|Articles|January 28, 2020

Urology Times Journal

  • Vol 48 No 2
  • Volume 48
  • Issue 2

Drug-coated balloon found efficacious for strictures

“If the long-term results prove to be as positive as the short-term results, then this could provide an intermediate option for patients with recurrent bulbar urethral strictures," says Sean P. Elliott, MD, MS.

Use of the Optilume paclitaxel-coated balloon appears to be a safe and effective method for the treatment of recurrent bulbar urethral strictures, producing a low 12-month recurrence rate and no treatment-related serious adverse events, according to researchers in Minnesota, Virginia, and Latin America.

They reported 1-year data on this novel drug-coated balloon (DCB) at the 2019 AUA annual meeting in Chicago that showed the treatment is safe and the device produces urethra luminal gain that achieves significant clinical results with meaningful increased maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) and decreased International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS).

The authors conducted a multicenter, non-randomized clinical trial (NCT03014726) with this device, which combines mechanical balloon dilation with a paclitaxel drug coating. The DCB is designed to limit hyperactive cell proliferation and subsequent fibrotic scar formation in an effort to delay or prevent stricture recurrence. The authors note that paclitaxel has been used extensively in cardiovascular medicine for prevention of restenosis following angioplasty and/or stenting.

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The ROBUST I study included 53 men with a single recurrent bulbar urethral stricture. All the men had undergone one to three previous endoscopic treatments. However, the majority were performing self-dilation at home. Following treatment with the DCB, the 12-month anatomic success rate (defined by urethral lumen ≥14F) was 70%. No treatment-related serious adverse events within 90 days following the procedure were reported.

“I was not surprised by any of the findings. I expected the drug-coated balloon to perform as well as or better than an uncoated balloon,” said study investigator Sean P. Elliott, MD, MS, professor and vice chair of urology at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

In this current study, men with bulbar urethral strictures ≤2 cm were enrolled at four study sites. All the men underwent mechanical balloon dilation or direct visualization internal urethrotomy just prior to DCB treatment. The authors assessed patients at 2 to 5 days, 14 days, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after treatment. They used anatomic success as the primary efficacy endpoint, and it was defined as urethral lumen ≥14F.

The study revealed that anatomic success was achieved in 32 of the 46 men (70%; 95% CI: 54-82%) at 12 months. Among the 14 patients who failed to meet the primary efficacy endpoint, seven were due to cystoscopic recurrences, five were de to retreatments, and two patients exited the study early due to symptom recurrence.

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