Background Fatigue is one of the most prevalent symptoms among cancer patients. Specifically, in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients, fatigue is the most common adverse event associated with current treatments. The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of fatigue and its impact on quality of life (QoL) in patients with CRPC in routine clinical practice. Methods This was a cross-sectional, multicentre study. Male chemo-naïve adults with high-risk non-metastatic (M0) CRPC and metastatic (M1) CRPC (mCRPC) were eligible. Fatigue was measured using the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) and QoL was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy questionnaire for patients with prostate cancer (FACT-P) and the FACT-General (FACT-G) questionnaire. Data were analysed using Mann-Whitney or Kruskal-Wallis tests (non-parametric distribution), a T-test or an ANOVA (parametric distribution) and the Fisher or chi-squared tests (categorical variables). Results A total of 235 eligible patients were included in the study (74 [31.5%] with M0; and 161 [68.5%] with M1). Fatigue was present in 74%, with 38.5% of patients reporting moderate-to-severe fatigue. Mean FACT-G and FACT-P overall scores were 77.6 ± 16.3 and 108.7 ± 21.4, respectively, with no differences between the CRPC M0 and CRPC M1 subgroups. Fatigue intensity was associated with decreased FACT-G/P scores, with no differences between groups. Among 151 mCRPC patients with available treatment data, those treated with abiraterone-prednisone ≥3 months showed a significant reduction in fatigue intensity (p = 0.043) and interference (p = 0.04) compared to those on traditional hormone therapy (HT). Patients on abiraterone-prednisone ≥3 months showed significantly better FACT-G/P scores than patients on HT (p = 0.046 and 0.018, respectively). Conclusion Our data show a high prevalence and intensity of fatigue and its impact on QoL in chemo-naïve CRPC patients. There is an association between greater fatigue and less QoL, irrespective of the presence or absence of metastasis. Chemo-naïve mCRPC patients receiving more than 3 months of abiraterone acetate plus prednisone showed an improvement of fatigue and QoL when compared to those on traditional HT. Trial registration Not applicable since it is not an interventional study.

Background Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are biomarkers of inflammation commonly used in medicine. The aim was to evaluate the utility of serum LDH and CRP levels for diagnosis of prostate cancer (PC) in men with nonspecific elevations of serum total prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels. Methods The following serum biomarkers were measured in patients with PSA between 4 and 10 ng/mL: LDH, CRP and free-PSA. The free-to-total serum PSA ratio (%fPSA) was (free-PSA/PSA) ×100. Patients were classified into two groups according to diagnosis of prostate biopsy: PC and NOT PC patients. Logistic regression was used for develop a probabilistic model to predict PC patients. Diagnostic accuracy was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calculating the area under the ROC curve (AUC). Results We studied 232 patients with ages between 43 and 98 years old (median =72), 200 NOT PC and 32 PC patients. CRP was not statistically significantl to differentiate between PC and NOT PC patients. Probabilistic model (%) was 100× (1+ e −Z ) −1 ; (Z =0.0070× LDH –0.1589× %fPSA –1.4898). The AUCs were 0.657 (P=0.0048), 0.802 (P<0.0001), and 0.844 (P<0.0001) for serum LDH levels, %fPSA values and probabilistic model, respectively. Conclusions CRP was not useful to differentiate benign from malignant prostate disease, in contrast LDH could be used for diagnosis of PC. A probabilistic model using LDH and %fPSA can improve the diagnostic accuracy in patients with PSA between 4 and 10 ng/mL.

Background: Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy has proven to be an ideal option for tumors in initial stages, preserving part of the renal parenchyma and reducing the possible risk of glomerular filtration decrease. Objectives: The main objective of this study is to determine the factors that can influence, to a greater extent, renal function deterioration after surgery. Methods: This is an observational, descriptive and longitudinal study. The renal funct ion was calculated using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration formula, and patients were divided into 2 groups depending on whether or not their renal function had been affected after surgery. We studied the correlation between the decrease of renal function and other variables. Results: The sample comprised 48 patients. In 30 of these cases, renal function had deteriorated after surgery. We observed a statistically significant relationship between the weight of the patient (p = 0.0230), size of the tumor (p = 0.0035), ischemic time (p = 0.0287), duration of the surgery (p = 0.0297), the RENAL score (p = 0.0230) and renal function deterioration. Conclusions: Partial laparoscopic nephrectomy is associated with a deterioration in renal function, where there is a decrease in glomerular filtration after surgery. The deterioration will depend on the weight of the patient, size of the tumour, ischemic time and duration of the surgery. The RENAL score can be used to predict said deterioration.

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Background/Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the combined treatment with abiraterone acetate and prednisone (AA+P) in patients with castrationresistant prostate cancer (mCPRC), and to identify the survival prognostic factors. Patients and Methods: Patients diagnosed with mCPRC not previously treated with chemotherapy and administered with AA+P were classified into two groups: those with lower and higher survival rates (at 30 months vs. 60 months). Results: A total of 53 patients were studied at the time of mCRPC diagnosis. Patients with the highest survival rate had suffered prostate cancer for >45 months. At the time of initial prostate cancer diagnosis, they belonged to the risk groups 1-4, had pain intensity measured according to the brief pain inventory (BPI) scale of 0-2, were treated with AA+P>16 months, and had the following tumour marker serum levels: LDH baseline ≤163 U/l, alkaline phosphatase at 6 months ≤56 U/l and PSA at 6 months ≤0.95 ng/ml. Conclusion: Good response to treatment with AA+P for patients with mCRPC was demonstrated. Factors that contributed to the higher prognostic accuracy were time suffering from prostate cancer, the intensity of the pain measured by the BPI scale, the duration of AA+P treatment, and tumour marker levels.