Prostate Cancer

Prospective, long-term follow-up in a large cohort of hypogonadal men treated with testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) provides no evidence that TRT increases the risk for prostate cancer.

The “embarrassment of riches” of therapeutic options for advanced prostate cancer fortunately continues, encouraging us all to strive for lessening the incidence and impact of prostate cancer-specific mortality.

Diagnosing physicians-urologists in particular-significantly influence decision making in men with low-risk prostate cancer as well as the type of treatment selected, according to researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

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

Androgen deprivation therapy provides no survival benefit in older men with localized prostate cancer at 15 years, newly published research shows.

Manish A. Vira, MD, presents the take home messages on minimally invasive surgery 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.

Michael C. Gong, MD, PhD, presents the take home messages on prostate cancer from the AUA annual meeting in Orlando, FL, including new findings about enzalutamide (XTANDI).

New urology products and services from Symtelligence Medical Informatics, LABORIE, Metamark Genetics, the MediSafe Project, and Olympus

Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy may be associated with improved surgical margin status compared to open radical prostatectomy for men with intermediate-risk and high-risk prostate cancer, according to a study presented at the AUA annual meeting in Orlando, FL.

Men with prostate cancer who are treated with external beam radiation therapy are at an increased risk for cancer of the bladder and rectum 10 years or more after their prostate cancer diagnosis, according to an analysis using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program.

The majority of urologists and radiation oncologists feel active surveillance is an effective and underused modality for managing low-risk prostate cancer; however, few of these specialists would recommend this strategy to patients, according to recent survey results.

Salvage extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND) may be highly beneficial for selected prostate cancer patients with biochemical recurrence and clinically recurrent nodal disease, say German researchers.

Shared decision making occurs in only one-third of men who have made a decision about prostate cancer screening, according to findings from a new study that one leading prostate cancer expert said were not at all surprising.

Results of a validation study confirm that cell cycle progression score provided by a commercially available genomic test (Prolaris) is a strong and independent outcome predictor in men with conservatively managed, clinically localized prostate cancer.

Two years ago in May, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended against PSA-based screening for prostate cancer, asserting that “many men are harmed as a result of prostate cancer screening and few, if any, benefit.”

New products and services from TERUMO Medical Corp., TOLMAR Pharmaceuticals, Spry Publishing, and Beckman Coulter Diagnostics.

Inappropriate use of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist for androgen deprivation therapy of localized prostate cancer fell dramatically following implementation of reimbursement cuts mandated by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, but overuse remains problematic, according to research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago.

Results from the phase III PREVAIL trial of the oral androgen receptor inhibitor enzalutamide (XTANDI) have been published online in the New England Journal of Medicine (June 1, 2014).

A new study showing a survival benefit of more than 1 year with a chemotherapy-hormonal therapy combination given prior to castration resistance is being hailed by the study’s first author as a “new standard” of treatment for certain men with metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.

Dr. Henry Rosevear’s blog post about my recently published book, “The Great Prostate Hoax: How big medicine hijacked the PSA test and caused a public health disaster,” does a disservice to the readership of the Urology Times by mischaracterizing the book’s central message.

Drugs in the pipeline from Astellas Pharma, Medivation, TesoRx, Strategic Science and Technologies, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, and SCA.

The recently concluded AUA annual meeting in Orlando may not go down as one of the most memorable annual meetings in recent years. Nevertheless, it was noteworthy for some interesting news and lively debate on hot-button topics: the safety of certain urologic products, namely, testosterone and transvaginal mesh; new tests for prostate cancer; infection prevention and treatment; and use of an advanced prostate cancer agent in the pre-chemotherapy setting.

Testosterone replacement therapy may be considered for treatment of hypogonadism in carefully selected men who have undergone radical prostatectomy for low- to intermediate-risk prostate cancer, according to researchers from New York University Medical Center, New York.

A new nomogram may help better predict the risk of disease progression in men who are being managed by active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer.

It is hard to imagine a world without dogs. Since the beginning of civilization, from hunting to herding, dogs have literally been man's best friend. Now, canines are being enlisted to help with a major health problem of the modern age: prostate cancer detection.

Targeted biopsy locations using cognitive magnetic resonance imaging targeting were more than twice as likely to show prostate cancer compared with transrectal ultrasound template biopsy, and cancers in these locations were twice as likely to be high grade, researchers from Washington University, St. Louis reported yesterday.

Data from the final analysis of the international, phase III PREVAIL study show that enzalutamide (XTANDI) added to androgen deprivation therapy at the time of progression provides meaningful clinical benefit for men with chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, including those with visceral disease.

Lumenis Ltd. has announced the U.S. launch of the Lumenis Pulse 120H Holmium laser platform for a range of urologic applications.