Genitourinary Cancers

In this video, Eric Klein, MD, discusses a study evaluating the 17-gene Oncotype DX Genomic Prostate Score assay in African American and Caucasian American men.

The classifier can be a useful adjunct for clinical decision-making, an investigator says.

"In the era of BCG shortage, it would have been highly desirable to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of fewer BCG instillations for high-risk bladder cancer. However, reduced frequency of maintenance BCG instillations is associated with increased risk of cancer recurrence, albeit with fewer adverse effects," writes Badar M. Mian, MD.

The breadth of applications will widen as the number of new platforms grows, according Joshua Calvert, MD, MPH.

A team-based approach is key to safely and appropriately dispensing checkpoint inhibitors, according to Gautam Jayram, MD.

The FDA has approved 2 poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors for men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have certain genetic mutations, marking the first approvals of this newer drug class in prostate cancer.

Advances in endourology have made kidney-sparing treatments a viable treatment option.

The FDA recently granted approval for Jelmyto, which is the first therapy for the treatment of low-grade upper tract urothelial cancer. Urology Times® spoke with Angela B. Smith, MD, MS, regarding the significance of this approval for providers and patients.

Results from the phase III TIVO-3 trial of tivozanib (Fotivda) demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in median progression-free survival compared with sorafenib (Sutent), as well as favorable tolerability, in patients with relapsed or refractory renal cell carcinoma.

With additional follow-up of approximately 10 months, monotherapy with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) continued to show antitumor activity in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. However, monotherapy alone is likely not a sufficient treatment in this patient population, according to Emmanuel Antonarakis, MBBCh, professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Findings from a systematic literature review further our understanding of the prevalence of distinct clinical states of advanced prostate cancer, their association with homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene alterations, and the use of testing methods to identify HRR gene alterations, researchers say.

Misinformation about prostate cancer is rampant online and significantly impacts patient care, study authors said at an American Urological Association press briefing. Researchers using machine learning have taken what they say is a first step to help vet the quality of online content.

In a recent study, researchers examined real-world outcomes for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with radium-223 (Xofigo). Study author Rana R. McKay, MD, of UC San Diego Health, discusses this study and its significance in the castration-resistant prostate cancer landscape.

"This important trial supports the use of adjuvant chemotherapy after nephroureterectomy for stage T2 or higher cases," writes Badar M M. Mian, MD.

Advances in genomic testing will help determine lines of therapy in men with mCSPC and mCRPC, according to Raoul S. Concepcion, MD.

Systemic and intravesical therapies are changing the landscape of BCG-unresponsive disease, according to Matthew Galsky, MD.

Results from 2 years of follow-up in men undergoing proton beam therapy for localized prostate cancer suggest that treatment with the rectal hydrogel spacer (SpaceOAR) provides better rectal sparing than rectal balloon immobilization.

Durvalumab (IMFINZI) appears to be feasible as neoadjuvant therapy with preliminary evidence of antitumor activity in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who are ineligible for cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

In this interview, Leonard G. Gomella, MD, discusses the increasingly important role genetic testing plays in prostate cancer, current obstacles to testing, and when and how it will be carried out.

“It hasn’t become the gold standard yet. There are still a lot of inter-reader reliability issues. The same MRI scans, read by different radiologists, may be read differently," says one urologist.

ImmunityBio announced that the FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for its interleukin-15 agonist complex, N-803, in combination with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), for the treatment of patients with BCG-unresponsive nonmuscle-invasive bladder carcinoma in situ.

Nanospectra Biosciences, Inc. recently announced the start of a pivotal study to determine the efficacy of using magnetic resonance imaging/ultrasound fusion imaging technology to direct focal ablation of prostate tissue using nanoparticle-directed laser ablation.

Recent research shows contemporary imaging and biopsy techniques often fail to identify contralateral tumors in men presumed to have unilateral prostate cancer-and the results have significant implications for identifying candidates for hemiablation.

The FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for enfortumab vedotin-ejfv (PADCEV) in combination with the anti-PD-1 therapy pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA) for the treatment of patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who are unable to receive cisplatin-based chemotherapy in the first-line setting.

In this video, Scott Eggener, MD, outlines which patients are the best candidates for focal therapy for prostate cancer, and discusses the differences in follow-up for patients treated with focal therapy compared with those undergoing active surveillance.