Boeri, Luca

AbstractBackgroundA recent meta‐analysis (Human Reproduction Update 23, 2017 and 265) reported positive sperm retrieval rates (SRR) in 50% of patients with Klinefelter syndrome (KS) undergoing testicular sperm extraction (TESE). However, these results do not reflect the rates of SR that we observe in clinical practice. We assessed the rate and potential predictors of SR in Klinefelter patients in the real‐life setting.Materials and MethodsWe reviewed clinical data of 103 KS men who underwent TESE between 08/2008 and 03/2019 at five tertiary referral Andrology centers. Patients underwent testis ultrasound, hormonal evaluation, and genetic testing. All patients were azoospermic based on the 2010 WHO reference criteria. Conventional TESE (cTESE) or microsurgical TESE (mTESE) was performed based on the surgeon's preference. We used descriptive statistics and logistic regression models to describe the whole cohort.ResultsMedian (IQR) patient's age was 32 (24‐37) years. Baseline serum FSH and total testosterone levels were 29.5 (19.9‐40.9) mUI/mL and 3.8 (2.5‐11.0) ng/mL, respectively. Conventional TESE and mTESE were performed in 38 (36.5%) and 65 (63.5%) men, respectively. The sperm retrieval rate was 21.4% (22/103 men). Fifteen patients used spermatozoa for ICSI and five ended in live birth children. Patients with positive SR were similar to those with a negative TESE in terms of clinical, hormonal, and procedural parameters (all P > .05). Logistic regression analyses confirmed the lack of association between clinical, hormonal, and procedural parameters with SR outcome.DiscussionGiven the conflicting results in the literature regarding SRR in KS, patients should be carefully counseled regarding TESE outcomes based on data from published literature and local results.ConclusionsIn the real‐life setting, we observed a lower SRR (21.4%) than that reported in meta‐analyses in our cohort of KS patients. No associations between clinical, hormonal, and procedural variables with TESE success were found.

Objective To investigate the association between smoking status and pathological response to cisplatin‐based neoadjuvant chemotherapy ( NAC ) and survival outcomes in patients with muscle‐invasive bladder cancer ( MIBC ) treated with radical cystectomy ( RC ). Patients and Methods We reviewed 201 patients treated with NAC and RC for cT 2– cT 4N0M0 BC between 01/1999 and 01/2015. Smoking status was categorised as: ‘never', ‘former', and ‘current' smoker. Pathological response to NAC was defined as: complete (ypT0N0), partial (ypTis/Ta/T1, N0), and no response (ypT2–4 or ypN+). Clinicopathological characteristics were analysed according to smoking status. Logistic regression analyses tested the association between smoking status and pathological response to NAC . Cox regression analyses tested risk factors associated with recurrence, overall ( OM ) and cancer‐specific mortality ( CSM ). Results Overall, there were 58 (28.9%) never smokers, 87 (43.3%) former smokers, and 56 (27.9%) current smokers. No response to NAC was more frequently noted in current smokers (73.2%; P = 0.007). Former smoker ( odds ratio [OR] 2.28; P = 0.024) and current smoker statuses ( OR 4.52; P < 0.001) were significantly associated with no response to NAC , after adjusting for age, gender, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and clinical stage. Similarly, current smoking status ( hazard ratio [HR] 2.14; P = 0.03) and extravesical pathological tumour stage ( HR 3.31; P < 0.001) were independently associated with an increased risk of recurrence after RC . Conclusion Cigarette smoking was significantly associated with adverse pathological response to cisplatin‐based NAC in patients with MIBC treated with RC . Current smokers were at significantly higher risk of disease recurrence as compared to former and never smokers.