Can J Urol
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A decision aid versus shared decision making for prostate cancer screening: results of a randomized, controlled trial.
Shared decision making (SDM) is widely encouraged by both the American Urological Association and Choosing Wisely for prostate cancer screening. Implementation of SDM is challenging secondary to time constraints and competing patient priorities. One strategy to mitigate the difficulties in implementing SDM is to utilize a decision aid (DA). Here we evaluate whether a DA improves a patient's prostate cancer knowledge and affects prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening rates. ⋯ Providing patients a DA without a personal interaction resulted in a greater chance of undergoing PSA-based screening without improving knowledge about screening or understanding of the consequences of this decision. This effect was exacerbated by a shorter term provider relationship. With complex issues such as the decision to pursue PSA-based prostate cancer screening, tools cannot substitute for direct interaction with a trusted provider.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Tamsulosin to treat uncomplicated distal ureteral calculi: a double blind randomized placebo-controlled trial.
To evaluate efficacy and outcome of tamsulosin therapy for 4 mm-10 mm uncomplicated distal ureteral stones. ⋯ Tamsulosin therapy for uncomplicated distal ureteral calculi augments SPR, shortens passage time and decrease need for analgesia. Particularly, tamsulosin shortens the passage time for smaller stones, and augments the passage rate for larger stones.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Dutasteride and bicalutamide in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer: the Therapy Assessed by Rising PSA (TARP) study rationale and design.
Bicalutamide blocks androgen action in men with prostate cancer but has low affinity for the androgen receptor compared to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Dutasteride, a dual 5-reductase inhibitor (5ARI), blocks the conversion of testosterone to DHT, reduces tumor volume and improves PSA in prostate cancer. Bicalutamide should be a more effective antiandrogen if it competes against intraprostatic testosterone, rather than DHT, for the androgen receptor. The Therapy Assessed by Rising PSA (TARP) study investigates dutasteride in combination with bicalutamide to prevent or delay disease progression in patients with castrate-refractory prostate cancer (CRPC) after initial androgen deprivation therapy. ⋯ TARP will be the first study to evaluate the effects of dutasteride and an antiandrogen in patients failing GnRH analogue and help elucidate the potential role of a dual 5ARI in reducing the rate of progression in non-metastatic CRPC.