Genitourinary Cancers

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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.

The advantages that robotic technologies bring to prostate procedures, partial nephrectomies, and other surgeries that can involve complex reconstruction are not readily apparent in simple extirpative surgeries such as radical nephrectomy. This raises two questions: Are robots being used in radical nephrectomies and if so, why?

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.

Patients with chronic kidney disease who undergo robot-assisted partial nephrectomy for kidney cancer have minimal loss of renal function-a smaller amount even than patients with normal kidney function, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, who say their study is the largest of its kind.

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

The latest products and services from SuperSonic Imagine, Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, VIVUS, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Innovus Pharmaceuticals, Buffalo Filter, KRS Global Biotechnology, Demos Health, and Ethicon Endo-Surgery.

The first phase II study to investigate the use of the targeted therapy everolimus (Afinitor) for the initial treatment of advanced papillary kidney cancer has shown that it is successful in slowing or preventing the spread of the disease.

The tyrosine kinase inhibitors pazopanib (Votrient) and sunitinib (Sutent) had similar benefits in delaying progression of advanced renal cell carcinoma, but the safety profile and many measures of quality of life favored pazopanib, according to data from a recently published multicenter study.

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