Andrew Bowser

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is showing encouraging antitumor activity in an ongoing phase II study including patients with high-risk, nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer that is unresponsive to bacillus Calmette-Guérin treatment.

Pyruvate kinase, a primary driver of tumor glycolysis, is promising both as a biomarker of bladder cancer and as a drug target, researchers reported at the 2018 Society of Urologic Oncology annual meeting in Phoenix.

Routine use of positron emission tomography/computed tomography prior to radical cystectomy is unlikely to benefit clinically node-negative patients, results of a recent investigation suggest.

Compared to an open approach, minimally invasive radical cystectomy was associated with a near 2-day shorter hospital stay in bladder cancer patients treated at diverse institutions across the United States, according to authors of a recent retrospective analysis of Medicare claims.

Current prescribing practices after urologic procedures may be leading to a substantial oversupply of opioids in the community, amounting to millions of unused pills every year, results of a recent survey suggest.

While the relative value units associated with urologic procedures are generally in line with the surgical complexity and outcomes associated with them, there are four outliers that may warrant a closer look, results of a recent investigation show.

In men undergoing prostate biopsy, use of prophylactic antibiotics has been increasing appropriately over time, and fluoroquinolones still dominate, results of an insurance claims database analysis show.

A single baseline PSA measurement taken during midlife strongly predicted the subsequent diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer up to 12 years later among African-American men in the U.S.

“The results suggest that this compound has rapid efficacy and a favorable safety profile in patients with nocturia due to nocturnal polyuria,” says researcher Diane Newman, DNP.

Cost-effectiveness results favored botulinum toxin at 2 years as well as in an analysis at 5 years accounting for increased cost of the botulinum approach due to repeat injections, according to investigator Heidi S. Harvie, MD, MSCE.

Compared with other treatment approaches, definitive surgical extirpation provides the best survival outcomes in patients with invasive, non-urachal adenocarcinoma of the bladder, results of a recent study suggest.

Patients with advanced non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma have a high prevalence of germline mutations, including some that could be used to guide therapy.

The finding suggests that, in the setting of a CD117-positive renal tumor biopsy, this modality could reduce patient morbidity and health care costs by avoiding the need for resection in benign cases.

Costs could be slashed by $320 million if all men with Gleason scores of 6 or lower pursued initial conservative management, says researcher Justin Trogdon, PhD.

In women with mixed urinary incontinence, a combined conservative and surgical treatment approach provided significant improvements versus surgical treatment alone.

“I think this study indicates that this is a procedure that not only improves detection, but also has a high rate of perceived value for patients, and therefore would be worthwhile to use in practice,” says researcher Angela B. Smith, MD.

High levels of visceral fat were associated with a significantly increased risk of death in women with clear cell renal cell carcinoma, but not in men, results of a recent retrospective study show.

“The findings should serve as a call to action for urologic specialists who care for patients with cancer,” says Alexander Kutikov, MD.

Biopsy decreases overall uncertainty, is safe, fairly accurate, relatively inexpensive, and improves shared decision-making with patients.

Renal mass biopsy provides actionable information, but only under specific circumstances-yet it is an increasingly necessary part of the nuanced patient discussion.

Practicing urologists should consider the potential value of performing a multiparametric MRI for a biopsy in men with suspected prostate cancer based on results from the PRECISION trial, says Veeru Kasivisvanathan, MRCS.

Patients with bacillus Calmette-Guérin-unresponsive bladder cancer had worse clinical outcomes than patients who relapsed but did not meet BCG-unresponsive criteria, according to results of a retrospective analysis presented at the 2017 Society of Urologic Oncology annual meeting in Washington.

Men undergoing active surveillance for prostate cancer experienced levels of anxiety that were moderate, but that decreased over time, according to results of a large, prospective cohort study presented at the 2017 Society of Urologic Oncology annual meeting in Washington.

The findings “[raise] the specter that patients could potentially receive different treatments depending on the cell-free DNA platform,” authors of a recent research letter write.

Reconstruction of anterior compartment defects using magnetic resonance-visible vaginal mesh implants in combination with post-surgical three-dimensional imaging is feasible and yields reproducible results, researchers report.

In patients with refractory urgency urinary incontinence (UUI), sacral neuromodulation (InterStim) and onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) produce similar reductions in mean daily UUI episodes, according to 24-month follow-up data on patients treated in a randomized trial.

The correlation between patient-reported bother and symptom severity is inexact, according to conclusions of a recent retrospective multicenter study of nearly 1,200 patients referred for lower urinary tract symptoms.

Authors of a recent study say that long-term therapy with a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor was associated with increased glucose, increased glycated hemoglobin, and altered lipid profiles.