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EAU 2019

EAU 2019: Four Year Results of Water Vapor Thermal Therapy for Treatment of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Due to BPH

Barcelona, Spain (UroToday.com) Relief of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is only relevant if commensurate with improving patients’ perception of improved quality of life (QOL). Dr. Roehrborn and colleagues evaluated 4-year outcome data from the randomized double-blind, controlled trial of water vapor thermal therapy for treatment of moderate-to-severe LUTS/BPH, and also determined the minimal important differences (MIDs) in IPSS associated with meaningful changes in QOL.

In this study, 135 men treated once in the RCT for Rezūm® System thermal therapy and a subset of 53 men who requalified for cross-over from control (sham rigid cystoscopy) to active treatment were followed. IPSS-QOL was used in a method for anchor-based analysis to determine the MID in IPSS point changes related to degrees of improved QOL for each severity category of LUTS.

According to the study, mean symptom relief was significantly improved within 3 months after thermal therapy and remained consistently durable throughout 4 years; outcomes were similarly sustained in crossover subjects at 3 years. and QOL scores are very strongly correlated after water vapor thermal therapy. The MID was quite consistent across time points over 3 years.  In general, men had a mean ~50% improvement in QOL.

Based on their results, the authors concluded that water vapor thermal therapy provided effective symptom relief and improved QOL that remains durable for over 4 years.  The MID offers a threshold above which the outcome is experienced as a perceptible improvement in QOL by the patient.

Presented by: Claus Roehrborn, MD, Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, S.T. Harris Family Chair in Medical Science, in Honor of John D. McConnell, M.D., E.E. Fogelson and Greer Garson Fogelson Distinguished Chair in Urology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas

Written by: Ekaterina Laukhtina, medical student, Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health, Sechenov University at the 34th European Association of Urology (EAU 2019) #EAU19 conference in Barcelona, Spain, March 15-19, 2019.