Prostate Cancer

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.

Other cases discussed in this edition of "Malpractice Consult" include cecum perforated during prostatectomy, injections fail to improve Peyronie's disease, and dementia diagnosis blamed on urologic procedure.

Repealing the IOASE would severely curtail the health care options for hundreds of thousands of prostate cancer patients and their families who depend on access to comprehensive, integrated urologic services of the highest quality.

Studies examining the post-prostatectomy effects of phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors and those discussing active surveillance are among the key papers in localized prostate cancer to be presented at this year's AUA annual meeting, according to Leonard G. Gomella, MD.

Prostate cancer will not go away if we simply stop looking for it.

African-American and European-American men at high risk of prostate cancer have greater odds of being diagnosed with an aggressive form of the disease if they have vitamin D deficiency, researchers from Chicago’s Northwestern Medicine and the University of Illinois at Chicago reported in a recently published study.

New products and services from Lumenis, ITelagen, Mission Pharmacal, PatientPoint, and HealthTronics IT Solutions.

Urologists on Twitter criticized high-intensity focused ultrasound and in some instances even mocked the treatment.

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

Urologists discuss their approaches to preventing post-prostate biopsy infection, including rectal swabs and antibiotic prophylaxis.

The Prostate Health Index (phi), a noninvasive blood test its developer says is three times more specific in detecting prostate cancer than PSA, is now available nationwide.

Focal therapy has been promoted as a minimally morbid option for men with localized low-risk prostate cancer who nevertheless want their disease treated. Opponents of focal therapy note the heterogeneity and multifocal nature of prostate cancer, the difficulty of accurately targeting and destroying an index tumor with focal therapy, and the unknown biologic potential of the tumor.

Researchers have come up with a potential blood-based biomarker that can identify men with castration-resistant prostate cancer who are not likely to respond to enzalutamide (XTANDI).

A new study has found that for men 65 years of age and older, robot-assisted radical prostatectomy and open prostatectomy have similar rates of complications, providing further evidence that outcomes between the two procedures are not significantly different.

Research in advanced prostate cancer is largely focused on newer agents for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, including abiraterone acetate (ZYTIGA), enzalutamide (XTANDI), radium Ra 223 dichloride (Xofigo), and the immunotherapy sipuleucel-T (Provenge).

Drugs and devices in the pipeline from Astellas Pharma, Medivation, Repros Therapeutics, Metamark Genetics, Argos Therapeutics, S1 Biopharma, Ipsen, Sprout Pharmaceuticals, Antigen Express, Generex Biotechnology, Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, and Absorption Pharmaceuticals.

New products and services from Accuray, Cook Medical, OPKO Health, Intuitive Surgical, Skipta, Mauna Kea Technologies, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

About one-fourth of men with slow-growing prostate cancer who undergo active surveillance drop out of the program, according to findings from a relatively small European study.