be performed by experts with the versatility to adapt their surgical strategy to the pre- and peroperative findings of each individual patient.

Future directions

All recommendations on the treatment of urethral stricture disease in transmen are based on a low level of evidence, since only retrospective case series have been published so far. [3] Prospective, comparative studies (ideally randomised controlled trials) with data on surgical and functional outcomes are needed to better understand what works for

2. Nikolavsky D, Yamaguchi Y, Levine JP, Zhao LC. Urologic Sequelae Following Phalloplasty in Transgendered Patients. Urol Clin North Am. 2017 Feb 1;44(1):113-25.

3. Riechardt S, Waterloos M, Lumen N, Campos-Juanatey F, Dimitropoulos K, Martins FE, et al. European Association of Urology Guidelines on Urethral Stricture Disease Part 3: Management of Strictures in Females and Transgender Patients. Eur Urol Focus. 2021;

4. Verla W, Hoebeke P, Spinoit AF, Waterloos M, Monstrey S, Lumen N. Excision and Primary Anastomosis for Isolated, Short, Anastomotic Strictures in Transmen. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2020;8(2).

5. Waterschoot M, Claeys W, Hoebeke P, Verla W, Waterloos M, Wirtz M, et al. Treatment of Urethral Strictures in Transmasculine Patients. J Clin Med. 2021 Sep 1;10(17).

6. Boczar D, Huayllani MT, Saleem HY, Cinotto G, Avila FR, Kassis S, et al. Surgical techniques of phalloplasty in transgender patients: a systematic review. Ann Transl Med. 2021 Apr;9(7):607-607.

7. Lumen N, Campos-Juanatey F, Greenwell T, Martins FE, Osman NI, Riechardt S, et al. European Association of Urology Guidelines on Urethral Stricture Disease (Part 1): Management of Male Urethral Stricture Disease. Eur Urol. 2021 Aug 1;80(2):190-200.

8. Lumen N, Oosterlinck W, Decaestecker K, Monstrey S, Hoebeke P. Endoscopic incision of short (<3 cm) urethral strictures after phallic reconstruction. J Endourol. 2009 Aug 1;23(8):1329-32.

9. Wilson SC, Stranix JT, Khurana K, Morrison SD, Levine JP, Zhao LC. Fasciocutaneous flap reinforcement of ventral onlay buccal mucosa grafts enables neophallus revision urethroplasty. Ther Adv Urol. 2016 Dec 1;8(6):331-7.

10. Schardein J, Beamer M, Hughes M, Nikolavsky D. Single-stage Double-face Buccal Mucosal Graft Urethroplasty for Neophallus Anastomotic Strictures. Urology. 2020 Sep 1;143:257.

11. Palminteri E, Berdondini E, Shokeir AA, Iannotta L, Gentile V, Sciarra A. Two-sided bulbar urethroplasty using dorsal plus ventral oral graft: urinary and sexual outcomes of a new technique. J Urol. 2011 May;185(5):1766-71.

"Notably, the outcomes of urethral reconstruction in transmen are far worse than the outcomes in cismen."

Transcending borders: A snapshot of the EAU in 1980

A preview from an upcoming publication to commemorate the EAU’s 50th Anniversary

The 1980 EAU Congress was held in sunny Athens, Greece on 28-31 May. Prof. Imre Romics (1947), then a young doctor/assistant at Semmelweis University Urological Department in Budapest (Hungary), braved the Southeastern European summer temperatures in a car journey that took him from North to South, but more significantly from East to West.

In Cold War Europe, travel between the Eastern and Western parts of the continent was severely restricted, particularly for urologists in socialist countries. Even when permission was granted by the authorities, there were financial and bureaucratic hurdles one had to cross.

Prof. Romics recalls: “It was a joke that socialist agriculture had four enemies: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Similarly, we faced several challenges when travelling. First: to have currency. You could unofficially buy US Dollars or Deutschmark, under the table, but not legally unless you had special permission. Second: legal permission.”

“I have copies of letters between our department head at the time, Prof. Balogh and the authorities, requesting permission to travel to an EAU Congress, to obtain a passport and the necessary money. They ended up giving him permission, to travel at his own expense and with special permission to exchange a limited sum of money into Western currency. When you returned from your trip, you were obligated to hand in your receipts and any money that you had not spent. Even my children cannot imagine these circumstances.”

Central and Eastern European urologists did occasionally make academic trips, but even travelling within their own “bloc” was difficult. Looking at the attendance figures from the EAU Congress in 1986, which took place in Budapest and Prof. Romics was closely involved in organising, it was clear that the largest groups came from Western Europe.

“Austria and Finland were two countries where we could travel to without visa since the early 1970s. These were considered neutral countries, democratic but not necessarily aligned with the West. But for Athens, we certainly needed a visa.”

Athens, 1980

Following small but successful congresses in 1974 (Padua), 1976 (Prague) and 1978 (Monaco), Athens was the first congress in a new decade, and the largest to date with 600 participants and 255 abstracts submitted. Prof. Romics knew about the EAU through his department chief, Prof. Balogh who had been involved in the earlier congresses and indeed was one of the urologists on the 1972 “Foundation Council” of what was then still called the “European Society of Urology”. In 1980, it was the young Dr. Romics’s turn to attend:

“I’m not sure how, but Prof. Balogh arranged with Congress President Prof. Dimopoulos that young urologists like myself would only be charged $10 to attend, instead of the usual $150. We needed a visa for Greece, but Prof. Balogh had a patient in the embassy so he could accelerate this process. Off we went on the 1500km journey, three junior urologists from Budapest, in a Zhiguli [known in the West as a Lada]. There was no highway to Athens, we had no air conditioning and it must have been 35 degrees centigrade.”

“On the way to Athens, we spent the night in Southern Serbia. [Earlier that month, Yugoslav leader Marshal Tito had passed away after 35 years in power.] Of course we didn’t have any GPS, or even maps so when we got to Athens we circled until we found Omonia Square. We were staying in a one-star hotel nearby. There must have been around six of us in one hotel room, all Hungarian. We brought food with us from Hungary, like bacon and sausages. In the heat of the car, all the fat started dripping. In Greece we bought only bread, cold water and wine. Those are three words I know in Greek to this day. And ‘paprika’ of course but that’s the same everywhere. We only had enough money to get through the congress days.”

“There were a lot of Hungarians at the Congress, around 20. Together we had 25 presentations, I presented three myself in halting English. I remember the Hilton Hotel, where inside it was a very pleasant, air conditioned 20 degrees. This was my first opportunity to meet people from neighboring countries and also Western Europe. I sadly don’t remember meeting anyone in particular from this meeting, I started making more connections later in the 1980s. Of course a lot of the participants in 1980 were senior urologists and they have since passed away. It was 42 years ago! Frans Debruyne must have been there. He always had a question or a comment.”

“At the time, my interest was in oncology. In 1977, I had already presented on tumour immunology in Sofia at the second ‘Urological Meeting of the Socialist Countries’, a short-running counterpart to the EAU. One of my presentations in Athens was about oncology, the other two were interesting case reports, one with tumour immunology.”

“When the meeting finished, we drove the 1500 kilometres back without an overnight stop. We left early in the morning and returned to Budapest late at night. I was very happy to have attended.”

The EAU as a bridge builder

While travel might have been severely restricted due to financial (currency) and political reasons (tightly

controlled exit visas), there was a healthy exchange of knowledge in academia and journals like European Urology (founded almost simultaneously with the EAU) were read in Central and Eastern Europe. Prof. Romics remembers reading European Urology in the 1970s and 80s as part of his department’s weekly “Journal Club”, which continues to this day. Urologists also visited departments across the iron curtain on several occasions and reports of these visits appeared in the journal as well.

From the very beginning, the EAU was founded on an idea of representing and including urologists from across the continent. Seven of the seventeen “founding fathers” of the EAU were from socialist countries, including the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. Attempts were made to alternate annual congress locations between East and West, though the nomination and voting process at general assemblies would sometimes overturn those good intentions.

This desire for appropriate representation sometimes had strange effects on the scientific programme of EAU Congresses. Prof. Romics remembers that in 1986, session chairs and co-chairs would be selected as couples, one from the East and one from the West. This was the case even if their expertise was not necessarily a match.

The EAU’s role in bringing the continent’s urologists together took a massive leap after the series of revolutions in Eastern Europe and the fall of the Iron Curtain. Its congresses attracted hundreds of urologists who formerly faced the restrictions that Prof. Romics experienced in 1980, and membership of the Association grew rapidly. Donations of instruments, special fees for low currency countries and regional meetings would raise the level of urological care in the coming decade. Read more

about the EAU in the 1990s in the next edition of European Urology Today!

This article is an extract from an upcoming publication that celebrates the EAU’s 50th Anniversary. The publication will be presented in Milan, at EAU23 and the 7th International Congress on the History of Urology.

Training at

Co-authors: Prof. Ben Van Cleynenbreugel (BE), Mr. Chandra Shekhar Biyani (GB)

Over the last few years, the European School of Urology (ESU) has developed the Standardisation in Surgical Education (SISE) programme, a collaborative venture that aims to implement a comprehensive approach to all training activities within the ESU. This encompasses a series of structured, standardised and validated training curricula, including a laparoscopic urology training (LUS) curriculum, an endoscopic stone treatment (EST) curriculum and a transurethral training (TUT) curriculum, targeting different trainee levels to facilitate training from basic to advanced skill levels. The first step in the SISE programme is the ESU Urology Boot Camp (ESU UBC).

Developed and coordinated by the ESU Boot Camp Organising Committee (Prof. Ben Van Cleynenbreugel, Mr. Chandra Shekhar Biyani and Dr. Tiago Ribeiro de Oliveira), the ESU UBC is a standardised course for first-year residents, comprising a full day of intensive hands-on training organised into separate training modules with the aim of providing high-quality technical skills training within the framework of a standardised and integrated ESU training programme. The objective is to enable every Urology resident in Europe to master the necessary basic technical skills for the most frequent urological procedures before they begin working with patients to ultimately increase the quality of urological care provided.

The course is divided into four modules: three core modules dedicated to laparoscopy, upper urinary tract endoscopy (semi-rigid ureteroscopy and flexible ureterorenoscopy) and transurethral resection (of bladder and prostate), and an additional coursespecific module dedicated to the lower urinary tract which includes rigid and flexible cystoscopy. Residents can then choose from other techniques such as urethral catheterisation, suprapubic catheter placement, scrotal examination and circumcision.

One of the most important hallmarks of the ESU Urology Boot Camp is the 1:1:1 training model, where each trainee has a dedicated training station and an experienced trainer for the entire duration of each module to maximise their learning experience. Using a series of different low- and high-fidelity models and state-of-the-art urological equipment, trainees participate in intensive hands-on technical training in the most common urological procedures. This improves not only their skills but also their confidence in performing the procedures independently.

ESU Urology Boot Camp Belgium 2022

After a two-year interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the second edition of the ESU UBC in Belgium took place on April 27th at the ORSI Academy in Melle. The day before the course, in collaboration with the EAU Section of UroTechnology (ESUT) and the EAU Section of

Urology Boot Camp

Urolithiasis (EULIS), an Advanced ESU "Train the Trainer" course was offered to 16 urologists from Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Turkey and the United Kingdom. In line with the first "Train the Trainer" course, a series of lectures were given on subjects such as non-technical skills training, adult learning models and proficiency-based progression by renowned experts Mr. Chandra Shekhar Biyani, Mr. Craig McIlhenny and Prof. Anthony Gallagher. After the theoretical part of the course, the trainers had the opportunity to put into practice their newly acquired teaching skills in a hands-on training session provided to undergraduate medical students, in which they were evaluated by the course faculty and other expert trainers. This team of international trainers became the faculty of the Second Belgian ESU UBC, training 16 Urology residents from Belgium.

ESU Urology Boot Camp Serbia 2022

Following the success of the first edition in 2021, the European School of Urology and the Serbian Association of Urology organised the second edition of the ESU UBC in Zlatibor, Serbia on May 19th before the Annual Serbian Urological Symposium. In line with the procedures established by the ESU Boot Camp Organising Committee, a specific "Train the Trainer" course was organised with the national faculty a day before the ESU UBC, in order to optimise and standardise training activities.

A total of 12 residents from Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina had the opportunity to participate in the second ESU UBC in Serbia, supporting the Serbian Association of Urology’s objective of extending all training opportunities to neighbouring countries. The quality of the models and equipment, the motivation and competence of the faculty, and the use of ESU’s validated training modules ensured the success of the course for all participants.

ESU Urology Boot Camp Lithuania 2022

On May 26th, immediately before the EAU Baltic Meeting in Vilnius, the first ESU UBC was organised in Lithuania. In line with the ESU’s collaboration with the Urological Associations of the Baltic countries, the ESU UBC enlisted experienced trainers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Complying with the implementation strategy of the ESU Boot Camp Organising Committee, a specific "Train the Trainer" course took place before the ESU UBC to homogenise the training offered.

A total of 8 residents from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had the opportunity to undergo technical skills training. The course was a success due to the enthusiasm of the faculty, the quality of the equipment and the consistency of the curriculum being in line with the broader approach of the SISE programme.

ESU Urology Boot Camp Austria 2022

On June 16th, immediately before the annual residents course of the Austrian School of Urology, the first Austrian ESU UBC was organised in Kals am Grosßglokner.

Intensive hands-on technical skills training was given to 8 residents from Austria. As with other editions of the ESU UBC, the course was split into 4 modules, providing training in laparoscopy, semi-rigid ureteroscopy, flexible ureterorenoscopy, transurethral resection of bladder and prostate, rigid and flexible cystoscopy, circumcision, suprapubic catheter placement and scrotal examination.

ESU Urology Boot Camp programme

In addition to the four courses organised so far in 2022, the ESU Boot Camp Organising Committee is coordinating the first ESU UBC in Greece (October 6th in Athens), the first ESU EBC in Poland (November 18th in Bydgoszcz) and the fourth ESU UBC in Portugal (November 19th in Lisbon). By 2023, the ESU Boot Camp Working Group plans to expand the programme to Germany, Italy and Spain. Their broader aspiration is to organise an ESU UBC in every European country on an annual basis, so that every first-year Urology resident has the opportunity to acquire the necessary technical skills to perform the most common urological procedures.

Testimonial from a Boot Camp participant

Dr. Gustas Sasnauskas (1st year urology resident from Lithuania)

"The course was very useful for me as a first-year resident. I think it is important to get the first experience of using specific urologic instruments in an artificial environment, rather than on a patient. After the course, I feel more comfortable and more confident doing endoscopic procedures in my clinical practice."

Undergraduate students experience urology first-hand

1st European Urology Bootcamp for Undergraduate Students in Athens

Prof. Evangelos Liatsikos

Chairman of the European School of Urology

Vice President of the Hellenic Urological Association Patras (GR) liatsikos@yahoo.com

Assoc. Prof. Athanasios Dellis General Secretary of the Hellenic Urological Association Athens (GR) aedellis@gmail.com

In recent years, the Hellenic Urological Association (HUA) has introduced a strategy to engage medical students in the field of urology. Through the participation of over 1,800 urology students from medical schools across Greece, the HUA has developed a notable presence at the Scientific Conference of Medical Students of Greece (SCHMS). The scientific programme for the 28th SCHMS Conference, held in Athens from 13-15 May 2022, featured more urology than ever before.

The first Urology Bootcamp for Undergraduate Students was held in cooperation with the European School of Urology (ESU) on Sunday, 15 May, 2022, as part of the HUA's participation in the conference. The course was designed to pique the interest of final-year students who were considering pursuing

urology as a career after graduation. Our objectives were to introduce medical students to the specialty and to recruit new potential colleagues in urology.

Participants had the chance to learn and put into practice a number of fundamental urological procedures. Training sessions were conducted at 4 training stations: Laparoscopic Basic Skills, Transurethral Prostate Resection (TURP) (LAP), Ureteroscopy (URS), and Scrotal examination/ Suprapubic catheter (Photo 2, 3, 4).

Participants, trainers and organisers all agreed that the seminar was a success. We received positive impressions and feedback from the attendees and intend to further improve the programme with this input.

The course's allusive subtitle, "Experience Urology First-Hand," attracted students' curiosity and brought in far more applications than the 24 openings could handle. We were pleased with this positive response and feel compelled to develop the course further in the coming years. We hope to inspire medical students to select urology as their field of expertise when they complete their education, as these new recruits are the future of our specialty.

We would like to express our gratitude to the trainers who dedicated their precious Sunday hours to educate and converse with potential future colleagues: Dr. Maria Zerva (Ms), Dr. Marinos Berdempes, Dr. Theodoros Kalogeropoulos, Dr. Markos Karavitakis, Dr. Iason Kyriazis, Dr. Panagiotis Levis, Dr. Michael Nomikos, and Dr. Dimitrios Staios.

We also like to express our gratitude to Boston, Storz, Olympus, and Mediplus for providing us with the equipment and supporting logistics, and extend a special thanks to Ton Brouwers and Julie Landman at the ESU Office, whose team welcomed and encouraged our efforts.

I would like to close with a few words about the HUA. Founded in 1931, it is considered one of the oldest and strongest medical societies in Greece. Today the HUA has about 1,300 members, of which 1,150 are Consulting Urologists and 150 are

Junior Urologists & Trainees. As an affiliated member of the EAU, we align our actions and initiatives with the association. We proudly participate in all EAU projects, both institutionally as a representative of Greek Urology, but also individually, as many of our members participate in various governance committees & sections of the EAU, ESU and EBU. Since 2017, our annual membership agreement allows 400 to 500 HUA members to become EAU members as well.

We in the Hellenic Urological Association look forward to continuing and strengthening the collaboration between our associations.

WHAT A JOURNEY! LET’S KEEP THE MOMENTUM…

The Telix Pharmaceuticals-sponsored symposium with Dr Alicia Morgans, Professor Stefano Fanti and Professor Jochen Walz was an insightful discussion on all aspects of PSMA PET imaging.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in the event, and for those who missed it – there’s still time to appreciate the influence of PSMA on prostate cancer management.

“Participants had the chance to learn and put into practice a number of fundamental urological procedures.”

UROtech22 brings three EAU Sections to Istanbul

edition of technology event: More than the sum of its parts?

While 2022 was already a special year for the EAU with a summer Annual Congress, the year also marked the debut, or some would say ‘pilot’ of the UROtech meeting. Held in Istanbul on 26-28 May, the meeting brought together no fewer than three EAU Sections, all with close ties to the topic of urotechnology. The meeting’s scientific programme was largely organised along parallel lines but there is certainly scope for a closer collaboration in future editions, taking advantage of the synergy that exists between the Sections of Urotechnology, Urolithiasis and Robotic Urology.

UROtech22 drew close to 650 participants over the course of three days. Delegates were treated to a sizeable scientific programme that represented each subspecialty and featured a day-long live surgery session, plenary sessions and thematic sessions. Notably, the meeting featured Joint Sessions that featured representatives of the Caucasus/Central Asian, Arab and Pan-African urological societies. The meeting was preceded by hands-on training sessions organised by the European School of Urology on the 25th.

In Istanbul we spoke to the three chairmen of the participating sections and their thoughts on this new meeting.

sessions at UROtech22, covering all manner of urolithiasis topics in plenary, research and abstract sessions. I find that nowadays we gain knowledge increasingly quickly, we have a lot of new input. We also see tremendous technological developments which in turn change our approach to patients. In recent times we have also seen new developments in medication in stones: there are studies, randomised controlled trials, there’s really something happening in our field. At our meetings we also have input from nephrologists, these are partially interdisciplinary sessions and I really like that.”

“Good attendance is also in part due to the meeting taking place in Istanbul. In this part of the world, there are a lot more stone cases. I’d say stones are one of the pillars of urology. We have a prevalence in Northern Europe of 10-13 percent, this is a public health issue. But here in Turkey, the Mediterranean, the prevalence is much higher. In Middle-Eastern countries the prevalence can reach 20-25 percent and this is a huge burden on healthcare systems.”

“There is a lot of interest in techniques and treatment. There is no reason to assume it shouldn’t stay like that, as stone numbers are increasing, steadily. Increases in global temperature are also a factor. There was a recent paper that demonstrated that with every degree Celsius increase, we have an increase in stone disease. Also, with increasing

“This idea of showing challenging and rare scenarios came about in part because of the annual ERUS meeting. There you see the more common procedures, and here it was more a unique opportunity to show where truly the modern technology can really help in new cases that you would normally perform open. You can show how certain surgeons are pushing the envelope with robotics.”

“Beyond the ERUS session, I was also very interested in the UROtech Live Surgery sessions. I co-chaired one of the three screens, which showed live and pre-recorded procedures from China. It was a powerful session, with extremely talented surgeons showing their way of performing partial nephrectomies, prostatectomies. We also saw HOLEP cases such as a micropercutaneous approach for stones. That’s how you can merge a session together, going from robotic surgery towards stones. Not necessarily an overlap in subject matter, but within the context of a live event, a scenario where you show different approaches with all of the new technology involved.”

Scientific highlights

Prof. Ali Gözen (Heilbronn, DE), Chairman of the EAU Section of Uro-Technology (ESUT): “I’m certainly pleased with how the meeting has gone. Attendance is high! You might have many registrations but you want to see full rooms as well and this was the case.”

“Typically at the Annual EAU Congress, there is a lot of emphasis on the latest robotic technology. But if you look across the whole world, the reality is that we are performing ten times more laparoscopic than robotic cases and there is a huge demand for laparoscopic case discussions and demonstrations. We are addressing this demand with this meeting. Beyond laparoscopy we are examining all related technology: new imaging options, screens, instruments, new energy devices and smoke filters.”

“The award-winning abstracts are a good indication of where our field is going. They covered topics like AI and online therapies or operations. I’m sure 3D modelling will be an integral part of our preparation before partial nephrectomy or radical prostatectomy in the coming years.”

“One of the highlights for me was the session about complications in laparoscopy, and how to manage them. For example for lymphocele, this is a reality for us. Of the 50 people to develop lymphocele, 3-8 will be symptomatic. How can we prevent, and how can we treat?”

“I’m also very happy that we had well-attended Joint Sessions with the Pan-African Caucasian/Central Asian and Arab societies. These kinds of sessions are usually only held at the Annual EAU Congress. I think it’s clear that these parts of the world deserve more attention from the EAU side and ESUT is doing this. We have good contacts with this part of the world and are happy to place more emphasis on laparoscopy, surgical training and so on.”

Prof. Christian Seitz (Vienna, AT), Chairman of the EAU Section of Urolithiasis (EULIS): “EULIS had a variety of

popularity of the western diet and lifestyle and the metabolic syndrome that this is connected with, we are faced more frequently with vascular disease, and in line with those diseases also an increase in stone disease. An ageing population is also a relevant factor. Stone disease will remain one of the attractive subjects for urologists.”

“At meetings like this we might discuss technology, and fancy new methods of stone removal, but we also have to see what the patients really want, and how they respond to certain therapies. This is not always in line with what we think or prefer. Some colleagues have established interdisciplinary ‘stone boards’ like tumour boards. These discuss every patient in an interdisciplinary board, taking into account quality of life data. This is an interesting development, very holistic way of treating our patients. On the other hand, this is very time and resource-consuming but I feel we should try, we strive for perfection. It’s similar to current discussions with PCa and overtreatment. Residual stones might be detected too early with imaging, leading to overtreatment. We have to learn to deal with that.”

“All of these issues are addressed at this meeting. The whole aspect of stone disease is covered. It’s a meeting that’s interesting for any urologist who deals with stones, but who might also have other interests. From paediatrics, to minimally invasive procedures and the latest new technology, everything is covered at Urotech.”

Dr. Alberto Breda (Barcelona, ES), Chairman of the EAU Robotic Urology Section (ERUS): “I was very pleased with the scientific programme of the ERUS Plenary Session. We had some semi-live surgery with some big names. Prof. Wiklund showed an ileal ureter for long ureteral stricture, something we rarely see at meetings.

Prof. John showed a fantastic case of vesico-vaginal and vesico enteric robotic fistula repair. Prof. Spinoit showed robotic applications for paediatric cases and Prof. Rassweiler showed a robotic vaso-vasostomy, very elegant, and most unusual.”

Scope for closer collaboration

Prof. Gözen: “This was the very first edition of the meeting, so you never know how it’s going to go! To me it was a real ‘gift’ to see these three big sections together. Delegates could find everything technologyrelated at this meeting.”

“I think these three sections are a match: if you think about uro-technology, these are the main sections. Next time we will have more preparation time for an even better coordination between the sections, and perhaps combine sessions and topics a bit more.”

Prof. Seitz: “I received some feedback that people enjoyed watching what they are currently interested in. People hopped between sessions to watch a robotic case, to watch a stone case, that’s nice to hear. Of course another aspect is that we’re emerging from a period of online webinars and I definitely noticed that people are very active in the discussions.”

Turkey

“There is certainly enough overlap between the sections’ topics for there to be a certain amount of synergy. I would be happy to see more of this in the future, let’s see!”

Dr. Breda: “It’s difficult to say how we could more closely integrate the scientific programme. This was very much a pilot study. There are some challenges but also great opportunities for the future.”

“One thing is for sure: technology is very much a common denominator among these three sections. I’m not sure there is as much cross-over potential between, as an example, stones and robotics, but to have them under the same umbrella makes sense. There must be a way we can help collaborating and unify the future of uro-technology.”

“I think it’s a great initiative to merge these forces, to make a meeting grow wider, and to open the spectrum of technology if you will. I’m positive that this could be a potential new era.”

The Section Office perspective

Prof. Jens Rassweiler (Heilbronn, DE), Chairman of the EAU Sections Office: “This meeting was a great example of scientific collaboration, and I think UROtech is the platform for the future. Ideally, we’d like all three sections to be involved at the same level.”

“ERUS needs to define the level of its involvement: as a collaborative partner like in this edition or as an equal partner. Robotics may very well have a separate audience that is best served by a dedicated robotic meeting. Time will tell!”

“We will proceed with this platform and continue to offer collaboration to ERUS. We also have ideas for further enhancing UROtech with other faculties, for instance concerning the emergence of nanotech.”

• The next edition of UROtech will take place in early 2024. The next ERUS meeting is ERUS22 in Barcelona on 26-28 October 2022.

(See page 11)

Don’t pee afraid of what you’ll see!

It is important to check your urine periodically. Blood in urine can be an indicator of bladder cancer. Talk with your doctor about consulting a urologist.

It’s bloody serious! Blood in urine can be an indicator of bladder cancer.

If you are experiencing bloody urine, talk to your doctor about consulting a urologist.

Ongoing studies that may change imaging practice

Key topics at ESUI's meeting at EAU22

Prof. Georg Salomon Chair, ESUI University Medical Center HamburgEppendorf Hamburg (DE) gsalomon@uke.de

This year at EAU22, the focus of the meeting of the European Section of Urology (ESUI) was to show the current and planned studies of urological imaging. The meeting kickstarted with an informative and fantastic presentation by Prof. Veeru Kasivisvanathan who explained how to design and conduct an imaging study to get actual evidence-based results. Prof. Kasivisvanathan used the PRECISION Trial as an example which had a long-standing effect on the EAU Guidelines.

The discussion of whether every patient needs an MRI before a biopsy, was held in collegial and lively discussions led by Prof. Tillmann Loch and Prof. Jelle Barentsz. Ultimately, the deciding factor was the quality of both the MRI (i.e. the reference was made to PI-QUAL) and the quality of the ultrasound images (i.e. the need for good

ESUI

The continuous progress in the field of urological-nephro-andrological ultrasound (US), associated with the ongoing improvement of increasingly sophisticated equipment and probes, requires the training of highly-qualified specialists who can manage these resources befittingly.

When there is a strong demand for US services, there is a strong demand for experienced sonographers. This is especially true in oncology concerning urology, nephrology, and andrology.

"When there is a strong demand for US services, there is a strong demand for experienced sonographers."

There is a great demand for user-friendly US texts, enriched with clips and basic practical US courses, which can provide the urologist with basic information on this technique, as well as, that the student may be able to practically carry out the exam under the guidance of expert tutors.

For some years now, the European Association of Urology (EAU) in collaboration with the of the EAU Section of Urological Imaging (ESUI) have been organising the courses, which are registering an ever-increasing number of participants.

These hands-on courses aim to provide urologists with the basic training necessary to implement abdominal ultrasound and transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) of the prostate as a routine diagnostic tool in daily practice. The aim is to provide background information through short, concise lessons followed by an extensive hands-on exercise.

training of younger urologists and constant implementation).

The ESUI meeting also covered the PRIME study, which explained to what extent a faster bpMRI (biparametric magnetic resonance imaging) ensures a safer implementation of a primary MRI.

And last but not least, artificial intelligence (AI) is certainly a topic that is changing medicine en masse. During the meeting, the focus was is on AI’s role in pathology. Pathologist Prof. Geert Litjens presented the noteworthy possibilities of computer-based diagnostics. In addition, Prof. Eric Barret described well whether and to what extent an intraoperative digital analysis of the resection margins is possible. We can look forward to vital

developments on imaging which will probably be implemented sooner than we think and will have a significant impact on our current and future medical actions.

Some of these exciting topics will be presented and broadened at this year's 10th meeting of the EAU Section of Urological Imaging (ESUI22), which will take place in conjunction with the 14th European Multidisciplinary Congress on

Urological Cancers (EMUC22) in Budapest, Hungary. The anticipated ESUI meeting will focus on the merging of diagnostics and therapy. Be the first to know the newest developments so you can implement these in your daily practice.

Join us at ESUI22!

For more information, please visit www.esui22.org

through ultrasound courses

For many years, I coordinated a basic postgraduate course in urological, nephrological and andrological US at the University of Bari. At present, I coordinate a second-level course with the University of Trieste.

These courses last a few weeks and at the end of the course, students receive a diploma upon passing the final exam.

One of the aspirations is to have a group of teachers of various nationalities who, under the aegis of the EAU and the ESUI, could organise similar courses in numerous countries on an itinerant basis. This is to provide urologists with the knowledge in the field of urological and andrological US in both diagnostic and interventional aspects.

"We can look forward to vital developments on imaging which will probably be implemented sooner than we think and will have a significant impact on our current and future medical actions."

A look at the EBU Certification Committee’s activities

Benefitting training centres, residents, and ultimately the patient

The European Board of Urology has a mission in common with the EAU: raising the level of urological care across Europe. Two of the major efforts by the EBU to achieve this mission are organising exams for final-year residents and certified urologists, and certifying urological training centres.

We spoke to the Certification Committee’s chairman Mr. Magne Dimmen (Bodø, NO), who works as a staff urologist at the Bodø Community Hospital in Northern Norway. Mr. Dimmen is a clinical urologist, who was certified in 2010. He has been involved with the European Board of Urology since 2011, immediately working for its Certification Committee. In 2019, he became its chair, just before the process of certification would become more challenging due to the global pandemic.

“Typically, the twenty members of our committee have 1-2 site visits every six months. We visit hospitals to assess the basic urology training programmes for residents. We observe interactions, see the facilities and have some informal discussions in addition to the formal interview with the programme director and some of the residents. Training centres are then accredited as an EBU Certified Centre for either three or five years. After that period, they can reapply and we visit once more to see if any recommendations given have been taken on board.”

“During the pandemic we had to work differently. We did some recertification site visits as online interviews, but we feel that we miss a lot of information and that online interaction is not the same as a more spontaneous interaction you get in site visits. Our experience was that online format for site visits was useful when we are unable to travel, but not a suitable alternative. These days were are back to our regular activities.”

Certification

The EBU is involved in two kinds of urology centre certification: residents training and also the suitability for being an EUSP host centre. The latter is a joint effort with the EAU and assesses whether a centre is suitable for scholarships and other short visits.

Mr. Dimmen is involved as chairman but it is mainly a paper-based certification that relies on submitted information and publications. Certifying basic training is the most important job that the committee has.

“Once a training centre is EBU-certified, they get a certificate to show that it has passed our evaluation and meets our basic criteria. It gives centres a mark of quality that they do residency training at a certain level and comply with our European established standards. We visit a lot of different countries, and the approach to resident training is often based on national standards and naturally this varies hugely between countries. It’s hard to make a one-size-fitsall training programme, but I think most training centres awould be eligible for EBU certification if they wanted.”

Recommendations commonly given to training centres deal with the tasks assigned to residents.

“Quite often we see that, while residents have a lot of work, they don’t necessarily spend enough time operating. As upcoming surgeons they want to operate as much as possible, and that’s not always possible in their hospitals. This is one of the things we often recommend: residents should do more surgery to be able to do it independently by the time they finish their residency.”

EAU Best Papers published in Urological Literature Awards

The two EAU Prizes for Best Paper published in Urological Literature are tools through which the EAU encourages young and promising urological scientists to continue their work and to communicate their achievements to the European urological community.

Two awards of € 5,000 each will be made available for the two Best Papers published in Urological Literature on Clinical and Fundamental Research. These papers have to be published or accepted for publication between 1 October 2021 and 30 September 2022.

The awardee(s) will be honoured during the 38th Annual EAU Congress in Milan, 10-13 March 2023, during the Opening Ceremony.

Rules and Eligibility

• Eligible to apply for the EAU Best Paper published in Urological Literature are urologists, urologists-in-training or urology-related scientists. All applicants have to be a member of the EAU.

• The submitting author must be either the first or the corresponding senior last author.

• Each author is allowed to submit no more than one paper.

“There is always a lot of paperwork and administrative tasks in hospitals, and a lot of this work often falls on junior colleagues even if it could have been done by secretaries.”

Advantages for all

There are several advantages of attaining EBU certification for the centres. Centres get an evaluation of how they run their training programmes and get some constructive feedback on how to improve. In some countries an EBU certificate is a useful way for hospitals to distinguish themselves and recruit more residents.

Dimmen: “For residents, training at an EBU-certified centre means that they are involved in all aspects of patient care, that they are trained in surgery and ultimately perform operations independently. Ideally, when they finish their training at a certified centre in one country, they are qualified to work in other countries as well. It reflects on the residents and makes them more attractive for employers. The FEBU exam for final-year residents is another way the EBU contributes to this.”

“The ultimate goal is of course to offer urology patients the best care possible, and certification is one of the main ways to achieve this. Certification improves training and we want to raise the European standard to a minimum level. We can improve theoretical and practical training, and ultimately patient care.”

Helping out

While the pandemic may have slowed the certification somewhat (the EBU has since caught up), the Certification Committee focused on another task: “We did a revision of the application

process, and now have a new data system. This should make it more straightforward for centres to sign up through. We are always evaluating our own work.”

“I should say that all the work the committee does is done by members on a voluntary basis. We do it in our own free time or by the grace of our employers. The committee runs on enthusiastic, dedicated volunteers.”

Members of the Certification Committee, like all EBU members, are urologists nominated through their national societies. Every country has two elected board members and they are replaced when their term is up. Interested urologists should contact their national society to inquire about representing their country on the EBU Board.

• To find out more about the EBU’s Certification Committee or to sign up your centre for certification, visit www.EBU.com

•

•

•

How to apply

Please

Paper

Best Paper on Fundamental Research”.

Research”

Include a copy of your curriculum vitae.

• Supply a list of all authors who have significantly contributed (if relevant).

Mention any financial support by companies, government or health organisations.

• A publisher’s letter of acceptance has to be submitted along with your paper.

A review committee consisting of members of the EAU Scientific Congress Office will review all submitted papers and select the winner of the two EAU awards for Best Paper published in Urological Literature.

Prevalence of erectile dysfunction at outpatient offices

No significant differences between urology, cardiology and GP patients

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common disorder affecting 19-70% of male population, depending on age or assessed population. [1-5] In a crosssectional study assessing ED patients seeking help, 25% of the participants was below 40 years of age, half of them were complaining of severe ED. [6]

Screening for ED of middle-aged or older male population may be considered, since early detection of ED can predict malignant cardiovascular events which makes prevention effective. There are several ways of ED assessment; the most effective and least invasive method is the use of validated international questionnaires. [7-9] The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) addresses the relevant domains of male sexual function (erectile function, orgasmic function, sexual desire, intercourse satisfaction and overall satisfaction).

Study objective

The primary objective of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of erectile dysfunction of patients visiting different outpatient clinics and to compare these data to each other in order to find the difference between three patient populations. A secondary objective was to assess factors influencing erectile function and to verify the most relevant diseases in each patient group.

Participant recruitment

Participants were recruited at urology, cardiology outpatient clinics and at general practitioner’s outpatient offices. At the registration office each patient was informed about the study, could sign the informed consent form and was given an anonymous questionnaire which was filled out while patients were waiting for consultation. The forms were dropped into a collecting box in the waiting room. The questionnaire was based on the international index of erectile function (IIEF-5) which was extended with 12 questions including information about age, coffee, alcohol and drug consumption, smoking, cardiovascular disease/diabetes mellitus, treated psychiatric disease, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), surgical or medical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and treatment of prostate cancer. Medical students recruited at the university were asked to fill out the same form in order to have a healthy control population. There were no specific exclusion or inclusion criteria except age between 18 and 99. Furthermore, the participant needed to have the mental and manual ability to fill out the questionnaire.

Statistical tests

Data were processed and forms were grouped for further assessment according to patient age. IIEF scores were compared to each other and the influence of every disease and used consumer good on erectile function was evaluated. IIEF scores were valued using the following scheme: 22-25 no ED, 17-21 mild ED, 12-16 mild to moderate ED, 8-11 moderate ED, 5-7 severe ED.

We applied the following statistical tests in the present study. 95% confidence interval was calculated and compared to each other during analysis of erectile function, consumer good consumption and disease characteristics of different age and study groups. ED severity was demonstrated with the aid of logistic regression (odds ratio).

The effect of diseases and consumer goods on erectile function was determined by multiparametric linear regression. Differences in confidence intervals were applied to demonstrate statistical significance. The study was approved by the local ethics committee of the University of Debrecen.

Outpatient clinic

1,142 patients were recruited at different study sites. 31 forms were filled out incompletely and excluded. As a result the data of 1,111 patients were assessed

during the present study. The majority of the males were interviewed at the urology outpatient clinic (n = 806) representing each age group. So did the patients visiting the GP office for consultation (n = 167). The lowest cooperation was observed at the department of cardiology, but these patients were all from the same age group (n = 44).

Medical students (n = 94) were also active in filling out the questionnaire.

Three age groups were created to provide proper representation of each: age 18-39 years; 40-65 years and over 65 years. The distribution of the study population was n = 444 (39.96%), n = 464 (41.76%) and n = 203 (18.27%), respectively.

Older population

Declining erectile function was observed in relation with increasing age. The older population consumes more coffee, and is affected more by cardiovascular disease or diabetes and prostatic problems. Only smoking is more common among males below 40 years (see Table I).

IIEF n; mean [CI] 111118.72[18.37,19.07] 44422.67 [22.36,22.99] 46417.51 [17.03,17.99] 20312.83 [12.06,13.61] EDn; % [CI] 62856.53[53.59,59.42] 10724.1 [20.34,28.3] 33071.12 [66.82,75.07] 19194.09 [89.87,96.62] coffeen; % [CI] 67560.76[57.85,63.59] 23953.83 [49.16,58.43] 30265.09[60.63,69.3]13466.01[59.22,72.2] alcoholn; % [CI] 31528.35[25.78,31.08] 10724.1[20.34,28.3]14030.17[26.16,34.51]6833.5[27.34,40.28] cigaretten; % [CI] 27825.02[22.56,27.66] 16637.39 [33,41.99] 9620.69 [17.24,24.62] 167.882 [4.881,12.49] drugn; % [CI] 121.08[.6139,1.894] 122.7 00 00 CV/DMn; % [CI] 50845.72[42.81,48.67] 6314.19 [11.24,17.76] 29262.93 [58.43,67.22] 15375.37 [68.97,80.82] psychiatryn; % [CI] 423.78[2.804,5.079] 92.03[1.057,3.853]255.388[3.664,7.857]83.941[1.981,7.688] BPHn; % [CI] 24722.23[19.88,24.78] 81.80 [.9026,3.565] 13228.45 [24.52,32.73] 10752.71 [45.82,59.49] PCan; % [CI] 635.671[4.453,7.197] 00 214.526 [2.967,6.846] 4220.69 [15.66,26.82]

Table I: Erectile function, consumer good consumption and appearance of diseases in different age groups

IIEF meann; mean [CI] 111118.72[18.37,19.07] 80618.05[17.64,18.46]4417.59[15.99,19.19]16718.96[18.10,19.83]9424.53 [24.28,24.78] ED n; % [CI] 62856.53[53.59,59.42] 50762.9[59.51,66.18]3068.18[53.17,80.18]8852.69[45.11,60.16]33.19 [1.031,9.446] coffeen; % [CI] 6750.6076[57.85,63.59] 50462.53[59.13,65.81]2761.36[46.38,74.47]9456.29[48.67,63.62]5053.19[43.1,63.03] alcoholn; % [CI] 31528.35[25.78,31.08] 20525.43[22.54,28.56]715.91[7.769,29.82]5029.94[23.47,37.32]5356.38 [46.22,66.04] cigaretten; % [CI] 27825.02[22.56,27.66] 16620.6 [17.94,23.53] 1227.27[16.17,42.16]6035.93 [29.01,43.49] 4042.55 [32.97,52.73] drug abusen; % [CI] 121.08[.6139,1.894] 50.6203 [.2581,1.484] 0 10.5988[.084,4.136]66.383 [2.892,13.5] CV/DMn; % [CI] 50845.72[42.81,48.67] 37846.9[43.47,50.36]3681.82 [67.63,90.65] 8953.29[45.7,60.74]55.319 [2.228,12.16] psychiatryn; % [CI] 423.78[2.804,5.079] 263.226[2.204,4.698]49.091[3.449,21.87]105.988[3.249,10.78]22.128[.5316,8.124] BPHn; % [CI] 24722.23[19.88,24.78] 21827.05 [24.09,30.23] 920.45[10.99,34.88]2011.98 [7.853,17.85] 0 prccn; % [CI] 635.671[4.453,7.197] 637.816 [6.151,9.886] 000

Table IV: Erectile function, consumer good consumption and appearance of diseases in different age groups

76.1220.92.9850

[64.46,84.85][12.76,32.3][.7438,11.22]

51 14 2 0 0

96.813.1910 0 0

[90.53,98.97][1.028,9.469]

68.921.556.362.4730.7067

[63.25,74.05][17.13,26.75][4.036,9.885][1.18,5.11][.1759,2.795]

19561 18 7 2

75.917.574.5051.5770.4505

[71.69,79.67][14.29,21.41][2.919,6.89][.7513,3.279][.1121,1.792]

33778 20 7 2

37.520.8327.7811.112.778

[27.1,49.2][12.94,31.77][18.65,39.22][5.64,20.72][.6922,10.48]

27 15 20 8 2

31.8229.5518.1818.182.273

[19.8,46.87][17.96,44.55][9.338,32.41][9.338,32.41][.3169,14.54]

14 13 8 8 1 % 26.7233.3325 9.4835.46

[22.32,31.64][28.56,38.47][20.72,29.84][6.812,13.05][3.503,8.413]

93 11687 33 19

28.8831.0324.7810.564.741

[24.92,33.19][26.97,35.41][21.05,28.93][8.064,13.71][3.137,7.106]

13414411549 22 % 3.57125 25 21.4325

[.4924,21.71][12.33,44.13][12.33,44.13][9.889,40.4][12.33,44.13] n17767 % 6.28622.8628 19.4323.43

[3.497,11.04][17.19,29.72][21.8,35.17][14.18,26.02][17.7,30.33]

11 40 49 34 41

5.91123.1527.5919.723.65

[3.371,10.16][17.82,29.51][21.83,34.19][14.76,25.81][18.26,30.03]

12 47 56 40 48

56,53% (n = 628) of all patients had some kind of erectile dysfunction, among them 17,19% (n = 191) had mild to moderate ED, 8,64% (n = 96) moderate, 6,48% (n = 72) severe ED. Mean IIEF score of the whole study population was 18.72 (95% CI: 18.37; 19.07), which declined with age, as the severity of ED increased (see Fig I, table II).

Table II: ED severity of each study group in relation with increasing age

Increased prevalence of disease

IIEFCoef.p age 0.177<0.001 coffee 0.8490.001 alcohol 0.9120.001 cigarette 1.0380.001 drug abuse 1.0580.392 psycho 1.5960.016 BPH 0.7640.027 prcc 6.547<0.001 CVDM 1.287<0.001

Table V: Multiparametric linear regression evaluation of the factors influencing IIEF score

No significant differences

Our preliminary assumption (increased ED prevalence among urology and cardiology outpatients) was disproved by our present study, since there was no significant statistical difference between urology, cardiology and GP outpatients regarding age-matched mean IIEF. Medical students had less sexual problems probably due to their age.

Alcohol consumption

There was no significant statistical difference between urology, cardiology and GP outpatients regarding age-matched mean IIEF score. The IIEF scores of medical students were higher than those of other study groups (see Table III).

Alcohol consumption was significantly higher among medical students, cigarette abuse was less common in urology outpatients, cardiology outpatients were affected the most by cardiovascular disease and urology outpatients suffered from LUTS or prostate cancer more often in comparison with other study groups (see Table IV).

Age, cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer had the most significant negative effect on erectile function (see Table V).

Every age group (young, middle-aged, older) was well represented in the present study, as were the different study groups, although we experienced decreased activity among cardiology outpatients. University students acted as control group. The proper presentation of the different outpatient groups is supported by the increased prevalence of specific diseases in each patient population (cardiology and urology outpatients had cardiovascular and prostatic diseases respectively). Increased alcohol intake of medical students can be explained by the social habits of this population.

Declining erectile function of the middle-aged and older population was already a well-known finding of other studies, as well as increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and prostatic problems. [3] More frequent coffee consumption in this population was a more surprising result. Vanishing smoking habits may be explained by more focused medical attention and consultation for this problem due to increased prevalence of comorbidities.

The same prevalence of ED in urology, cardiology and GP outpatients warn us that screening of ED should be extended to the offices of family doctors, since this may be a way of preventing progression of cardiovascular disease or diabetes as well. Furthermore, this means that any of the evaluated populations can be used in a study setting to evaluate erectile function of the male population.

Acknowledgements

The technical work of the following colleagues is highly appreciated: Róbert Besenyei, Pierre Henry Frances Coupe, Tibor Szük, Olga Debreczeni, Csilla Szigeti, Peter Zelenak. Zoltan Kiss, Attila Nagy, Zsuzsanna Molnar, Zsolt Kopa, Attila Varga, Tibor Flasko.

References

1. Feldman, H.A., et al. Impotence and its medical and psychosocial correlates: results of the Massachusetts Male Aging Study. J Urol, 1994. 151: 54.

2. Braun, M., et al. Epidemiology of erectile dysfunction: results of the ‘Cologne Male Survey’. Int J Impot Res, 2000. 12: 305.

3. Salonia A. et al. EAU Guidelines on Sexual and Reproductive Health. Edn. presented at the EAU Annual Congress Milan 2021. Publisher: EAU Guidelines Office. Place published: Arnhem, The Netherlands.

4. Eardley, I. The Incidence, Prevalence, and Natural History of Erectile Dysfunction. Sex Med Rev, 2013. 1: 3.

5. Johannes, C.B., et al. Incidence of erectile dysfunction in men 40 to 69 years old: longitudinal results from the Massachusetts male aging study. J Urol, 2000. 163: 460.

6. Capogrosso, P., et al. One patient out of four with newly diagnosed erectile dysfunction is a young man-worrisome picture from the everyday clinical practice. J Sex Med, 2013. 10: 1833.

7. Rosen, R.C., A. Riley, G. Wagner, I.H. Osterloh, J. Kirkpatrick, and A. Mishra, The international index of erectile function (IIEF): a multidimensional scale for assessment of erectile dysfunction. Urology, 1997. 49(6): p. 822-30

Figure I: ED severity in relation with increasing age

Table III: Comparison of ED between age-matched study populations

[24.29,24.79]

8. Cappelleri, J.C., R.C. Rosen, M.D. Smith, A. Mishra, and I.H. Osterloh, Diagnostic evaluation of the erectile function domain of the International Index of Erectile Function. Urology, 1999. 54(2): p. 346-51

9. Rosen, R.C., J.C. Cappelleri, and N. Gendrano, 3rd, The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF): a state-of-the-science review. Int J Impot Res, 2002. 14(4): p. 226-44.

European Tour 2022

Academic Exchange Programme

Long-awaited visit to European institutions and congress for Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean fellows

Dr. Bum Soo Kim

Kyungpook National University School of Medicine Dept. of Urology Daegu (KR)

dock97@hanmail.net

Dr. Kwang Jin Ko Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine Dept. of Urology Seoul (KR)

truelight8217@ gmail.com

Dr. Masataka Kawamura Osaka University Medical School Dept. of Urology Suita (JP)

kawamukawamu@ gmail.com

Dr. Yohei Sekino Hiroshima University Dept. of Urology Hiroshima (JP)

akikosekino@ gmail.com

In 2020, we were selected as participants of the EAU-KUA/JUA/TUA International Exchange Programme. However, this programme and the Annual EAU Congress were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the Annual Congress of the EAU was held virtually and we did not dare expect to have a chance to attend the programme live anymore. Thankfully, the COVID-19 situation improved in 2022 and we finally spent valuable time attending the International Exchange Programme from 25 to 30 June 2022 in Lübeck, Germany and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. We also attended the Annual Congress of the EAU in Amsterdam (NL) from 1 to 4 July 2022.

Social activity in Lübeck

From the day we arrived in Lübeck, we were grateful for Prof. Axel Merseburger’s warm hospitality. We enjoyed the beautiful town of Lübeck, which is registered as a World Heritage site, and its history by walking around with a tour guide. In the afternoon, Prof. Merseburger and his son (Paul Yuki) kindly drove us by boat through the elegant canals, with a view of the architectural landmarks while circling the canal. Everything was perfectly planned and hospitable, including lunch and dinner. We would also like to thank Dr. Riccarda Wießmeyer, Dr. Tomasz Ozimek, and Ms. Stefanie Weidner for making time in their busy schedules to accompany us.

The OR in University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein

While staying at Lübeck, we had the chance to visit the operation room (OR) of University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein for two days. The OR for urology was separated into two different spaces. Main surgeries, such as robotic, laparoscopic and open surgeries, were performed in the main operating room, while endourologic procedures, such as URS, RIRS and PCNL, were performed in the radiation shielding room on the same floor in the outpatient department.

During our visit, several elective surgeries were cancelled due to the resurgence of COVID-19, but, fortunately, we had the chance to see the nicely performed robot-assisted laparoscopic nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy by Prof. Axel Merseburger on our first day. The next day, we watched endourologic procedures, including RIRS and mini-PCNL performed by Dr. Jan Moritz Laturnus. All of the surgeons kindly allowed us to discuss every step of the operation during the procedure and we were very well informed. This programme also offered us valuable time to see

the differences in hospital and OR systems between European and Asian countries.

Expert lectures in University Hospital SchleswigHolstein (UHSH)

After the live demonstration of robotic and endourological surgery, we had lectures from the medical UHSH staff. Firstly, Prof. Merseburger gave us an overview of RARP, especially from a technical perspective. What we learned from him were the surgical steps, detailed tips and tricks of the

Dr. Cheng-His Liao Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital Dept. of Surgery Taichung (TW)

shuboy.tw@ yahoo.com.tw

Dr. Ching-Hsin Chang Taipei Medical University Hospital Dept. of Urology Taipei (TW)

chinghsin.chang@ gmail.com

procedure, the trouble shooting and the systematic review of the outcome compared with conventional RP. Prof. Merseburger also shared his talk for the coming EAU congress with us about updated treatment for mHsPC.

Prof. Kramer then highlighted 2022 ASCO. He summarised the cutting-edge management of urological oncology from ASCO. He also dug into several trials and analysed the results. Lastly, Dr. Ozimek presented his study on endourology. We all learned a lot from these three UHSH experts and would like to express much appreciation to all faculty of UHSH and especially Prof. Merseburger. Thanks to his hospitality and warm welcome, we all share a wonderful and unforgettable memory of Lübeck.

Hands-on training at Erasmus MC Rotterdam Assoc. Prof. Boormans arranged two kinds of activities for us. One was hands-on training in microsurgery in the Skills lab. After their residency, some of us discontinued vasovasostomy because this procedure is rare for physicians who are not specialised in andrology. There were 3 microscopes in the lab, which surprised me because that is what I use in my daily practice. We also practised on the porcine vas deferens material. This setting impressed me most. The other activities included conferences about functional urology with neuromodulation and the bladder cancer research programme. Prof. Alexander shared his experience in percutaneous nerve evaluation (PNE). Next, doctors and post-doc researchers from Iran shared their creative ideas for AI-assisted pathology slide reading, and so on.

During lunch, we chatted with members of the Erasmus team while enjoying delicious burgers. I obtained more information about the referral system and daily practice in paediatric urology. In the afternoon, Prof. Boormans arranged an introduction to the oncology laboratory, including the establishment of a micro-circulation system, the role of epigenetic modulation in ribosome RNA and electron microscope studies of extracellular vesicles. These latest topics were refreshing to me.

Impressed at Erasmus MC Rotterdam

On a sunny morning, a resident was waiting for us in front of the hotel. Erasmus MC, located at the back of the hotel where we were staying, caught my eye as a very grand and modern building. Before lunch, we watched a robot-assisted radical cystectomy

performed by Prof. Boormans and observed the sacral neuromodulation (SNM) procedure carried out by Dr. Stillebroer in an outpatient clinic. In general, SNM is performed under the fluoroscopy-guidance in the operating room. It was very impressive to see Dr. Stillebroer identify the ideal site for lead entry by using just bony landmarks without fluoroscopy. It was surprising that the procedure was efficiently performed on several patients in a short period of time. After watching this, I realised that I could perform the procedure efficiently in a short period of time as well.

In Korea, when doctors recommend SNM to refractory OAB patients, most patients refuse the procedure. I came to know that many patients are still receiving SNM procedures in Europe, similar to those in The Netherlands and instruments for SNM from various companies are available. I realised it would be helpful to inform many Korean patients about the benefits of SNM so that they can broaden their options.

Networking in Rotterdam

After finishing the first day at the Erasmus MC, Prof. Alexander and several residents accompanied us on a wonderful boat trip. On the river, while the history of the canals was explained, we took a seat, drank draft beer, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. In the evening, we attended a welcome dinner in the Harbour Club, eating Eastern and Western food, drinking juices, beers and wines and had a great time chatting with all the participants, such as professors,

lab staff, residents and PhD students. I sincerely thank Prof. Boormans for his hospitality and the nicely organised event.

After the second day, we had the chance to talk with Prof. Bangma, Prof. Alexander and several residents, enjoying rich and delicious burgers, pizzas, sipping draft beers, and talking about our future career as urologists. In the late afternoon, Prof. Bangma led us to visit various scenic spots in Rotterdam. Seeing the urban planning of Rotterdam was exquisite and full of artistic surprises: we visited Cube Houses (the famous scenic spots), sky houses with decorated windows and markets, the City Hall, and Saint Laurent Church. We came to understand and absorb the customs and culture of the Dutch people much better.

Annual EAU Congress

The Annual EAU Congress was held in Amsterdam on 1-4 July. We have learned cutting-edge knowledge and techniques in clinical and basic research in the various sessions. The sessions were held in a hybrid style (online and offline attendees). The number of attendees from Asian countries seemed smaller than usual, due to COVID-19. One of the most interesting sessions was ‘Controversies on EAU Guidelines’. In this session, we have not only learned about current guidelines recommendations but also about the pros and cons and controversies around treatment options.

Additionally, we could take ESU courses and ESU hands-on training courses. In the ESU courses, we gained valuable knowledge and techniques. In the ESU course Robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy various subjects were discussed, such as perioperative management, anastomosis procedure, nerve sparing and so on. Through these discussions, we gained true knowledge that cannot be obtained through paper.

The Annual EAU Congress also offers delegates on-demand sessions. Thanks to these on-demand sessions we could visit many interesting sessions, although they were taking place at the same time. These valuable experiences will surely lead to better clinical practice and research.

Honoured at the Friendship Dinner

The International Friendship Dinner was held at the National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam on Sunday

3 July. During the ceremony before dinner, Prof. Christopher Chapple, EAU Secretary General, presented us with awards for this International Exchange Programme in front of many participants. We participated in short talks with other international participants and enjoyed the delicious and nicely served dinner. We will never forget this exciting moment.

We would like to thank the EAU, KUA, JUA and TUA, which organised this very educational and valuable programme. In addition, we especially appreciate the warm hospitality of Prof. Axel Merseburger, Paul Yuki and all staff members at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, and Prof. Joost Boormans and all staff members at the Erasmus University Medical Centre. We hope that this excellent Exchange Programme will continue every year and many young urologists will get the chance to visit another hospital and establish good international relationships.

“Two days packed with ultramodern live surgery sessions”

ESGURS22 highlights from Section Chair Prof. David Ralph

In this article, ESGURS Chair Prof. David Ralph (GB) shares some insights into the 12th edition of the EAU Section of Genito-Urinary Reconstructive Surgeons meeting that will be held in Madrid, Spain, from 20 to 21 October 2022.

During this two-day scientific programme, the latest developments in reconstructive surgery will be addressed via live and semi-live surgery, lectures, case presentations and plenty of highly informative debate. Prof. Ralph: “We will see the latest in penile implants and new instruments, and possibly a new model of artificial sphincter. Robotic reconstruction is a hot topic that will be covered in detail.”

and current surgical operations, penile prostheses with grafting, fibrosis and the different approaches, as well as incontinence with sphincters and slings. We will also look at major reconstruction operations, including: recto vesicle fistula, major penile reconstruction and urethroplasty. We will review the best approaches, and graft options.

For the complete Scientific Programme visit www.esgurs22.org

Hospital in Madrid, with an extensive surgical faculty from Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Serbia, France, Belgium and Germany.

Prof. Ralph: “There will be lively debate on the best implanting approach for a penile implant, and which graft is best in the treatment of Peyronie’s disease. Another issue to be discussed is the ventral vs. dorsal onlay for urethral strictures.”

What’s on the agenda?

“Programme highlights include Peyronie’s disease

The live surgery sessions are being coordinated by Dr. Javier Romero-Otero (ES) and Prof. Ignacio Moncada Iribarren (ES), who are both based in Madrid. The participating hospital is 12 De Octubre

“I am most looking forward to meeting everyone face to face, with ESGURS22 being our first live surgical meeting in three years. The younger generation of surgeons have arrived within

ESGURS also, and

are looking forward to their involvement at this meeting. There is an excellent networking programme for delegates to participate in too.”

The meeting this

will also be combined with the ESU-ESAU-ESGURS Masterclass on Erectile restoration and Peyronie’s disease (19-20 October).

“We expect to have approximately 300 delegates from all over Europe join us in Madrid.”

To find out more about ESGURS22, you can visit www.esgurs22.org

Challenge ahead: Increasing ERBT prevalence

Making ERBT en-bloc bladder tumour resection widespread beyond the academic level

On behalf of the ESUT ERBT working group

On a cost-per-patient basis from diagnosis to death, bladder cancer is the most expensive tumour to treat in urology.

Initial endoscopic diagnosis and treatment are the critical steps in guiding the proper treatment in the course of bladder tumours. Although en-bloc resection of bladder tumour (ERBT) has been recommended with different techniques by different authors for 40 years, ERBT is still not widespread in clinical practice.

"The technique applied in endoscopic treatment should be considered from the education and training of both urology and pathology residents."

Aside from centres dealing with bladder tumour resection at an academic level, the conventional resection technique piecemeal, wherein the tumour is removed by fragmentation, is still widely used.

Even though ERBT’s perioperative superiority and

pathological sampling advantages have been well demonstrated, its effect on recurrence and progression in oncological follow-up is controversial. In addition, although there are claims of possible advantages in many other parameters, evidence is scarce.

Reduction in the need for repeat transurethral resection (reTUR) with the R0 treatment result, avoidance of unnecessary endoscopic interventions by providing precise pathological diagnosis, and lowering of costs by enabling the correct treatment plan have been explored. After ERBT, reTUR has a lower residual tumour rate than cTURBT (conventional transurethral resection of bladder tumour), suggesting that the possibility of reTUR benefit is lower in well-selected ERBT patients.

In ERBT practice, our observations from clinical practice and publications show that urologists use different technologies and methods. By sharing knowledge and experience, and increasing awareness, resection following basic surgical principles will become widespread.

At present, there are a few multicentric studies and a limited number of patients from a small number of departments on the subject. The heterogeneity of the patients at the time of the initial diagnosis is the biggest obstacle for current trials and meta-analyses to reach a sound conclusion. There is still no real-life data on how many patients with bladder tumours presenting to urologists undergo piecemeal resection with ERBT. Mainly bladder tumour resection techniques are divided into piecemeal and ERBT. The two main approaches can be explored by focusing on four separate sections:

1. Perioperative effects

2. Sampling quality in precise diagnosis

3. Effects on pathology and urology department practice

4. Impact on recurrence and progression

Another issue where knowledge is lacking is the learning curve. While some claim that the ERBT learning curve is steeper, some experts think that correctly performed anatomical dissection shortens the learning curve for urology residents who have started training. In addition, a recent survey of pathologists has reported that en-bloc specimens are more suitable for the training of pathology residents. The technique applied in endoscopic treatment should be considered from the education and training of both urology and pathology residents.

There are essential determinations in the surveys conducted by the EAU Section of Urotechnology (ESUT) Lower Tract Working Group. Still, many pathologists have not encountered the en-bloc sample in practice. This informs us that urologists do not apply the anatomical dissection technique in routine practice. Our approach during the procedure directly affects the course of pathology, and

pathologists prefer ERBT with its higher utility because resection techniques involve pathological results and staging. A higher presence of detrusor muscle and muscularis mucosa is detected in ERBT specimens, leading to a more accurate pathological diagnosis for NMIBC (non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer) and improving risk stratification. The collaboration with the EAU Section of Urotechnology (ESUT) Lower Tract Working Group and EAU Section of Uropathology (ESUP) has been fruitful, and essential determinations in these surveys were conducted by the two sections.

In addition to multicentre, well-designed prospective randomised controlled studies, observational studies with real-life data may shed light on the current status and results in the endoscopic treatment of bladder tumour resection. To this end, the ESUT Lower Tract Working Group has planned prospective observational studies beyond the two reported questionnaires.

Send your nominations today!

EAU Crystal Matula Award 2023

For a young promising European urologist

The EAU Crystal Matula Award 2023 is the most prestigious prize given to a young promising European urologist aged 40 or under who has the potential to become one of the future leaders in academic European urology. The award will be presented at the Opening Ceremony of the upcoming 38th Annual EAU Congress in Milan, 10-13 March 2023, during the Opening Ceremony.

The list of previous awardees includes many well-known names: V. Kasivisvanathan (2022), V. Phé (2021), D. Tilki (2020), M. Albersen (2019), S. Silay (2018), C. Gratzke (2017), A. Briganti (2016), M. Rouprêt (2015), S. Shariat (2014), P. Boström (2013), P. Bastian (2012), S. Joniau (2011), J. Catto (2010), M. Ribal (2009), V. Ficarra (2008), M. Michel (2007), A. De La Taille (2006), M. Matikainen (2005), P. Mulders (2004), B. Malavaud (2003), M. Kuczyk (2002), B. Djavan (2001), A. Zlotta (2000), G. Thalmann (1999), F. Montorsi (1998), F. Hamdy (1996).

Nomination Process

The

for

is

Please

that eligible

can also apply for this

by contacting their

urological society directly. The candidate is then expected to supply his/ her national society with a CV and the above mentioned documents, requesting a letter of endorsement.

How to apply

Please send your nominations to the EAU Central Office at m.smink@uroweb.org and mention “EAU Crystal Matula Award 2023” in the subject line of your e-mail.

The EAU Crystal Matula Award is supported by a grant of €10,000 from LABORIE.

Dutch urology and anniversaries honoured in Amsterdam

EAU22 is both culmination of years of preparation and start of busy year for History Office

As for many of the EAU’s offices, the History Office made the most of its first Annual Congress in quite some time. A lot was tied to the Amsterdam congress, already in 2020. It was for instance the site of the important 1990 congress that served as a rebirth of the EAU, and also the creation of an Historical Committee- which would go on to become the History Office. But postponement to 2022 had the advantage that the congress now lined up with the 50th Anniversary of the foundation of the EAU, which also partly took place in the Dutch capital.

EAU22 featured a Special Session on the history of urology with expert speakers; a Poster Session with emerging research and an Historical Exhibition with unique items related to Dutch urology. Three different editions of De Historia Urologia Europaeae as well as the postponed 2020 congress gift book, Roma Intima were made available to delegates. Special attention was given to the start of the EAU’s Jubilee year: it was part of the opening ceremony (where former EAU Secretary General Frans Debruyne’s role was also acknowledged) and a special video presentation showed highlights from the past fifty years.

Special Session

While some anniversaries had already passed as the Amsterdam congress was postponed from 2020, it also allowed the EAU History Office to celebrate two others at its special session on Saturday, 2 July. The History Office itself might find itself celebrating a slightly awkward “32-year anniversary” but on the other hand EAU22 was perfectly timed to commemorate both the EAU’s 50th Anniversary and the 40th anniversary of the discovery of intracavernous injections for erectile dysfunction.

Prof. Ronald Virag (Paris, FR) published the first paper on this topic in 1982 and he was present forty years later, introduced by former Chief Editor of European Urology Prof. Claude Schulman (Brussels, BE). Prof. Virag took the audience back to his original

insights as a vascular surgeon, studying the effects of direct injection of papaverine into the epigastric artery, and how the discoveries were experienced by his patients in those first years.

Another speaker with an important first-hand account from the 1980s was former EAU Secretary General Prof. Debruyne, freshly honoured for his own contributions (1992-2004 and the 1990 Amsterdam Congress). Far from holding a dry talk about all of the signed documents, Prof. Debruyne painted a colourful picture of the cut and thrust of those early years, not shying away from pointing out the “challenging” personalities of those (almost exclusively) men who shaped the EAU in the first two decades.

The third anniversary belonged to the History Office itself. Dr. Johan Mattelaer (Kortrijk, BE), its first chairman and current honorary member reflected on its origins at the 1990 EAU Congress in Amsterdam, and subsequent achievements. Dr. Mattelaer is still a prolific author, also presenting the latest Congress gift book, Roma Intima together with his co-author Dr. Bert Gevaert (Bruges, BE) at the session.

Dutch topics

It was Prof. Rob Pelger (Leiden, NL) who recounted how the Dutch surgeon Pieter Donker and Patrick Walsh worked together to discover and describe the

nerves that control erections, paving the way for the nervesparing prostatectomy. The original sketches by Prof. Walsh, as well as several anatomical drawings by Donker were on display in the Historical Exhibition across from the EAU Booth.

Dr. Pieter Dik (Zeist, NL) seized on the Dutch theme to tell the stories of Van Stockum and Zaaijer, two Dutch urologists from the early 20th century whose names would not be attached to the procedures they pioneered: the Millin and Bricker. While Terrence Millin was aware of Van Stockum’s work and cited him some forty years later, Zaaijers unsuccessful attempts at uretero-ileal-cutaneostomy was largely unknown when Bricker published his method in the 1950s.

The previous evening, Prof. Alain Jardin accepted the Desnos Prize for contributions to the history of

urology on behalf of the Cercle Félix Guyon, the French Urological Association’s equivalent of the History Office. At this session he gave a lecture on the lithotomist "Frère Jacques" who visited Amsterdam. Perhaps most topical of all was Dr. Frank IJpma (Amsterdam, NL) who gave a potted history of his research into the Amsterdam surgeon’s guild as famously depicted by Rembrandt in his The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632).

Upcoming activities

The History Office will convene again later this year to prepare for an even bigger 2023: concurrently with EAU23, the 7th International Congress on the History of Urology will be held in Milan, featuring prominent speakers and controversial topics from the past fifty years of urology. The congress also marks the end of the 50th Anniversary celebrations and the publication of a book that commemorates the history and achievements of the Association. The congress will take place on 10 March 2023, and can be visited by anyone attending EAU23. More details will be announced on www.eau23.org

The Phallus: Norm and Form Exhibition at Ghent University Museum supported by EAU History Office

doctor who worked at the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Indonesia and Japan, and still exists in its original form.

At the turn of the last century, the different Ghent University museums were outdated, and the University council decided to unite them all into a modern museum of science: the Ghent University Museum (GUM). This splendid new museum with a large permanent collection, opened in 2020 in a building adjacent to the historic botanical garden.

The Phallus - Norm and Form

Since April of this year, the Ghent University Museum (GUM) in Ghent, Belgium has a special exhibition entitled “The Phallus. Norm and Form”. The special show will run until March next year. It was organised in close collaboration with the EAU History Office and exposes objects from the EAU’s permanent collection on the History of Urology.

University Museums

Two centuries ago, when travelling was restricted to expensive expeditions, European universities tried to collect items to demonstrate the exotic world at their university.

After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Europe was reorganised as a consequence of the Treaty of Paris. Belgium and the Netherlands were united in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands as a buffer state between France and Germany. During the reign of its first king, William I, the University of Ghent was founded. Several museum spaces were organised within the university complex. The Ghent botanical garden was also incorporated in the university structure.

As Indonesia was a colony of the Netherlands at the time, the ethnological museum of Ghent University received many important items from ‘the Dutch Indies’. The botanical garden was originally founded by Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866), a German

Although mankind had always some obsession for the phallus, there are all kind of ideas of the ideal form and norm. [1] The penis is everywhere: in prehistoric caves, in religions, in art, and today in graffiti and social media. [2] Based on these basic ideas, the temporary exhibition is structured, and includes five central themes:

1. Key: the penis of mammals including humans shows a large diversity in norm and form. Some animals are even classified based on the form of their penis. The first section of the expo tries to answer the question: Why this diversity? Is the penis a unique key that ‘fits’ a specific lock, the vagina? This is nicely debated by the Columbian artist Maria Fernanda Cardoso with her artwork “It’s not size that matters, it is shape.”

2. Man: embryos develop a penis, a clitoris or a variation, but multiple intersex variations exist. This second section is organised around the question: Does the phallus make the man? It also is shown that the clitoris is much less studied than the penis. Research allows new knowledge about genital anatomy and this is illustrated in this section with unique images.

3. Measure: men typically want to know if the size of their penis is ‘normal’. Measurements produce data, but do not fully answer the question: What is a normal or an ideal penis? This theme is documented with objects from all over the world.

4. Pleasure: sometimes the human phallus is not

behaving as it should. Anatomical or functional problems may be present, and necessitate diagnosis and therapy. Hence the question: What is the medical, psychological and the anthropological approach for these problems? This section presents and visualises the medical aspects, including the research behind different ‘sex toys’.

5. Desire: several natural forms may have a phallic appearance. These phalluses not only stimulated the fantasy of mankind, but some of these pseudophalluses were used in complex rituals. Hence the question: Does a phallus need the form of a penis? Several ethnographic objects try to answer that question. Also modern art found inspiration in the form of the phallus, as can be seen in some impressive artworks by Hockney, Man Ray and Tinguely. (Fig. 1)

Some members of the History Office of the EAU cooperated in this exhibition as experts and loaned some objects from their collections. Also the EAU loaned some pieces from the EAU Historical Collection, as preserved at the Central Office in Arnhem. An overview of some experimental and modern penile implants from its Pryor Collection are exposed. (Fig. 2)

As an extra, modern artworks inspired by the form of the phallus and especially conceived for this exposition, are integrated in the magnificent green environment of the botanical garden. (Fig. 3)

The commitment of the Ghent University Museum to provide a ‘Forum for Science, Doubt & Art’ is beautifully expressed in this exposition that presents a dialogue between science and art, and hence is a must for every urologist and anyone interested in the human body and sexuality.

Exhibition “The Phallus. Norm and Form”

The exhibition is open till 31 March 2023 at: Ghent University Museum (GUM) K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35 8000 Ghent, Belgium www.gum.gent info.gum@ugent.be

References

1. Mattelaer Johan J., The Phallus in Art and Culture, EAU Historical Committee, Arnhem, Groeninghe Uitgeverij Kortrijk, 2000.

2. Pande Alka, Mattelaer Johan, Van Kerrebroeck Philip, and Amrita Narayanan Amrita, Pha(bu)llus. A Cultural History, HarperCollins Publishers India, Utar Pradesh, 2021.

Dr. Johan Mattelaer Honorary Member, EAU History Office Kortrijk (BE)

A 4-month update on the PRIME Study

Latest information about PRostate Imaging using MRI ± contrast Enhancement study

Patients with suspicious MRI (scores 3,4 or 5) on either bpMRI or mpMRI will undergo MRI-targeted biopsy. Suspicious areas will be labelled with their location and whether they were suspicious on either bpMRI or mpMRI. Targeted biopsy cores will be stored separately from areas that were uniquely suspicious on DCE so that conclusions can be made on whether the pathology was from suspicious areas on the bpMRI or mpMRI or both. Systematic biopsies will also be taken. The simplified study schema is shown below in Figure 1.

Primary outcome: the proportion of men with csPCa detected (Gleason Grade ≥ 3+4) / Gleason grade group 2 or greater).

cancer, allowing for a greater capacity to deliver MRI scans to meet the demand.

Recent progress of PRIME

Since recruitment was opened in April 2022, the PRIME Study has made steady progress. Out of a total of 64 different centres that expressed an interest to take part, 9 centres have now opened for recruitment, with another 25 close to completing all necessary steps to take part. In its first 120 days, PRIME has recruited 33/500 patients (6.7%).

EAU Investigator’s Meeting

Study website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/surgery/ research/department-targeted-intervention/ urology/prime-trial-information

Follow us on Twitter: @PrimeMRI!

Key secondary outcomes:

1) Agreement between bpMRI and mpMRI in score of suspicion;

2) Proportion of men with clinically insignificant cancer detected (Gleason grade 3+3 / Gleason grade group 1);

3) Agreement between bpMRI and mpMRI on treatment decision eligibility.

The PRIME team recently held a hybrid style PRIME Investigator’s Meeting at EAU22 in Amsterdam (NL). It was wonderful to see so many of our international investigators join us both in person and online, where we provided a study update and explored future study ideas.

Congratulations to our top recruiters!

1. Reina Sofia: 13 patients

Project leaders: Dr. Enrique Gómez-Gómez, Dr. Daniel José López-Ruiz

PRIME (NCT04571840) is a prospective, international, within-patient, multicentre, level 1–evidence clinical trial evaluating whether bpMRI is non-inferior to mpMRI in the detection of csPCa.

Men with clinical suspicion of PCa undergo mpMRI as standard of care. The DCE sequence is then blinded from the radiologists to report the bpMRI. The DCE sequence will then be unblinded to the radiologist to report the full mpMRI. All MRI scans are reported using Likert and PI-RADS v2.1 scores.

Patients with non-suspicious MRI (scores 1 or 2) on bpMRI and mpMRI and low risk of PCa will be recommended to undergo PSA surveillance.

Implications of PRIME

If bpMRI is non-inferior to mpMRI, then bpMRI will become the new standard of care for prostate cancer detection in men with suspected prostate

2. UCLH: 10 patients

Project leaders: Prof. Caroline Moore, Mr. Veeru Kasivisvanathan

3. Sapienza: 9 patients

Project leader: Prof. Valeria Panebianco

College London

RAEU meeting cultivates residents’ capabilities

ways

Dr. Rodrigo EspañaNavarro ICU Group

University Hospital Malaga (ES)

hotmail.com

Dr. Elena SeguíMoya RAEU Coordinator

General Hospital

(ES)

On 5 July, the annual meeting of the Group of Residents and Young Urologists (RAEU) of the Spanish Urological Association (AEU) was held in Burgos, Spain. The event included a programme of presentations in which the visibility of young urologists with an academic and teaching profile is enhanced, preserving the diversity and equity of the presenters. The meeting, aimed especially at urologists in training, is the starting point of the annual congress of the AEU.

Elements of the programme

This year, the meeting began with a study methodology guide describing different main sources of information available in our specialty (e.g. guidelines, textbooks and e-learning tools) to optimise the study time of first- and second-year residents. Among these sources is the new edition of the Resident’s textbook of urology, which the Spanish urology community has been publishing for more than 10 years.

Dr. Cristina Bujoreanu ESRU Board Member Cluj Napoca (RO)

learning

The Resident’s textbook is the result of a close collaboration between all urology units of the Spanish territory. The first author of each chapter is always a resident who will experience the process of elaborating and editing a chapter. The book also describes hands-on learning options focusing on laparoscopic and robotic surgery using anatomical models, creation of homemade pelvic-trainers, and use of 3D models to enhance surgical skills.

In the second group of presentations, the meeting developed three practical courses. This year, the first thematic unit was functional urology. This unit addressed the interpretation of urodynamic studies adapted to residents, assessment of patients with pelvic organ prolapses, and optimal management of bladder overactivity.

"Since its foundation in 2015, the RAEU group is, above all, a group of friends united by the same aims – to teach and create new ways to learn more about the field they are passionate about: Urology."

The second group of presentations addressed topics of growing interest usually considered secondary in the urologist training such as prevention and treatment of urological infections applied to our geographical region.

The presentations also covered study protocols and treatment options for infertile male patients emphasising the importance of the male factor in infertility; as well as the available results of ERAS (early recovery protocols) in cystectomised patients with a special focus on the methodology of implementation in a real clinical setting.

During the presentations, the novelties of the EAU Guidelines in urology oncology, endourology, and urolithiasis were discussed, including the resident's

management of the summary of changes that EAU clinical guidelines publishes each year. One of the novelties was the advent of immunotherapy in the urological cancer management. In addition, new frontiers in machine-learning and big data tools were discussed, with a special interest in the prediction of recurrence and progression in non-invasive bladder cancer.

Exciting RAEU projects

The current RAEU board comprises 11 Spanish urologists who carry out several projects during the year. Among these projects is a multiplechoice questions app based on the classic trivia programme that has been developed, Uro Trivial, in which Spanish-speaking people can participate. In this app, he contestants challenge each other to climb a ranking ladder with the final objective to obtain different prizes in form of grants for several academic activities. Similarly, a mobile app and a questions-and-answers book inspired by the flash-cards methodology, UroFlashCards (www.

uroflashcards.com) have been recently published. The app currently contains a database of more than 1,200 questions which covers all fields of urology. The manuscript and app are currently only available in Spanish. The new edition is being created and there are plans to translate it to other languages.

Join the RAEU

On an annual basis, the RAEU meeting invites motivated residents to apply during the congress or later, to the RAEU group. A new RAEU board will be elected in 2023 and residents interested to become part of this enthusiastic group can contact the board through social media. They are required to send their curriculum vitae, motivation letter, and ideas for future projects.

Since its foundation in 2015, the RAEU group is, above all, a group of friends united by the same aims – to teach and create new ways to learn more about the field they are passionate about: Urology.

Dear peers,With the core aim to share ideas for professional possibilities for the residents’ community, the European Society of Residents in Urology (ESRU) meeting took place during the 37th Annual EAU Congress (EAU22), which was held in the beautiful city of Amsterdam. Representatives of national committees from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine convened at the ESRU meeting.

The meeting agenda included a report of previous work, future collaborations for research, and activities of the European School of Urology (ESU) such as ESU (boot camp, scholarships and/ exchange programmes) for national communities such as BURST (British Urology Researchers in Surgical Training), TUM (Technical University of Munich), IEA (Italian Endourological Association), and the ICS (International Continence Society). The meeting also covered the IDENTIFY and RESECT trials.

An important aspect of the publishing power of the ESRU community throughout the years is becoming a platform to gain experience with European colleagues and access to academic guidance for writing skills. Different surveys regarding day-to-day training of urology residents shaped our learning activities through publication and evidence-based adjustments of our training.

More for residents

The EAU22 programme also featured the special session of the EAU Young Urologists Office (YUO) and the ESRU called YUORDay22. This was a great session tailored to the educational needs of residents and offered traditional surgical tips and tricks on different procedures (e.g. flexible ureteroscopy, incontinence surgery, new treatments for Peyronie's disease, etc.), and how to prevent and manage nightmare cases.

Recent oncological studies were approached along with modern surgical practices that require both technical and non-technical skills. The programme provided crucial updates for residents such as new evidences in prostate cancer, bladder cancer, UTUC (urinary tract urothelial carcinoma), stone treatment, BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia), and erectile dysfunction treatment.

In addition, the EAU Guidelines Cup took place wherein various prizes were given to residents with outstanding knowledge of the EAU Guidelines. Awards were also bestowed on exceptional contributions by residents such as Best Abstract by a resident (first and second prize) and two European

Urology Residents’ Corner Awards. Congratulations to all the winners!

Newly-elected members

During the NCO (National Communications Officers) Board Meeting, new ESRU executive committee members were elected:

• Chairman: Prof. Diego M. Carrion Monsalve who succeeded past-Chairman Francesco Esperto

• Chairman-Elect: Enrico Checcucci

• Secretary: Adrian Khelif

• Internal coordinator: Anna Goujon

• Treasurer: Marc Deelen

• EUT editor: Cristina Bujoreanu

• Webmaster: Loic Baekelandt

Thank you

Last, but not least, we would like to express our gratitude to the work invested and dedication of the ESRU board members Dr. Michiel Sedelaar, Dr.

Guglielmo Mantica, Dr. Angelika Mattigk, Dr. Sven Nikles, Dr. David Karsza, Dr. Taha Uçar, and Chair of the YAU (Young Academic Urologists) Dr. Juan Gomez Rivas.

Voice your work and join the community Urology residents are highly encouraged to voice their insights and present their innovative ideas in the Residents Corner of the European Urology Today newsletter. Please contact us and send your manuscript to bujoreanucristina@yahoo.com.

Join the ESRU writing community, which is a network promoting academic possibilities. Feel free to contact your national committee to find out how to get involved in the European team of the ESU and/or the ESRU, and receive access to an educational structure designed for your professional development in a nurturing environment!

yahoo.com

gmail.com

The online learning platform for GU cancers (Prostate, Bladder and Kidney Cancers)

The online learning platform for functional urology uroonco.uroweb.org

With access to:

Webcasts

Articles with expert comments

Video interviews with key opinion leaders

uroluts.uroweb.org

Surgical videos

Webinars on hot topics

EAU Prostate Cancer Research Award 2023

For the best paper published on clinical or experimental studies in prostate cancer

With the goal to encourage innovative, highquality research in prostate cancer, the EAU has launched the EAU Prostate Cancer Research Award. Supported by the Fritz H. Schröder Foundation, an expert jury will select the best paper dealing with clinical or experimental studies in prostate cancer.

The award will be handed over at the 38th Annual EAU Congress in Milan, 10-13 March 2023, during the Opening Ceremony.

Join this competitive search and help boost the quality of prostate cancer research in Europe!

Rules and Eligibility

• The topic of the paper should deal with clinical or experimental prostate cancer research.

• The paper must have been published or accepted for publication in a high-ranking international journal between 1 October 2021 and 30 September 2022, and submitted in English.

• Applicants must be a member of the EAU.

• The submitting author must be the first author of the paper or, by exception, the corresponding senior last author.

• Applicants should only submit one paper.

• Deadline for submission by e-mail is 1 November 2022.

A review committee will screen all entries and an independent jury will select the best paper based on quality and merits.

How to apply

Inquiries and correspondence should be addressed to the EAU Central Office, at m.smink@uroweb.org, with “EAU Prostate Cancer Research Award 2023” in the subject line of your e-mail.

The award is supported by a grant of €5,000 from the FRITZ H. SCHRÖDER FOUNDATION. www.fhsfoundation.eu

Prostatic Urethral Lift (PUL) utilising the UroLift System

UroLift System abstracts presented at EAU22

Real-world and pooled control study analysis shows effectiveness of the UroLift System in a broad spectrum of prostates and meaningful patient benefit

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition, with resulting lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) progressing with time in a significant proportion of men.1

Real-world and pooled analysis of controlled studies presented at the European Association of Urology congress supports the benefits of the UroLift System – a minimally invasive treatment option for men with LUTS from BPH. Presented analysis also supported effective and safe use of the UroLift System in a wide range of prostate sizes and types.

Dr. Claus Roehrborn presented pooled outcomes from five controlled studies, showing that most men shift to lower IPSS symptom severity after treatment with the UroLift System.2 Additionally,

Dr. Christian Graztke presented analysis from the large real-world study of PUL consisting of 3,226 patients, which demonstrated that the UroLift System is an effective and safe treatment for LUTS from BPH, independent of prostate size or the presence of an obstructive median lobe.3 These results corroborated past outcomes from previous controlled studies4,5. Lastly, real-world analysis of US healthcare claims by Dr. Steven Kaplan demonstrated that de novo and overall BPH medication usage is highest in patients treated with photo-vaporisation of the prostate (PVP) or TURP, compared to those treated with minimally invasive treatments using the UroLift System or water vapor thermal therapy (WVTT).6

Most men treated with the UroLift System can shift to lower IPSS symptom severity

Depending on their severity, symptoms of BPH negatively impact on men’s quality of life, daily activities and general health.1 The impact can include interrupted sleep, urinary problems, loss of productivity and depression, and there is an association between severity of symptoms and the detrimental effects.1 The impact on quality of life can be compared with other chronic illness, such as hypertension, diabetes, angina and gout, where vitality/energy, role functioning and depressed and anxious feelings have been shown to be worse in men with severe LUTS.1

Dr. Roehrborn presented a combined analysis of five controlled studies with the UroLift System,4,5,8,10,13 involving a total of 331 patients with largely similar baseline characteristics.2 The meta-effect of the procedure and the proportion of patients who move from higher to lower IPSS

Figure 1. The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS)

symptom severity grades was examined. More information on the IPSS questionnaire is shown in Figure 1.

Following treatment with the UroLift System, mean IPSS improved at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months at least 11.1 points from baseline (48.5%, p <0.0001). Quality of life was similarly improved, by up to 52.8% (p <0.0001) and Qmax was increased by at least 4.3 ml/sec (p <0.0001). Most adverse events were mild to moderate and resolved within 2 weeks. 79% (261/331) of subjects were IPSS responders (i.e., experienced ≥3pt IPSS improvement), 66% of which moved into a lower IPSS symptom severity grade (e.g., moved from severe to moderate or mild symptoms).

The IPSS is an eight-item questionnaire, consisting of seven symptom questions and one Quality of Life question. The IPSS score is categorised as ‘asymptomatic’ (0 points), ‘mildly symptomatic’ (1-7 points), ‘moderately symptomatic’ (8-19 points), and ‘severely symptomatic’ (20-35 points).7

The UroLift System is an effective and safe treatment for BPH-associated LUTS independent of gland size and shape

Consideration of a patient’s prostate size and shape will often inform which treatment options are offered. In the treatment algorithm in the EAU guidelines, the UroLift System is recommended for patients with a prostate volume <70ml and no middle lobe. It is also the only surgical treatment specifically recommended for patients who are unable to undergo surgery under anaesthesia.7 Analysing real-world data and previous controlled studies with the UroLift System,4,5 Dr. Graztke compared outcomes in men with differing prostate sizes and morphologies.3 The Real-World Retrospective (RWR) study of PUL includes 3,226 patients across 22 international sites. Data from patients treated with the UroLift System were reviewed retrospectively after stratification according to prostate size and by whether there was lateral lobe obstruction only or presence of an obstructive median lobe.

Results of the analysis showed that, regardless of prostate size, there was significant IPSS improvement. Adverse events occurred less frequently in patients with small prostates compared to those with larger prostates (31.3% vs 43.8%). In the patients with obstructive median lobe, the rate of overall adverse events in the real-world study was not elevated compared to the rate reported in the controlled MedLift study (34% vs. 66.7%). Non-standard-of-care post-procedure catheterisation rates were similar between patients in the MedLift (8.6%) and real-world study (15.6%).

Figure 2: Real-world and controlled trial outcomes of PUL are independent of prostate size.3 Improvement in IPSS following treatment with the UroLift System in patients from the Real-World Retrospective (RWR) study with prostate size <30 ml, 30-<80 ml, and ≥80 ml, compared with patients in the BPH6 study.4 Reproduced with permission from Graztke C.

Prescription rates for BPH medication are higher after TURP and Photo-vaporisation of the prostate compared to the UroLift System

Return to LUTS medication following surgery for BPH has been difficult to examine in a real-world setting. Dr. Kaplan used US healthcare claims to analyse real-world rates of prescription medication for BPH in 35,843 patients treated with TURP, photo-vaporisation of the prostate (PVP), the UroLift System, or water vapor thermal therapy (WVTT).6 The analysis found that the rate of new onset medication after surgery was low in all groups, but was significantly higher for PVP and TURP patients (2.9% and 2.6%, respectively) vs. the UroLift System and WVTT patients (1.3% and 0.8%, respectively) (Table 1). In patients who had been prescribed medication prior to surgery, the rate of medication continuation was also significantly higher for PVP and TURP vs. UroLift System and WVTT.

Prior medication use New onset medication use post-surgeryStopped with surgery Continued (pre-and post-surgery)

PVP 13.90% 5.90% 2.90%

TURP 13.20% 5.40% 2.60%

UroLift System 13.50% 3.20% 1.30%

WVTT 13.90% 2.50% 0.80%

*CPT/HCPCS codes: 53899 (2015-2018), 53854/C9748 (2019)

Safety statement

Indicated for the treatment of symptoms of an enlarged prostate up to 100cc in men 50 years or older. As with any medical procedure, individual results may vary. Most common side effects are temporary and include pain or burning with urination, blood in the urine, pelvic pain, urgent need to urinate and/or the inability to control the urge8. Rare side effects, including bleeding and infection, may lead to a serious outcome and may require intervention.

Prostatic Dis 2019; 22(3):411–419.

of Non-Neurogenic

2015;68(4):643-52.

Kaplan SA et al. De Novo BPH Prescription Rates are Higher after TURP and PVP compared to PUL: a US Healthcare Claims Analysis. Abstract presented at EAU 2022

Benign Prostatic Obstruction (BPO).

Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS),

Rukstalis, Prostate

EAU Guidelines on

Roehrborn, J Urol 2013;190(6):2161-7. 9. Roehrborn, Can J Urol 2017;24(3):8802-13. 10. Shore, Can J Urol 2014;21(1):7094-101. 11. Tutrone, Can J Urol 2020;27(3):10213-10219. 12. Eure, J Endourol 2019; 33(7):576-584. 13. Cantwell, BJU Int 2014;113(4):615-22. 14. Lukacs, Eur Urol 2013;64:493-501.

European Tour 2022 Academic Exchange Programme

steel). It is still a company owned by its employees with a unique focus on precision craftmanship and quality, something we often take for granted when making our first incision during an operation.

Surgical theatre

We joined the faculty in the surgical theatre where the surgeons rose to the occasion with impressive skill. The afternoon was spent with Professor Jim Catto and his considerable team of doctoral candidates and mentees who each have been working on impactful projects that will certainly shape the future of our field. We completed our tour of Sheffield at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre where health, business and medicine combine to provide innovative solutions to complex research questions. A truly amazing facility.

The EAU-AUA Exchange Programme was a once in a lifetime experience. The opportunity to meet leaders in the field of urology and daily intellectual exchanges were unparalleled. We enjoyed listening to the stories of faculty, staff, and trainees comparing both training and differences in clinical practice. In the end, we identified the consistency and high quality of urological care between the U.S. and our host European programmes. We would like to thank Ilse Grotenbreg (EAU) and Abigail Roth (AUA) and their teams for their organisation and communication throughout our tour.

Kick-off

Our tour began in Sheffield (UK) where we were treated like royalty. Professor Christopher Chapple personally sought to provide an unforgettable experience to kick off the exchange. We immediately noted the beauty of the English countryside with rolling hills and dry-stone fences. We learned of the booming historic steel industry, which was centred in Sheffield, and the continued collaborations between the university and the manufacturing industry. The history of the relationship was on display at the Kelham Island Museum. Walking to dinner we came across a Morris Dancing competition and had a wonderful dinner where we discussed our backgrounds.

Research exchange

The next day we toured Chatsworth, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. The grounds were amazing and inside was an interesting mixture of traditional and modern art. We enjoyed Bakewell tarts, Bakewell pudding, and afternoon tea in the city of Bakewell on the drive back home. On Monday, we participated in a research exchange where we learned of several high impact projects, followed by a tour of the Swann-Morton blade factory (cold hard

City of light

Our next stop was the city of light - Paris, France. In the midst of an iconic city, the Department of Urology UPMC Sorbonne Universités is thriving under the direction of Professor Emmanuel Chartier-Kastler. We were quickly integrated into their daily rounds and notified of the operating room lists. We had the opportunity to visit the Tour Eiffel and enjoyed world class cuisine. A day trip to the Chateau de Versailles was extraordinary, providing perspective on the opulence of French royalty at the time. Professor Rouprêt sought to provide an unforgettable Parisian night whisking us through the metro, a stand-up comedy performance teaching us “how to be a Parisian in an hour”. The show was wonderful, witty, and quite informative regarding Parisian culture and attitude. Arvin received one-on-one mentorship in the Parisian art of attitude on stage in front of a packed theatre. After, a whirlwind tour of Notre Dame, les Champs-Elysées, l’Arc de Triomphe, la Tour Eiffel at night, capped with ice cream from Berthillon on the Seine River while watching a street performance of La Vie en Rose while the sun set in front of us. A magical experience.

Neckar river

A short flight landed us in Tubingen, Germany. A picturesque German town on a river with flowers everywhere. We took a stroll around town, enjoyed a beer overlooking the town from above, and found a local museum. The U.S. had something to learn there: even in this small town they had a display for pride month, noting the extraordinary contributions of LGBTQ members of their community. We had a lovely welcome dinner with Professor Steffen Rausch and trainees along the banks of the Neckar river. The next day we were quickly incorporated into the daily rounds and the operating room where the

full breadth of urology was witnessed. We noted excellent skill and attention to detail along with the incorporation of research into daily tasks.

Professors Bedke and Stenzl were wonderful hosts. A farewell dinner was attended by the entire department, and we learned Swabian terms I now use in the operating room.

Van Moorselaar, Beerlage, Pigot, Kamphuis and trainees. More biking ensued the following days. We were able to observe several surgeries, including female to male gender affirming surgery by world-class surgeons. The level of research was extraordinary and the collaborative nature in the department was palpable. That night we had a canal boat charter which was a wonderful way to see the city. An Indonesian spread featuring a traditional rijsttafel was delightful and followed up by a rainy speed bicycle tour to the next venue to enjoy some libations. The EAU meeting itself highlighted the ground-breaking work across all fields not just in Europe but internationally.

Collaborative nature

Our final stop and home of the EAU 2022 was Amsterdam, Netherlands. Biking to the hospitals was refreshing, as were the amazing research programmes that were on display. We had dinner at an old church turned into a brewery with Profs.

The exchange programme gave us the opportunity for both a cultural and academic exchange. However, we both agree that the relationships forged, friendships made, and collaborations established are sure to last a lifetime.

“We joined the faculty in the surgical theatre where the surgeons rose to the occasion with impressive skill.”

“We noted excellent skill and attention to detail along with the incorporation of research into daily tasks.”

Ass. Prof. Arvin George University of Michigan Dept. of Urology Ann Arbor (US)

Dr. Michael Liss University of California, Irvine Dept. of Urology Orange (US)

Lifelong friendships and collaborations established thanks to European programme

Guías de Bolsillo Edición 2022

Queridos colegas,

Se puede consultar la traducción al español de las Guías de Bolsillo de la EAU de 2022 en la página web de la Confederación Americana de Urología (CAU): https://caunet.org/2022-aeu-gias/

La EAU agradece profundamente el apoyo brindado por la CAU para la traducción de estos docu mentos.

Dear colleagues, A Spanish

of

Americana de Urología (CAU): https://caunet.org/2022-aeu-gias/

The

Urology

The perioperative urology nurse from a UK perspective

Dual role has positive impact on patient’s experience, outcome, productivity and efficiency

The advanced nursing role in urology is currently a popular topic, which was also discussed at EAUN22 in Amsterdam. There are different understandings, requirements and applicability with regard to the topic in various countries. Some commonality does exist, however. This is exemplified by the role of the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), which is defined by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in its ‘Nursing Care Curriculum Framework and Competences’: a nurse who has obtained an elevated level of education (WebMD, 2021) and possesses advanced expertise in a nursing field.

The European Specialist Nurses Organisation (ESNO) (2015) extends this and suggests that the area of practice also involves ‘clinical, educational, administrative, research and consultant roles’.

In the United Kingdom, the organisation Health Education England (HEE) (https://www.hee.nhs.uk), which was established to support the delivery of excellent healthcare and health improvement through intelligent workforce planning, has commissioned the development of a Framework for Cancer CNS. It aims to help define the scope and responsibilities of the Cancer CNS work force (Sobrepera, et al 2021).

Urology CNS

As the delivery of health care is a complex process involving multiple specialists with the aim to cure by adopting a holistic approach, in many clinical settings the Urology CNS is increasingly recognised as a key member of the specialist Multidisciplinary Team Meeting (sMDT) (Lam, et al., 2011). In literature some people argue that the role of the urology advance nurse practitioner is progressing in both pre and postoperative practice (Marley, 2021). However, it might equally be argued that the role of the perioperative nurse in urology is not well known. Reflecting an extension of roles, a recent article by Pika et.al., published in 2021 in the British Journal of Nursing, has shed light on the emerging role of the registered nurse first assistant (RNFA). The RNFA is a non-medical practitioner who performs agreed surgical interventions during surgery and works in the perioperative setting (Pika, et al., 2021). The RNFA, also called Surgical Care Practitioner (SCP) in the UK, has a scope of practice extending over the perioperative care spectrum. It incorporates aspects of the roles of the perioperative nurse and medical practitioner (Quick and Hall, 2014). The SCPs perform one of the four roles under the Medical Associate Professional’s (MAP) (BMA, 2022).

Deliver safe and effective care

In the UK, the nursing professionals body (the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)) requires nurses to be consistently educated according to a high standard, so that they are able to deliver safe and effective care (NMC, 2022). Reflecting a cross-professional approach, the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSNEng) took on the educational responsibility of establishing the Curriculum Framework and accrediting appropriate courses in 2014 (RCSEng, 2014). The framework clearly underlined the involvement of an SCP in surgical procedures and intra and perioperative care. It shows how non-medical professionals merge in the surgical team. The curriculum framework not only describes the role, but also the competences and the responsibilities of the specialty. In addition, it explains how doctors of any grade will gain benefit from these professionals (RCSEng, 2016). This is vital for further collaboration and understanding roles in teams, now and in the future.

"In the UK, the nursing professionals body (the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)) requires nurses to be consistently educated according to a high standard, so that they are able to deliver safe and effective care."

Unique dual role

In 2017, the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (London (UK)), Specialist Centre for Kidney Cancer, has introduced the unique dual role of the SCP/CNS for kidney cancer. The role combines the specialised skills of the CNS working in the perioperative pathway for urological cancer and the intraoperative advance surgical practice of the SCP. This pioneering dual role sees the SCP/CNS involved with the entire cancer care. Key aspects of the role include: triage new referrals from General Practitioners (GPs) and referring centres, contribute to numerous sMDT, plan surgical activities and facilitate governance requirements. Furthermore, it includes practical planning to ensure patient’s safety and the provision of intraoperative bedside assistance.

Postoperatively, the SCP/CNS actively participates on the ward round and further contributes by performing advanced nursing activities (for example, administering intravesical chemotherapy) and by facilitating a safe and efficient discharge of the patient. As part of the CNS role, the SCP/CNS also leads a follow-up clinic for patients on active surveillance for kidney tumours.

Value

It is increasingly imperative that those tasked with

planning and providing care demonstrate value, worth and desired outcomes. Since the introduction of this role, the author’s clinical department has assessed its value from different perspectives in the urology department. These include patient experience, through the use of validated surveys, as well as exploring efficiency and productivity through the use of audits.

Extension of urology team

Thus far the results have painted a positive picture. The National Patient Experience Survey has demonstrated an average satisfaction of 9.4 (range 7-10), where ‘0’ is very poor and ‘10’ is very good. The department’s surgical workload and productivity have increased by 47% over the past five years. This has led to the extension of the urology team, with the plan to employ one more SCP/CNS, one more CNS and one consultant surgeon.

With the expansion of the team, further activities could be implemented, including a post-operative SCP/CNS follow-up clinic visit, which would take place within the first two weeks post-discharge. This would facilitate an early detection of surgical complications and could therefore reduce potential re-admissions to the emergency department.

Understood and appreciated

Professional reflection and the results above suggest that the implementation of this new role has enhanced continuity of care, as the patients have interacted with a familiar face (link person) throughout their surgical journey. The standard of care was upheld by the SCP/CNS who work with all the consultant surgeons and contribute to the coaching and education of trainees aiming to pursue the best health care practices and outcomes. There have been a few challenges and even some limitations in implementing this role. It took some time before the role was understood and appreciated by the extended surgical team, with initial clashes emerging on defining the boundaries of action; not an unexpected or undesirable thing. The role is regulated by the available frameworks. The professional banding (a UK system to denote the employed role of a clinical staff member and the salary for that role) is also based on this, making advance practice erroneously seem more ‘expensive’ for several departments.

Profitable investment

However, if the success of the urology department is measured by efficiency or the patient’s outcome, the SCP/CNS dual role is undoubtedly a profitable investment (Leary, 2022). Furthermore, the SCP/CNS is actively involved in multiple aspects of the patient’s cancer care, with multiple activities proceeding simultaneously. This means that the department requires a larger number of practitioners to guarantee appropriate cover and to satisfy clinical demands and requirements. The abundance of SCP/ CNS in the team creates a complex, but safe, structure that can contribute to covering staff absence for short periods of time, thanks to the

team’s wide range of action, adaptability and knowledge.

Dual role

Advance nursing practice is a dynamic process of constant evolution. This work constantly requires the nursing community to plan and regulate practice by the implementation of frameworks and by engaging with regulatory bodies. New roles are implemented only after having gained the full support of the extended team, that works toward the unanimous goal of delivering agreed high standards of care and measurable outcomes. The team is prepared to anticipate and deal with the constant change of funding and resources. This article has sought to demonstrate that the dual role of the SCP/CNS has a positive impact on patient’s experience and outcome, productivity and efficiency. Its value has been recognised in the author’s healthcare delivery unit. However, the author also recognises that this is just the latest point in a long journey. Further changes are needed to regulate and bring more consensus to advance practice nursing. From a legal, payment/salary and professional recognition perspective, the introduction of specialised regulatory bodies and a dedicated educational urological framework may bring further advances.

Improve awareness

The author’s experience within this pioneering, new role has been extremely positive and satisfying. She has been able to determine and meet the challenges that have led to an improvement in her role. The role is based on agreed educational pathways and gives autonomy to the advance urology nursing role. It also establishes a new career route, which is a balance between managerial and clinical work. This article wants to improve the awareness on the existence of the specialised role of the urology nurse. It aims to encourage the implementation of this job to support best clinical practice, work efficiency and reiterate the value of nurses in the healthcare sector.

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank Mr. Jerome Marley (Lecturer in Nursing, and Faculty Partnership Manager, Ulster University) for the help provided with the review of this article. I would furthermore like to thank the Renal and Urology Team at Royal Free London Hospital for the support demonstrated over the years with the implementation of this new role.

References

The reference list of this article is available from the EUT Editorial Office. Please send an e-mail to: h.lurvink@uroweb.org with reference to the article

“The perioperative urology nurse from a UK perspective” by Ms. M. Marchetti, Aug/Sep. issue 2022.

Meet upcoming EAUN Board Member: Robert McConkey

My name is Robert McConkey, I live in Galway City on the west coast of Ireland, and I am delighted to join the board of the EAUN. I work in the urology day services department in University Hospital Galway, which is a major acute hospital and one of the eight designated cancer centres in Ireland. After a career change from the insurance industry, I graduated with my BSc. Nursing in 2007 from the National University of Ireland, Galway. I went on to gain extensive experience in urological nursing care on a dedicated 30-bedded urology ward. During this time, I undertook further education leading to my graduation with an MSc. in Prostate Cancer Care in 2016. I moved to the urology day services unit in 2016 where I coordinated the introduction and delivery of the hospitals first outpatient flexible cystoscopy service.

Advanced nurse practitioner

Shortly after this, I was appointed to the training post of candidate advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) in urology with an agreed caseload of bladder cancer patients. I underwent further education to graduate with my Post Graduate Higher Diploma in Nursing (Advanced Practice with

Prescribing) and embarked on a training programme with consultant-led clinical supervision and competency assessment in conducting surveillance cystoscopy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients. This was the first role of its kind in Ireland. I was appointed to the post of Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner (Bladder Cancer) in November 2018.

Evidence-based care

I work in collaboration with the urology consultants, non-consultant hospital doctors, urology nurses and wider multidisciplinary team to deliver evidencebased care to my patient caseload. My day-to-day role involves the assessment and management of patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. I take a holistic, shared decision making approach to patient care. This includes patient education, supportive care, and running flexible cystoscopy surveillance and follow-up clinics. I have oversight of the intravesical therapy clinics for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients. I assess these patients at the clinic, prescribe their therapy and follow them up for any care, support and management of the side effects of therapy.

Leadership roles

Other aspects of my role and areas of interest include developing and delivering accredited education programmes in urology, policy and guideline development, and staff training and mentoring, and nurse-led research. My leadership roles include various local, regional and international committee memberships and I have consulted on the Model of Care for urology in Ireland. I set up a journal and research club in our department to promote evidence-based practice as a means to facilitate nurse-led collaborative research. I am also interested in promoting urological nursing generally, as well as advanced nursing practice roles in urology.

Value of international collaboration

My motivation to join the Board of the EAUN is to contribute to the further development of urology nursing internationally. Having served a three-year term on the EAUN Scientific Congress Office, I have gained a deep appreciation of the value of international collaboration by learning from international colleagues and

sharing ideas and practices.

The different sections of the EAUN are well placed to gather, coordinate, and promote the delivery of standardised best practice evidence-based urological nursing care, education, and research, while advancing urological nursing internationally. I hope my term on the board of the EAUN will further contribute to developing and achieving these goals.

I look forward to seeing you at the annual EAUN meetings.

Mr. Jerome Marley wins prestigious Ronny Pieters Award

A great role model, who has led urology care into the future

A highlight from day one of the 22nd International EAUN meeting (EAUN22) was the announcement of Mr. Jerome Marley (GB) winning the Ronny Pieters Award, for his outstanding and enduring contribution to the development of urological nursing in Europe.

As a former EAUN Chair and Board Member, Mr. Marley has a long history with the EAUN, including his contribution to the very first Scientific Congress Office (SCO), which was formed in 2014. He played an important role in shaping a curriculum for urological nurses and committed his time to the development of new learning methods in nursing, like e-learning. He also served as the president of the British Association of Urology Nurses from 2004 to 2006.

Mr. Marley is currently the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Urological Nursing, and a lecturer at the Ulster University, Northern Ireland. During his extra-ordinary career, Mr. Marley has published over 30 scientific papers on urological topics, and has been a moderator or member of the steering committee to a number of international conferences and educational programmes all over the world.

We spoke with Mr. Marley about winning the Ronny Pieter Award, an award named after Ronny Pieters (BE) to honour his pioneering achievements and contributions to urology nursing, and the constitution and development of the EAUN. The Award was introduced at EAUN19 in Barcelona, Spain.

What does winning the Ronny Pieters Award mean to you?

Mr. Jerome Marley: “Winning the Ronny Pieters Award has been a very humbling experience. It goes without saying that I am very honoured indeed, and still surprised if I am honest. Working in urology care both in practice, and in latter years in urology nurse education, has been the greatest joy of my professional life. I really do see myself as being so lucky that I was exposed to urology nursing. None of us enter urology nursing thinking that we might win an award, not at all. Equally, joining the EAUN was simply a natural thing for me and, as I have said many times, the EAUN gave me infinitely more than I gave it. I was delighted to be able to contribute the work that I have done thus far because it allowed me to work with and learn from wonderful colleagues and to see progress made.”

“There are many people who might have won the award as others have also been consistent in their commitment to developing urology nursing, often over many years. To be recognised for doing what I love is something that I will never forget and will treasure always, especially as it is named after someone for whom I have only the greatest respect and admiration.”

with others to advance the art and science of urology nursing. As part of that journey, I have been a Urology Nurse Lecturer-Practitioner, a jointappointment between my local hospital and Ulster University. The flexibility of this post and the understanding of both employers allowed me to engage with projects including EAUN Board membership, as well as being a member of the Scientific Congress Office.”

Who has supported you through your career? “There are so many people and organisations who have supported me. At the outset I have to say that two people stand out from the earliest days. Eileen O’Hagan, sadly no longer with us, was the nurse manager of my department in the 1990s and was the model of what a supportive and enthusiastic nurse manager should be. Eileen opened doors and created space for nurses to grow, I think that is so vital."

“The second person, actually the person who organised the resources to bring me to Brussels in 2000 was Aidan O’Brien, a urologist in my hospital. I remember Aidan telling me that I needed to attend a urology meeting every year because practice and knowledge was moving fast and I needed to hear what was happening and play what part I could. Ulster University was especially supportive in my urology career, and the various Heads of the School of Nursing were all so generous with their time and encouragement for the development of urology nurse education, beginning in the 1990s and remaining active today.”

“These programmes would offer urology nurses easy access to high-quality programmes that would assist them to deepen their knowledge and provide recognisable qualifications that would assist their care and career development. Equally important we also have an issue to look at regarding how we might be able to recognise the knowledge and experience of established urology nurses and see whether, and in what way, we can integrate this into the EFUN.”

encouraging to me and is one of the key experiences I have.

“I wish more colleagues would play a deeper role in EAUN, as we need the efforts of all to drive forward with our ambitious plans. In Brussels in 1990, none of knew what lay ahead of us, but we certainly knew that there was a huge amount of work needing done. I think we were so excited to be supported by EAU to form the EAUN that we did not care about what lay ahead – the work would get done, eventually.”

Where did your interest in a career in urological nursing come from?

“My interest came about simply because I happened to be a nurse on a unit where a urologist was employed for the first time, and we started to treat people with urological disorders because at that time in the early 1990s no-one else in the hospital really wanted to open their doors to this unknown specialty. I was hooked on urology almost from the first day and was lucky enough to work with colleagues and managers who were equally excited about urology. So my interest was an accident or stroke of luck, call it what you will, but I am so happy that it happened as it made all the difference in my career.”

“Over 20 years ago I became a member of BAUN and then in 2000 I was lucky enough to attend the first EAUN Congress in Brussels. This conference had been the dream of Ronny Pieters and it was here that I met Ronny for the first time. Since then I have become more and more involved in trying to work

“Lastly, I need to say that both EAUN and BAUN have been instrumental in supporting my career. EAUN has been the most wonderful organisation to be involved with and I have been lucky not only to have played a small part in developing urology nursing through EAUN, but equally in meeting and being inspired by so many colleagues across Europe and indeed the world.”

What is your most memorable experience from when you joined the very first Scientific Congress Office (SCO)?

“That is easy to answer – what stands out for me was the raw enthusiasm and dedication that was shared between all of us in the room. We were one group, urology nurses and EAUN Office staff in the shape of Hanneke Lurvink (who thankfully remains with us today), who were committed to creating something our colleagues would value and benefit from. It was exciting and fulfilling to be in a room with people who cared about urology nursing as much as I did. We were convinced that we could offer something to our colleagues that would excite and inform, and so it was.”

“I am not sure if it was my first meeting, but I have a very clear memory of an SCO meeting in Kolding, Denmark, and planning the next congress using Post-It notes on large sheets of paper scattered on a few tables. The meeting took place in the local town library of all places. We brought ideas to the table, debated them, refined them, and moved them into the programme, trying to make something that appealed to as many colleagues as possible, employing input from nursing and medical experts. I would tell anyone who thinks that SCO would be a worthwhile experience that they would be absolutely right, it is.”

What are your aspirations for the future of the Educational Framework for Urological Nursing (EFUN)?

“Over the past few years I have become convinced of the need for the EFUN and the supportive educational programmes that must accompany it.

The COVID-19 pandemic really slowed the development of EFUN as those of us involved in devising and evolving EFUN were, like everyone else, diverted to other things during this unparalleled time and that is understandable. However, now that we are seeing a glimmer of relief, we need to push on to conclude the first phase of EFUN and to work with educational providers to create programmes of study.”

“Ultimately, I would want to see an agreed EFUN for new and emerging nurses, as well as an extension for advanced/specialist nurses. Such structures would be agreed, sought after, and recognised by nurses and our other professional colleagues. Having the ability for nurses to have postnominal letters after their name indicating that they have attained a recognised qualification in urology would symbolise a great leap forward for our urology nursing profession.”

What has been the most valuable experience for you as part of the EAUN?

“The most valuable experience for me has been the fact that I am part of an organisation that values urology nursing as much as I do. In the EAUN people offer their services to do what they can as part of a team to advance our profession. I think that increasingly people are reluctant to take on additional responsibilities beyond those in their daily work. To see people stepping forward in the EAUN, offering to play their small part, is consistently

“In some ways this remains the case. The experience of being part of a team has been so important, with everyone doing what they can and no more. Over the past 22 years, there have been ups and downs, successes and failures; what else did we expect? In the end though, we continue to make great advances in creating a representative organisation which has the resources, leaders and members to make urology nursing ever more what it needs to be.”

What’s on your urology bucket list still?

“I think I have a rather large bucket if I am honest. As I indicated above, the EFUN would be at the top of the bucket for sure. A close second though would have to be the increased cooperation between urology associations across the world creating a more common approach to evidence informed practice that offers support to both new and established urology nurses. I think this kind of joined up thinking is critically important now and, in the future, if we are going to see urology nursing thrive; standing still is not an option.”

Second prize

With

Best Science-oriented Poster Presentation

First prize L. Faurholt Øbro, C. Handberg, J. Ammentorp, G.T. Pilh, P.J.S. Osther (Vejle/Aarhus/Odense, Denmark)

With the poster: “Perspectives of patients with prostate cancer on self-management support through mHealth and health-coaching”

Second prize M.J. Abitang, E.M. O’Connor, S.M. Croghan, O. Baird, J. Fallon, P. Loughman , J. Esoof, S.K. Giri , S. Rosengrave, A. Chute, A.M O’Looney, D. Shanahan, C. Ryan (Dublin/Limerick/Clare, Ireland)

With the poster: “A prospective study in nurse-led clinics and community nursing using the transurethral catheterisation safety valve (TUCSV©) for the prevention of catheter balloon inflation injury of the urethra”

“Over the past few years I have become convinced of the need for the EFUN and the supportive educational programmes that must accompany it.”

“…joining the EAUN was simply a natural thing for me and, as I have said many times, the EAUN gave me infinitely more than I gave it.”

Especially useful in prostate cancer treatment

of the MRI. Nevertheless, Professor Lagendijk and his team persisted and were able to present a prototype of the MR-Linac in 2009. [2] From then on, the development took flight. Currently, two commercially available MR-Linac systems are in clinical use worldwide. [3,4]

Prostate cancer treatment

I was invited to discuss the promising new radiotherapy MR-Linac by the EAUN Special Interest Group on Prostate Cancer for the session they organised at EAUN22.

It was 1999 when Jan Lagendijk – working as a clinical physicist at the radiotherapy department of the University Medical Centre Utrecht – suggested to integrate an MR scanner into a linear accelerator. The resulting device would enable MR imaging at the moment of treatment and was called the MR-Linac.

Radiotherapy with CT-guidance

Back then, the most advanced external beam radiotherapy treatment was performed with CT-guidance before any radiotherapy fraction. The lack of soft tissue contrast and the inability to perform imaging during the radiotherapy fraction limited the accuracy of this treatment. [1] Most tumours move during radiotherapy. Therefore, the radiotherapy target volume consisted of the tumour with a substantial margin around it to ensure that the tumour would remain within the target during radiation dose delivery. Because of these margins, there is healthy tissue in the target volume that may be susceptible to radiation damage, resulting in unwanted side effects.

Impossible?

At first, Professor Lagendijk’s idea was received by his peers with scepticism, as they deemed it impossible. The powerful magnet of the MR scanner would uncompromisingly influence the functioning of the accelerator, while the metal of the rotating accelerator would distort the magnetic homogeneity

Among urological malignancies treated with the MR-Linac are bladder and kidney cancer, but most patients are treated for prostate cancer. [5] The prostate’s anatomic position, surrounded by the bladder and bowel, causing movement and deformation of the prostate, makes it a suitable treatment site for the MR-Linac. [6] MR imaging before and during the radiotherapy fractions enables more accurate radiotherapy, reducing the target volume margin and radiation to surrounding healthy organs. [7] The hypothesis is that this will lead to fewer side effects.

Improved visualisation

“Seeing what you treat” can also serve hypofractionation and dose escalation, meaning higher radiotherapy doses in fewer fractions. The standard radiotherapy treatment for intermediate-risk prostate cancer used to be delivered in 25 to 35 fractions. A great deal of radiotherapy clinics now perform the treatment in only five fractions. Trials are investigating whether the MR-Linac can reduce the treatment to two fractions without increasing side effects and tumour recurrence. [8,9] Another advantage of integrated MR imaging during radiotherapy is the improved visualisation of soft tissue structures that may contribute to the erectile function. Sparing these structures, such as the neurovascular bundle and the internal pudendal artery, may reduce erectile dysfunction after radiotherapy - a frequent problem among prostate cancer patients. The effect of neurovascular-sparing radiotherapy using an MR-Linac is currently under investigation at the University Medical Centre Utrecht (ERECT trial). [10]

Compared with other treatments

The technical development of the MR-Linac is ongoing, aiming for optimum real-time target tracking

and treatment adaptation. [11] Simultaneously, current MR-Linac treatment is being evaluated in trials and prospective registries. It is compared with conventional radiotherapy and other treatment modalities, such as prostatectomy in prostate cancer. [12-14] The outcomes of these studies will show the effect of MR-Linac treatment and help define its place in the treatment of prostate cancer and other (urological) malignancies.

References:

1. Grégoire V, Guckenberger M, Haustermans K, et al. Image guidance in radiation therapy for better cure of cancer. Mol Oncol. 2020;14(7):1470. doi:10.1002/1878-0261.12751

2. Raaymakers BW, Lagendijk JJW, Overweg J, et al. Integrating a 1.5 T MRI scanner with a 6 MV accelerator: proof of concept. Phys Med Biol. 2009;54(12):N229. doi:10.1088/0031-9155/54/12/N01

3. Klüter S. Technical design and concept of a 0.35 T MR-Linac. Clin Transl Radiat Oncol. 2019;18:98-101. doi:10.1016/J.CTRO.2019.04.007

4. Lagendijk JJW, Raaymakers BW, van Vulpen M. The Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Linac System. Semin Radiat Oncol. 2014;24(3):207-209. doi:10.1016/j. semradonc.2014.02.009

5. de Mol van Otterloo SR, Christodouleas JP, Blezer ELA, et al. Patterns of Care, Tolerability, and Safety of the First Cohort of Patients Treated on a Novel High-Field MR-Linac Within the MOMENTUM Study: Initial Results From a Prospective Multi-Institutional Registry. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2021;111(4):867-875. doi:10.1016/J.IJROBP.2021.07.003

6. de Muinck Keizer DM, Kerkmeijer LGW, Willigenburg T,

et al. Prostate intrafraction motion during the preparation and delivery of MR-guided radiotherapy sessions on a 1.5T MR-Linac. Radiother Oncol. 2020;151:88-94. doi:10.1016/j.radonc.2020.06.044

7. Winkel D, Bol GH, Kroon PS, et al. Adaptive radiotherapy: The Elekta Unity MR-linac concept. Clin Transl Radiat Oncol. 2019;18:54-59. doi:10.1016/j.ctro.2019.04.001

8. Westley R, Hall E, Tree A. HERMES: Delivery of a Speedy Prostate Cancer Treatment. Clin Oncol (Royal Coll Radiol (Great Britain). 2022. doi:10.1016/J.CLON.2022.01.003

9. Randomized Trial of Five or Two MRI-Guided Adaptive Radiotherapy Treatments for Prostate Cancer. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04984343. Updated 30 June 2022. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/ NCT04984343. Accessed 28 July 2022.

10. EREctile Function Preservation for Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy (ERECT). ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04861194. Updated 25 August 2021. https://www. clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04861194. Accessed 28 July 2022.

11. Pathmanathan AU, van As NJ, Kerkmeijer LGW, et al. Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Adaptive Radiation Therapy: A “Game Changer” for Prostate Treatment? Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2018;100(2):361-373. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2017.10.020

12. de Mol van Otterloo SR, Christodouleas JP, Blezer ELA, et al. The MOMENTUM Study: An International Registry for the Evidence-Based Introduction of MR-Guided Adaptive Therapy. Front Oncol. 2020;10. doi:10.3389/ fonc.2020.01328

13. Ma TM, Lamb JM, Casado M, et al. Magnetic resonance imaging-guided stereotactic body radiotherapy for prostate cancer (mirage): a phase iii randomized trial. BMC Cancer. 2021;21(1):1-13. doi:10.1186/S12885-02108281-X/TABLES/3

14. Teunissen FR, Willigenburg T, Meijer RP, van Melick HHE, Verkooijen HM, van der Voort van Zyp JRN. The first patient-reported outcomes from the Utrecht Prostate Cohort (UPC): the first platform facilitating “trials within cohorts” (TwiCs) for the evaluation of interventions for prostate cancer. World J Urol. July 2022. doi:10.1007/ S00345-022-04092-2

Thought-provoking session about post-RALP rehabilitation

are very good at asking about sexual function at post-operative reviews and then refer patients to the clinic.

Factors such as ‘time’ and ‘effort’ were addressed during the presentation. This is something that I discuss from the outset, allowing for the management of patient expectations and commitment, always reinforcing that there is no ‘immediate solution’.

Pelvic floor management

surgery, once the catheter has been removed. Although a brief mention of the option to pursue rehabilitation occurs during pre-operative counselling, the reality is that patients often cannot be seen in clinic for weeks, even months postsurgery. For a small minority of patients, rehabilitation may not be initiated for several months due to factors such as urinary incontinence, missed opportunity/referral or for a variety of personal reasons. The presenter reinforced that erectile dysfunction was equally as important an issue as urinary incontinence.

erectile dysfunction. Thus, our team ensures that this is not overlooked.

Combination approach

Amsterdam 2022 was my first experience of attending the EAUN congress. I feel honoured that the EAUN selected me for a travel grant of €500. This enabled me to take part in this wonderful event. The programme was varied, providing stimulating, thought provoking and inspirational presentations. The opportunity to network and collaborate with other professionals from Europe and beyond provided insight into the world of urological nursing. This led to interesting comparisons of nursing roles and scopes of practice.

Topics that are overlooked

‘Treatment of Prostate Cancer’ was a topic that related most to my current role as uro-oncology nurse specialist. The presentation addressed topics that are often overlooked and focussed on the longer term potential side effects of individual treatments. In particular, the focus on erectile dysfunction following robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) was extremely interesting and relevant to my practice. My ‘penile rehabilitation’ clinic allows for men post-RALP to partake in a programme aimed at addressing any loss of sexual function following surgery. The presentation stressed the importance of penile rehabilitation, an aspect of after–care that was often ignored. Although I agree wholeheartedly with the importance of rehabilitation, I feel that surgeons

Pre-operative counselling, which is also part of my role, allows for the opportunity to discuss post-RALP side effects, such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Interestingly, the importance of pelvic floor management and its relevance to sexual function were also addressed during the presentation. In my practice, when patients are listed for RALP surgery they are automatically referred to the physiotherapist who specialises in pelvic floor dysfunction.

Timing of rehabilitation was also discussed. It was deemed that the use of a vacuum erection device (VED) should ideally be initiated 6 weeks post-

Not that important?

The idea is that patients are often focussed on their surgery and cure preoperatively and often see erectile dysfunction as something of secondary significance. I agree with this statement to some extent, as often the patients who delay the initiation of rehabilitation are the ones who do not put as much value on their quality of life post-operatively and who focus much more on ‘being cured’.

Our department decided to initiate discussion of the rehabilitation programme during pre-operative counselling , in order to allow the opportunity for all RALP patients to initiate penile rehabilitation (avoiding the potential of delayed referral). That way, the patient receives treatment along with clear, concise instructions and guidance from the outset. We feel that this gives patients the opportunity to commence the programme confidently and immediately after their catheter is removed. By early initiation of the rehabilitation programme, an element of hope may be provided as well as an improvement in quality of life, psychological benefits and better outcomes overall. It also allows for patient choice and equality. If patients decide not to pursue the programme, then at least they have been given the opportunity to discuss the important aspect of

A variety of methods to treat erectile dysfunction were discussed. Although there appeared to be no set criteria, a combination approach was more favourable for a better and earlier recovery. This reflects the practice in my clinic where currently patients use a combination of VED and phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibitors (if no contraindication is identified). Interestingly, ‘talking’ was listed as a treatment approach. I agree that communication is crucial to every aspect of nursing care, in particular when discussing personal and often sensitive issues such as sexual function. Discussion with and education of the patient, ideally in conjunction with their partner, allows for improved commitment to the programme, acceptance of the new situation and better relationship dynamics. This undoubtedly avoids emotional distress, a sense of loss of masculinity/failure and thus allows intimacy to remain an important aspect of the patient’s life post-RALP, improving overall quality of life for some patients.

Overall, I found the presentation to be thoughtprovoking. It showed similarities with what I deliver in practice. It reinforced the need for communication and realistic expectations from the outset. Age, good pre-operative potency and nerve-sparing surgery were highlighted as being strong prognostic factors for the recovery of sexual function postRALP. We do need to place emphasis on the statement that sexual function is an equally important issue as urinary incontinence post-RALP and should never be overlooked.

Drs. Freek Teunissen

Utrecht

of Radiotherapy Utrecht

umcutrecht.nl

McManus

Uro-Oncology

(GB)

Milan will host the 23rd International EAUN meeting (EAUN23) from 11-13 March 2023, and as part of the EAUN’s objective to provide top-quality meeting updates, the members of the Scientific Congress Office have prepared an exciting, surprising and highly educational programme.

Programme

“We are planning a wide variety of sessions, with a good balance between oncological and nononcological subjects. Delegates can expect a comprehensive advanced nursing-oriented programme in Milan,” says Jeannette Verkerk, Chair of the EAUN Scientific Congress Office. “For instance, the subject of interprofessional care planning regarding bladder cancer.” All proposed speakers will be invited in the coming weeks.

“Some examples are: A talk about another approach for treating urinary tract infections with bacteriophages in patients undergoing TURP, is it a promising treatment? The session on testosterone deficiency by Mrs. Jeannette Verkerk (NL) and a session on BABCON, development of an integrated model of care for continence nurses. The last two were planned for Amsterdam, but unfortunately couldn’t take place. Also of note is the session on frailty in bladder cancer, an underestimated marker, organised by The Special Interest Group Bladder Cancer.”

Prizes

To build on the success of previous EAUN congresses, Verkerk said regular features such as the Poster Sessions will be part of the programme again with recognition and cash prizes for the top four best posters (€500 and €250 for the two best scientific and the two best practical posters).

New EAUN Board Member starting soon: Mattia Boarin

My name is Mattia Boarin, and I would like to introduce myself to the EAUN members as an upcoming board member of the European Association of Urology Nurses. I am 36 years old and I graduated in 2008 at the Nursing School of Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (Milan, IT). In 2012, I finished my master’s degree in the science of nursing. I have had 10 years’ experience as a staff nurse at the department of urology of the San Raffaele Hospital, where I have collaborated in many development projects, clinical protocols revision and the development of patient education tools. Since August 2020, I hold the position of Head Nurse of the same department of urology and outpatient urology clinic.

The main surgical procedures performed at our department, which is one of the most important European urological research centres, are radical cystectomies (open and robot-assisted) and robot-assisted prostatectomies.

Lecturer

Since 2011, simultaneous to my clinical urological and nursing management experience, I am a lecturer of Urological Nursing at the School of Nursing, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (Milan, IT). Currently I am collaborating in research and development projects in the urological nursing field. My personal research interest areas are oncological surgical urology, clinical management of patients who have undergone cystectomy, ERAS/Fast-track protocols and prehabilitation.

Since 2013, I am a member of the EAUN. That year I participated in my first meeting, organised in my country (EAUN Milan, 2013); I had the opportunity to get to know the EAUN activities and recognise the importance of joining an international urological nurses network.

European School of Urology Nursing

In the following years, I regularly participated in the EAUN annual meetings, where I had the opportunity

to present several research posters. Moreover, in the past years, I attended the courses of European School of Urology Nursing as well. These courses gave me the possibility to share the best evidencebased indications for urological patient management with my colleagues.

My personal scientific experience has developed by speaking at many national and international conferences and by collaborating in many publications and papers as first author or co-author, in the urological clinical field. These experiences have had a fundamental importance, promoting best practices sharing, with an impact on clinical practice at my department.

Represent southern European countries

I consider the EAUN Board membership an important opportunity to represent the southern European countries, extending and strengthening our current network. The comparison and collaboration between nurses from other, different countries supports members to share information and clinical experiences, with the primary purpose of standardising the urological nursing practice in Europe.

The Expert-guided Poster Session, for which presenters do not have to make a pre-recording and a slide presentation nor answer questions on stage (and no prizes attached) will also return. Submitters can choose themselves whether they prefer to take part in this session at the poster boards or in the regular Poster Session on stage. The session is aimed at the less experienced nurses who are looking to gain experience in poster presentation.

The Nursing Research Competition, which aims to support and encourage innovative work, will offer a €2,500 prize. To be accepted, a detailed research project plan is required and to support nurses with this major work, advice is offered by research mentors. Details on how to contact the research mentors can be found on the submission page.

Also to be featured at EAUN23 are the well-attended Video and Difficult Cases sessions. “We look forward to meeting our colleagues from across Europe and beyond to exchange experiences and share our expertise in all fields of urology,” Verkerk said. You can find the submission details on the website.

Submission open Submission is now open for poster abstracts, video abstracts, nursing research plans and difficult cases. Puzzled by an unusual case? Was your team finally able to find the right approach? Share your insights! Submitters who are invited to present in

the Difficult Cases and Video sessions will receive a complimentary registration, as part of the EAUN’s efforts to promote promising work.

Submission of abstracts is not only open for nurses and EAUN members: all abstracts dealing with a topic that is relevant for urology nursing are welcome. Participation in the research competition, however, is exclusively for members. Start preparing now! The criteria and rules for all submissions can be found through www.eaun22.org. The deadline for submitting is 1 December 2022.

The congress in Amsterdam saw wide number in submissions from all over the world, and we hope to receive a record number of submissions and participants for EAUN23 again.

For

Travel grant application open

The EAUN has travel grants available for a selected number of motivated members. Application will be open from 1 October until 1 November. Don’t hesitate and apply! Full details on the ‘Registration’ section of the EAUN23 congress website.

See you in Milan!

The EAUN23 website will open on 1 October: www.eaun23.org