Kidney stones/gallstones linked with prostate cancer?
Also, really long-distance prostate operation
By Howard Wolinsky
More news and views on prostate cancer, BPH and more:
(Kidney stone and prostate cancer?)
—The Inflammation Express? French researchers studied the potential role of kidney stones and gallstones—and prostate cancer. Florence Menegaux, MD, PhD, of the French Institute of Health and Medical Research in France, and colleagues in a study published in PLoS One. compared 819 patients diagnosed with and 979 without prostate cancer. Men with a history of kidney stones had significant 46% increased odds of prostate cancer. The association applied to low-grade but not high-grade prostate cancer. The association was especially strong if kidney stones occurred in patients with history of pyelonephritis, a bacterial infection of the kidneys. These patients had significant 5.4-fold increased odds of prostate cancer compared with patients with no history of either kidney stones or pyelonephritis. Prostatitis showed no relationship.
Men with gallbladder stones and high triglyceride levels had nonsignificant 2.3-fold increased odds of prostate cancer overall but significant 3.6-fold increased odds of high-grade prostate cancer. Previously, a Chinese study published in BMC Urology revealed significant 1.9-fold increased odds of prostate cancer overall among those with gallstone history.
“Triglycerides, a key component of lipid metabolism, often exhibit elevation in individuals with metabolic syndrome, a well-known risk factor for both gallbladder stones and prostate cancer. This association may indicate a shared metabolic pathway underlying the two conditions,” the French researchers said.
They said the study points “to the broader implications for monitoring and prevention in specific populations, underscoring the necessity for further research to unravel the underlying mechanisms connecting kidney stones, gallbladder stones, and prostate cancer.”
—Really long-distance telehealth. I like telehealth visits. They save me time. Make my life easier. You? I live a 1 1/2-hour from my urologist’s office. He can’t do a digital rectal exam via telehealth—though I’m sure that’s coming.
Meanwhile, there has been big news on the telehealth front out of the Gulf States and Ohio.
Ruben Olivares, MD, of Cleveland Clinic’s main campus in Ohio, performed a robot-assisted high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) focal therapy procedure for prostate cancer on a patient at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. That’s 7,000 miles between doctor and patient.
Talk about doctors (and patients) without borders.
“We are thrilled to have successfully performed the first-ever transcontinental robotic assisted focal therapy procedure for prostate cancer by working in tandem with our partners at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi,” said Olivares, a urologist in the Glickman Urological Institute at Cleveland Clinic.
“Here at Cleveland Clinic, we use cutting-edge technology, but unfortunately, it's not available in many places throughout the US and in the world. We look forward to expanding the adoption of the latest alternative minimally invasive options and increasing access for patients throughout the world with this first step."
Telehealth visits became a popular option within US borders during the height of the COVID pandemic. But the government has been slow to extend its availability. We’re good on Medicare telehealth visits through Sept. 30.
—Another approach to BPH, A postmarketing study showed that the Optilume BPH system improved the flow of urine while leaving sexual function unchanged in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), researchers reported at the American Urological Association 2025 Annual Meeting.
The new study, from 30 men participating in the SUMMIT study, provides encouraging 1-year data on the effectiveness of the approach, said Dean Elterman, MD, MSc, associate professor of urology at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who presented the findings.
“We saw all the things we expected to see in this type of study, such as a good improvement in their symptoms and improvement in their flow and emptying of their bladders,” Elterman told Medscape Medical News.
Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2023, the Optilume BPH devices uses balloons to dilate the anterior commissure of the prostate, which connects the two lobes of the gland, and the roof of the prostatic urethra. A slow-release coating of paclitaxel on one of the balloons shrinks the prostatic tissue and prevents it from closing around the opening to enhance the enhanced flow of urine.
The new study, from 30 men participating in the SUMMIT study, provides encouraging 1-year data on the effectiveness of the approach, said Dean Elterman, MD, MSc, associate professor of urology at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who presented the findings.
“We saw all the things we expected to see in this type of study, such as a good improvement in their symptoms and improvement in their flow and emptying of their bladders,” Elterman told Medscape Medical News.
Two main advantages of Optilume BPH over techniques such as transurethral resection or holmium laser enucleation of the prostate and aquablation are that it does not involve any incisions or cutting of tissue and that the approach preserves antegrade ejaculation, As a result, the treatment may be particularly appealing to younger men who want either to preserve their fertility or maintain the ability to conceive without assistance or who would be bothered by retrograde ejaculation.
—The Genitourinary Pathology Society (GUPS) and the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) are calling for a multidisciplinary team approach with urologists, radiologists, radiation oncologists, and pathologists determining how best to manage cases of indolent PC. This is their first statement on what to do about low-risk Gleason 6.
The document appeared last month in European Urology.
—Vitamins. Usually, Prostate Cores summarizes reports from medical journals. But I think this report on vitamins by a physician in the Washington Post is worth a look. Maybe I’ll start taking multi-vitamins and magnesium again?