Cheryl Guttman Krader, BS, Pharm

Patients with ureteral stents are rarely lost to follow-up, but the risk is increased when patients are stented in an emergent setting rather than as part of an elective procedure, Yale University urologists reported at the 2018 World Congress of Endourology in Paris.  

Increasing the frequency setting on a holmium:YAG laser increases stone fragmentation, but determining the saturation point at which efficiency plateaus requires further study.

The majority of medication prescribed to patients undergoing outpatient urologic procedures goes unused, prospective data reveal.

An analysis of Medicare expenditures in the first year after a diagnosis of prostate cancer shows that 5% of patients account for almost 25% of the total spending.

The use of enzalutamide (XTANDI) and abiraterone acetate (ZYTIGA) show differences in overall survival and health care costs when used to treat chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

Men with prostate cancer who are carriers of germline pathogenic mutations in the DNA repair genes BRCA1/2 and ATM are at increased risk for grade reclassification during active surveillance, according to research reported by H. Ballentine Carter, MD, at the 2018 AUA annual meeting in San Francisco.

A novel investigational ureteral access sheath force sensor served as an effective tool for the safe deployment of a ureteral access sheath in initial clinical experience, researchers reported at the 2018 World Congress of Endourology and SWL in Paris.

Active surveillance is only moderately able to reduce the harmful effects of prostate cancer overdiagnosis from PSA testing, according to an analysis of the long-term outcomes of men enrolled in the Prostate Cancer Research International Active Surveillance program.

According to the updated report from the Prostate Cancer Intervention versus Observation Trial (PIVOT), radical prostatectomy had no significant benefit over observation for reducing mortality among men with clinically localized disease.

Implementation of a hospital-wide clinical care protocol for managing obstructive pyelonephritis and sepsis from stones shows potential for improving patient outcomes, according to the experience of researchers at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York.

Discharging patients without opioids for pain control after undergoing outpatient ureteroscopy with stent placement appears to be feasible, results of a pilot study show.  

An analysis of nearly 2,000 patients undergoing ureteroscopy found that approximately 10% of the cohort had an emergency department visit after the procedure, a figure a statewide quality improvement initiative is looking to reduce via patient education regarding ureteral stents.

Results of a study evaluating health-related quality of life in patients surgically treated for kidney stones suggest a need to rethink the outcome target and focus on patient counseling to set appropriate expectations.

A sizable proportion of opioid-naïve patients who undergo stone surgery become chronic opioid users, according to a study conducted by urologists from Emory University, Atlanta.

Patients who receive a radiation oncology consultation after being diagnosed with localized prostate cancer are much more likely to receive active therapy than men managed only by a urologist, and the men seen by a radiation oncologist are particularly likely to be treated with radiation therapy, according to a Canadian population-based, retrospective cohort study.

A recent study found that sacral neuromodulation monotherapy was efficacious as a third-line treatment.

“The results with neoadjuvant atezolizumab are preliminary but promising in this area of high unmet need,” says researcher Thomas Powles, MD.

“We believe that referral for kidney SABR is worthy of consideration in patients with solitary-kidney RCC who are faced with limited and risky management options,” says researcher Rohann Correa, MD, PhD.

Body mass index appears to be a prognostic factor for treatment outcomes in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, but the direction of the association might vary across treatment modalities.

Results of a prospective, multicenter study validate the clinical performance of a PSA isoform assay (IsoPSA) for predicting high-grade prostate cancer, Eric A. Klein, MD, reported at the AUA annual meeting in San Francisco.

Results of the prospective MedLift study establish the efficacy and safety of the Prostatic Urethral Lift (PUL [UroLift System]) procedure for treatment of symptomatic BPH in men with an enlarged median lobe.

A multi-institutional consortium study conducted to fill a gap in knowledge about long-term outcomes of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer shows that both the long-term efficacy and safety of SBRT compare favorably with the profiles of other established radiotherapy modalities.

A study of men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the setting of a community urology practice showed that adherence with active surveillance is good after 3 years of follow-up.

“Patients have rising expectations for telehealth services as new technology-based ways and preferences for consuming services are shifting into health care. Therefore, it is important for urologists to gear up to meet the market demand,” explains Christian Milaster, MS.

Both the efficacy and safety of abiraterone acetate (ZYTIGA) treatment for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) appear to differ depending on race, according to results of Abi Race, a prospective, multicenter trial presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago.

Treatment with apalutamide (Erleada) resulted in a rapid and substantial decline in PSA, and greater magnitude of PSA decline correlated with improvement in several oncologic endpoints, results from the phase III SPARTAN study showed.

A study investigating associations between statin use and prostate cancer outcomes provides further evidence that the medication may have race-related benefit, providing protective effects among Caucasian men but not in African-Americans.

The protein Kidney Injury Molecule 1 shows promise as a blood-based biomarker for renal cell carcinoma diagnosis and for predicting overall survival after RCC diagnosis.

Although it may not be the last word on the topic, new research sheds light on the choice of cytoreductive nephrectomy and/or targeted therapy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Findings of a multi-institutional cohort study provide further evidence that favorable outcomes can be achieved by carefully selected patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who forgo radical cystectomy after achieving a clinical complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.