Albertas Ulys

• MD PhD
• Head of Department at National Cancer Institute,Lithuania

Purpose Small renal masses (SRMs) SRMs are a heterogeneous group of small kidney lesions. Currently, the genomic landscape of SRMs is understudied, and clinically relevant tools for malignancy detection and fast tumor growth prediction are lacking. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether mutations in SRMs are associated with increased risk of...

Purpose To evaluate the efficacy and safety of teverelix in treatment naïve patients aged over 50 years with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), and to explore teverelix’ potential in preventing AUR secondary to BPH with the aim to inform a planned Phase 2 trial. Methods This Phase 2, multicenter...

PURPOSE For patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), delaying progression to castration-resistant disease is important not only for overall survival (OS) but also for patients' quality of life. Darolutamide plus androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) with docetaxel improved OS versus ADT and docetaxel in patients with mHSPC....

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most prevalent form of renal cancer, accounting for over 75% of cases. The asymptomatic nature of the disease contributes to late-stage diagnoses and poor survival. Highly vascularized and immune infiltrated microenvironment are prominent features of ccRCC, yet the interplay between vasculature and imm...

Background Teverelix drug product (DP) is a novel injectable gonadotropin‐releasing hormone antagonist. Methods An adaptive phase 2, open‐label, multicenter trial was conducted in patients with advanced prostate cancer to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a combined subcutaneous (SC) and intramuscular (IM) loading dose regimen of teverelix DP of...

Background/aim: According to the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommendations, sunitinib is one of the recommended regimens for favorable and intermediate-risk metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate sunitinib efficacy as a first-l...

Background and Objectives: Germline DNA damage response (DDR) gene mutations correlate with increased prostate cancer (PCa) risk and a more aggressive form of the disease. DDR mutation testing is recommended for metastatic PCa cases, while eligible information about the mutations’ burden in the early-stage localized PCa is still limited. This study...

Background: This study aimed to investigate the extent of field cancerization adjacent to index lesions in prostate cancer (PCa) by measuring DNA methylation of selected tumor suppressor genes in the perifocal tissue of PCa not visible on multiparametric magnetic resonanse imaging (mpMRI) for the safe zone of focal therapy identification. Methods...

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most prevalent form of renal cancer, accounting for over 75% of cases. The asymptomatic nature of the disease contributes to late-stage diagnoses and poor survival. Highly vascularized and immune infiltrated microenvironment are prominent features of ccRCC, yet the interplay between vasculature and imm...

Background and objectives: Teverelix drug product (DP) is a gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist in development for the treatment of patients with prostate cancer in whom androgen deprivation therapy is indicated. The aim of this paper is to present the results of five Phase 2 studies that assessed the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, effic...

(1) Background: DNA damage response (DDR) pathway gene mutations are detectable in a significant number of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The study aimed at identification of germline and/or somatic DDR mutations in blood and urine samples from patients with mCRPC for correlation with responses to entire sequ...

Active surveillance (AS) is the best strategy for small renal masses (SRMs) management; however, reliable methods for early detection and disease aggressiveness prediction are urgently needed. The aim of the present study was to validate DNA methylation biomarkers for non-invasive SRM detection and prognosis. The levels of methylated genes TFAP2B,...

The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate the high accuracy of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound fusion (mpMRI/US)-guided targeted prostate biopsy for the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer (PCa) and to show that adapted systematic biopsy (AdSB) does not provide additional benefit in detecting c...

Introduction and Objectives Sunitinib, according to the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommendations, is one of the recommended regimens for favorable and intermediate risk metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) patients. Our objective was to evaluate sunitinib efficacy as a first-lin...

Background Patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) have a high risk of progression to metastatic disease, particularly if their prostate-specific antigen doubling time (PSADT) is ≤6 mo. However, patients remain at a high risk with a PSADT of >6 mo. Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of darolutamide vers...

Background and Objectives: Consequences of partial nephrectomy (PN), intraoperative hypotension (IOH) and postoperative neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) may cause postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) and in long-term-chronic kidney disease (CKD). Our study aimed to identify the AKI incidence after PN, to find clinically significant postopera...

Background There is increasing interest in nonmorbid treatments for low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer with fewer side effects than surgery or radiotherapy. Objective To investigate the tolerability, safety, and antitumor effects of the intraprostatic NanoZolid depot formulation Liproca Depot (LIDDS AB, Uppsala, Sweden) with antiandrogen 2...

Background Despite novel agents have been introduced to treat castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) during the last decade, up to one-third of CRPC patients face primary resistance to new generation compounds. Therefore, sensitive molecular tools are urgently needed for reliable treatment selection and response prediction. This study aimed to...

The pandemic spread of the COVID-19 virus significantly affected daily life, but the highest pressure was piled on the health care system. Our aim was to evaluate an impact of COVID-19 pandemic management measures on cancer services at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of Lithuania. We assessed the time period from 1 February 2020 to 31 December...

Objective Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common type of kidney tumor characterized by the highest mortality rate of the genitourinary cancers, and, therefore, new diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarkers are urgently needed. Methods Based on genome-wide DNA methylation profiling in 11 pairs of ccRCC and non-cancerous renal tiss...

Background Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common subtype of kidney tumors, accounting for the majority of deaths from genitourinary cancers. The currently used nomograms for predicting patient outcomes are based on clinical-pathological characteristics only; however, a significant number of ccRCC survivors with similar radiolog...

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is known to exhibit a wide spectrum of aggressiveness and relatively high immunogenicity. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of tumor excision on immunophenotype rearrangements in peripheral blood and to elucidate if it is associated with biochemical recurrence (BCR) in high risk (HR) and low risk (LR...

Background: In the ARAMIS trial, darolutamide plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) versus placebo plus ADT significantly improved metastasis-free survival (MFS), overall survival (OS) and time to pain progression in patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC). Herein, we present analyses of patient-reported health...

The molecular diversity of prostate cancer (PCa) has been demonstrated by recent genome-wide studies, proposing a significant number of different molecular markers. However, only a few of them have been transferred into clinical practice so far. The present study aimed to identify and validate novel DNA methylation biomarkers for PCa diagnosis and...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare prostate-specific antigen (PSA) kinetics - half-life time (HT), doubling time (DT), and elimination rate PSA (ePSA) in prostate cancer (PCa) monitoring. Implementation of ePSA in clinical practice could help simplify patient monitoring in the remission phase. Materials and methods: A total of 49 P...

Background and objectives: Overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and the need for repeated procedures caused by transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsies and their related complications places a heavy burden on healthcare systems. This was a prospective cohort validating study to access the clinical accuracy of systematic and MRI-cognitive targeted t...

A set of prostate tumors tend to grow slowly and do not require active treatment. Therefore, stratification between patients with clinically significant and clinically insignificant prostate cancer (PC) remains a vital issue to avoid overtreatment. Fast development of genetic technologies accelerated development of next-generation molecular tools f...

Background: Darolutamide is a structurally distinct androgen-receptor inhibitor that is approved for the treatment of nonmetastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer. In the planned primary analysis of a phase 3 trial, the median metastasis-free survival was significantly longer with darolutamide (40.4 months) than with placebo (18.4 months)....

Background. To evaluate the diagnostic potential of [-2] proPSA (p2PSA), %p2PSA, Prostate Health Index (phi), and phi density (PHID) as independent biomarkers and in composition of multivariable models in predicting high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) and overall and clinically significant prostate cancer (PCa). Methods. 210 male...

5514 Background: DARO is a structurally distinct androgen receptor inhibitor with a favorable safety profile, approved for treating men with nmCRPC after demonstrating significantly prolonged metastasis-free survival, compared with placebo (PBO), in the phase III ARAMIS trial: median 40.4 vs 18.4 months, respectively (HR 0.41; 95% CI 0.34–0.50; P<0...

Purpose: Reliable molecular diagnostic tools are still unavailable for making informed treatment decisions and monitoring the response in castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients. In this study we evaluated the significance of whole blood-circulating androgen receptor (AR) transcripts of full length (AR-FL) and splice variants (AR-Vs:...

Despite good prognosis, increased suicide rates are reported for prostate cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of suicide among prostate cancer patients before and after the start of nation-wide prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening programme. Prostate cancer cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2011 were identified from the p...

Background Asymptomatic nmCRPC patients (pts) would benefit from treatments (Tx) that delay disease progression and maintain quality of life (QoL), with minimal Tx-related adverse events (AEs). In ARAMIS, darolutamide (DARO) prolonged metastasis-free survival vs placebo (PBO) (40 vs 18 months; HR 0.41; 95% CI 0.34–0.50; P < 0.001); impact on prosta...

Introduction & objectives: Reliable molecular diagnostic tools are still unavailable for making informed treatment decisions and monitoring the response in castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the significance of whole blood-circulating androgen receptor (AR) transcripts of full length (AR-FL)...

Introduction & Objectives: Despite the introduction of new pharmacological therapies into clinical practice (e.g. abiraterone acetate, AA), prostate cancer (PCa) remains the second leading cause of cancer-related death among men in developed countries. The majority of mortality is attributed to castration-resistant PCa (CRPC), where around 30% of p...

Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) may be metastatic, although solitary sternal metastasis of RCC is a rare medical condition. Here we report an unusual case of a 63-year-old male with a solitary sternal metastasis as an initial presentation of clear-cell renal cell carcinoma. Materials and methods: A 63-year-old male presented with a small...

140 Background: Delaying metastases for nmCRPC patients, while minimizing the risk of adverse events, is an important treatment goal. Darolutamide, a structurally unique androgen receptor (AR) antagonist, is being evaluated for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. The ARAMIS trial studied the efficacy and safety of darolutamide in nmCRPC pati...

Background Darolutamide is a structurally unique androgen-receptor antagonist that is under development for the treatment of prostate cancer. We evaluated the efficacy of darolutamide for delaying metastasis and death in men with nonmetastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer. Methods We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlle...

Background: The aim of this paper is to analyse trends of kidney cancer incidence and mortality in Lithuania during the period of 1993 to 2012 using joinpoint regression models with special attention to changes in the distribution of stages. Materials and methods: The study was based on all cases of kidney cancer reported to the Lithuanian Cance...

Introduction & Objectives: Despite prostate specific antigen-screening and modern treatment techniques, prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most prevalent oncologic disease and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among men worldwide. The particular treatment for castrationresistant PC (CRPC), the most aggressive form of the disease, is...

Molecular markers for prostate cancer

The aim of the present study was to assess the ABO blood group polymorphism association with prostate, bladder and kidney cancer, and longevity. The following data groups were analyzed: Prostate cancer (n=2,200), bladder cancer (n=1,530), renal cell cancer (n=2,650), oldest-old (n=166) and blood donors (n=994) groups. The data on the ABO blood type...

Background: This phase II study was conducted to assess clinical efficacy of tasquinimod maintenance therapy in patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer not progressing during first-line docetaxel-based therapy. Patients and methods: Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive tasquinimod (0.25-1.0 mg/day orally) or place...

Castration-resistant prostate cancer

Introduction. Testicular cancer and a multiple birth are both rare events, and the risk of testicular cancer is increased in twins. In Lithuania, only five quadruplets have been recorded since the middle of the 20th century. In this report, we present two rare events in one family: testicular cancer in two brothers of a quadruplet (three brothers a...

Only a part of prostate cancer (PCa) patients has aggressive malignancy requiring adjuvant treatment after radical prostatectomy (RP). Biomarkers capable to predict biochemical PCa recurrence (BCR) after RP would significantly improve preoperative risk stratification and treatment decisions. MicroRNA (miRNA) deregulation has recently emerged as an...

Įžanga Perkutaninė inkstų navikų krioabliacija ir radijo dažnio abliacija yra minimaliai invazyvūs gydymo metodai, leidžiantys mak­simaliai išsaugoti inkstų funkciją. Jie vis dažniau naudojami pacientams, sergantiems sunkiomis gretutinėmis ligomis, esant daugybiniams inkstų navikams, pacientams, turintiems tik vieną inkstą ir (ar) turintiems didel...

201 Background: TASQ is an oral immunomodulatory, antiangiogenic and antimetastatic agent that targets the tumor microenvironment. In a phase 2 trial in mCRPC, TASQ increased PFS in chemotherapy-naive pts vs placebo (PBO) (Pili et al. JCO 2011), but there was no OS benefit in a recent phase 3 trial (NCT01234311). This study assessed whether TASQ ma...

The aim of the study was to assess the effect of vitamin D-binding protein (DBP) polymorphism on coronary artery disease (CAD). DBP phenotypes were identified in the groups: control ( n = 306 ), men suffering from CAD ( n = 154 ), and long-lived individuals ( n = 108 ). Isoelectric focusing of DBP phenotypes in serum was performed on polyacry...

Background/objective. Predictive criteria are needed to evaluate the risk of disease progression after radical prostatectomy. Such criteria would help to select patients most likely to benefit from adjuvant or multimodality treatment. Our aim was to identify predictive factors for biochemical recurrence among the pre- and post-operative parameters...

Tikslas. Įvertinti MRT reikšmę nustatant prostatos kapsulės ir sėklinių pūslelių peraugimą prieš radikalią prostatektomiją. Tyrimo medžiaga ir metodai. Nuo 2013-01-01 iki 2014-07-30 Nacionalinio vėžio instituto Onkourologijos skyriuje atliktos 366 radikalios prostatektomijos. Atlikta retrospektyvinė 36 pacientų, kuriems prieš radikalią prostatektom...