Search

The assessment and medical treatment of LUTS secondary to BPH

The term benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) describes prostate enlargement due to non-cancerous processes. Several aetiological mechanisms are involved, including hormonal and vascular alterations; abnormal regulation of apoptosis; and prostatic inflammation, which may stimulate cellular proliferation. With ageing, prostate enlargement can...

An update on antibiotic prophylaxis in TRUS-guided prostate biopsy

Since its inception in the 1980s, transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy has remained the standard tool for the histological diagnosis of prostate cancer. There are several advantages to this technique which have led to the widespread use of TRUS in...

Prostate artery embolisation

Introduction Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a common condition associated with ageing, affects 50% of those between the ages of 50 and 60 years, and as many as 90% of those older than 80 years. BPH is characterised by unregulated, benign...

Management of recurrent cystitis

Acute uncomplicated infective cystitis is most commonly seen in healthy women with a frequency of around 0.5-0.7 episodes per woman per year [1]. Around 10% of women report having had an episode of urinary tract infection (UTI) each year and...

Urinary biomarkers for surveillance of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer

Bladder cancer (BC) is the ninth most common cancer worldwide with a yearly incidence of approximately 430,000 cases. There is a male predominance and it is the seventh most common cancer in men worldwide [1]. Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC)...

Men with a susceptibility to prostate cancer: implications of ethnicity in PCa risk-prediction and diagnosis

The diagnostic and therapeutic landscapes of prostate cancer (PCa) have advanced at great pace in the past decade. However, disparities in access to care, clinical outcomes and representation in therapeutic, interventional and genomic studies continue to exist between Afro-Caribbean (AC)...

Indeterminate renal lesions – a pragmatic imaging approach

The incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the UK has increased steadily over the last two decades, largely driven by the increasing use of abdominal imaging and the incidental detection of small renal lesions [1]. The majority of incidental...

Sexual dysfunction following prostate cancer treatment

Prostate cancer is common with over 52,300 new cases diagnosed annually in the UK; this is expected to rise by 15% between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040 [1]. Radical prostatectomy continues to be the most common form of radical treatment for men...

Kidney stones in pregnancy

Urolithiasis related complications are estimated to affect between 1:200 and 1:2000 pregnancies [1,2]. With around 825,000 conceptions in England and Wales in 2021 [3], this represents an uncommon but not rare occurrence. What is normally a straightforward pathway for a...

Priapism

Priapism is defined as an abnormally persistent erection lasting greater than four hours, not associated with sexual desire [1]. Although relatively uncommon with an incidence of 1.5 per 100,000 [2], priapism has a risk of complications which can have a...

Penile cancer: a practical approach

Penile cancer is rare and accounts for less than 1% of all new cancer cases in males in the UK, with around 640 new cases diagnosed every year [1]. In England and Wales, the annual incidence is between 1.2 and...

Surgical treatment of LUTS secondary to BPH

For the vast majority of patients an initial trial of medical therapy for the management of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is indicated [1]. In a substantial minority of cases however, a surgical intervention...