Bladder Cancer

Olympus has announced the FDA 510(k) clearance of Narrow Band Imaging as enabling effective targeting of biopsies not seen under white light and improved visualization of tumor margins in nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Blue light cystoscopy with hexaminolevulinate HCl (HAL-BLC) should be considered for initial diagnosis of nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer, an expert panel of urologists recently concluded.

Survivors of bladder, kidney, and two other forms of cancer who smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day prior to their cancer diagnoses have an up to fivefold higher risk of developing a second smoking-associated cancer compared to survivors of the same cancers who never smoked.

Research on the quality of bladder biopsy and bladder cancer survival point to problems of suboptimal biopsies and incorrect tumor staging, researchers say.

Drugs and devices in the pipeline from Repros Therapeutics, Bavarian Nordic, NxThera, Solace Therapeutics, Generex Biotechnology, Bioniche, OncoCyte, HistoSonics, and Pacific Edge.

Drugs and devices in the pipeline form Clarus Therapeutics, Nymox Pharmaceutical, Bioniche Life Sciences, Repros Therapeutics, BioLight Life Sciences Investments/Micromedic Technologies, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Takeda Pharmaceutical, H. Lundbeck A/S, Transplant Genomics, Orion, Bayer, and Roche.

In our “Best of AUA” report, Urology Times’ editors and writers present the AUA annual meeting’s take-home messages in 15 therapeutic areas.

Wassim Kassouf, MD, CM, presents the take home messages on bladder cancer from the AUA annual meeting in Orlando, FL.

Jesse D. Sammon, DO, presents the take home messages on outcomes analysis from the AUA annual meeting in Orlando, FL.

K.C. Balaji, MD, presents the take home messages on basic science research from the AUA annual meeting in Orlando, FL.

Continent urinary diversion and postoperative complications were found to be independent predictors of hospital readmission following radical cystectomy in an analysis from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Drugs and devices in the pipeline from MEI Pharma, Bayer HealthCare, Merck, Pfizer, and Minomic International.

Preliminary studies suggest that inhibition of fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR) 1, 2, 3, and 4 may be a promising approach for the treatment of bladder cancers and other cancers that harbor FGFR alterations.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, have identified a discrete set of genes that segregate high-grade bladder cancer into two distinct subtypes-basal-like and luminal-each of which appears to have its own molecular characteristics and outcome. The authors also found that the two subtypes share many of the characteristics seen in basal and luminal breast cancer subtypes, a discovery with clinical implications.

A comprehensive molecular characterization of muscle-invasive urothelial bladder carcinoma suggests multiple opportunities for therapeutic intervention.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health have identified new potential therapeutic targets for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, including important genes and pathways that are disrupted in the disease.

Mayo Clinic researchers have found amplification of HER2, a known driver of some breast cancers, in micropapillary urothelial carcinoma and have shown that the presence of HER2 amplification is associated with particularly aggressive tumors.

Preoperative hypoalbuminemia is a risk factor for complications following radical cystectomy, say researchers from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Both the death rate and incidence rate for prostate cancer continues to decline, according to the latest round of statistics from leading U.S. cancer groups.

Urology drugs and devices in the pipeline from AltheRx Pharmaceuticals, TARIS Biomedical, AstraZeneca, NxThera, NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, and OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals.

Standard and reduced high-dose volume radiation therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer provide similar tumor control and decreased late toxicity when compared to surgery, say the authors of a study from the United Kingdom.

The latest products and services from Cook Medical, American Medical Systems, Dialog Medical, Astellas Pharma U.S., Giffen Solutions, the Société Internationale d’Urologie, Merck Consumer Care, and the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network.

Drugs and devices in the pipeline from Targacept, Inc., Cubist, OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Apricus Biosciences, and Nymox Pharmaceutical Corp.

British researchers have developed a device that they say is able to read odors in urine to help diagnose patients with early signs of bladder cancer.

Danil V. Makarov, MD, MHS, presents the take home messages on outcomes analysis.

Edmund Chiong, MD, presents the take home messages on bladder cancer from the AUA annual meeting in San Diego.

More intense surveillance and treatment in the first 2 years after a bladder cancer diagnosis could reduce the number of patients whose cancer recurs and lower the death rate from this disease, according to researchers from UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

MicroRNA expression appears to serve as a biomarker for predicting the progression of bladder urothelial carcinoma, the authors of a study from Israel reported.

Two recent studies appear to shed light on the effect of smoking on bladder cancer outcomes and the role a certain protein plays in metastatic disease.

Hospital volume is a key predictor of survival for patients with urothelial bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy and has a greater impact than surgeon volume, findings from a retrospective analysis suggest.