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Urologists ranked in the top 25% of all specialties for highest average Medicare payments in 2012, according to controversial data released recently by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

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.

The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the American Academy of Ophthalmology have jointly issued an educational update about cataract surgery complications associated with systemic alpha-blockers based on the recent publication of two studies.

The number of older women being diagnosed with and treated for pelvic organ prolapse increased dramatically during the first decade of the 21st century, and surgical interventions gained in dominance. However, while mesh-based transvaginal repair seemed to gain early acceptance, its utilization was impacted by FDA safety notifications about serious mesh-related complications, reported researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College, New York.

Intravesical administration of a liquid liposomal formulation of onabotulinumtoxinA (“Liposomal BoNT-A,” Lipella Pharmaceuticals) shows promise as a safe and effective treatment for refractory overactive bladder (OAB), according to a pilot study presented at the European Association of Urology annual congress in Stockholm, Sweden.

There has been a movement favoring noninvasive and minimally invasive approaches for management of urologic trauma cases, but findings from a multi-institutional retrospective study indicate that at least for patients with extraperitoneal bladder injury, evidence-based data are needed to justify that trend.

Adding local radiotherapy to hormonal treatment more than halves long-term prostate cancer-specific mortality and substantially decreases overall mortality in men with non-metastatic locally advanced or high-risk prostate cancer, according to an updated analysis of clinical trial data from the Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group’s Study VII.

Three-dimensional mapping biopsy (3DMB) of the prostate provides a more accurate disease assessment and in doing so may allow more confident decision making when patients and their physicians are trying to resolve issues surrounding observation or more aggressive therapies, a study from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, suggests.

A study from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York sheds light on the “obesity paradox” seen with renal cell carcinoma while at the same time demonstrating the emerging value of genomics in understanding cancer and other diseases.

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.

Dose-escalated intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with use of a moderate hypofractionation regimen (72 Gy in 2.4-Gy fractions) can safely treat patients with localized prostate cancer with limited grade 2 or 3 late toxicity, according to a recently published study.

Among men undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer, daily use of the phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitor tadalafil (Cialis), compared with placebo, did not prevent loss of erectile function, a recently published study found.

This guide features products and services from manufacturers that are exhibiting at the AUA annual meeting in Orlando. Exhibit hall booth numbers have been included so that you can search for product demonstrations and exhibits that are of particular interest to you.

The 2014 Urology Joint Advocacy Conference (JAC), co-sponsored by the American Association of Clinical Urologists and the American Urological Association, turned out to be an opportune time for urologists visiting Capitol Hill.

The AUA returns to Orlando-one of the nation’s most family-friendly, fun cities-for its 2014 annual meeting, May 16-21. Although this central Florida town is most frequently associated with a certain beloved mouse-and Disney’s many parks are well worth a visit, regardless of your age-there are plenty of other activities to make all ages smile.

In his latest blog post, Henry Rosevear, MD, summarizes the Affordable Care Act and explains how it has already affected his practice.

Three professional medical societies and an international group of 130 scientists and physicians have petitioned JAMA to retract a recent article that reported an association between the use of testosterone therapy and increased risk of death, heart attack, or ischemic stroke.

Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are associated with a significant improvement in erectile function, cardiologists reported in a new meta-analysis.

Laser photoselective vaporization prostatectomy is permitting surgical intervention for BPH in a widening array of patients, many of whom harbor comorbidities that would ordinarily exclude them from invasive procedures, according to a new multinational report.

New AUA Director of Government Relations and Advocacy Brad Stine intends to advocate for the AUA’s SGR policy: to gain affirmative repeal of the formula that has proven so troublesome over the years for urologists, whose patient population includes a large percentage of Medicare enrollees.

The take-home message is that for sorafenib and sunitinib, sequencing does not appear to be drug dependent and either can be used as first- or second-line therapy.

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

Primary androgen deprivation therapy in men with localized prostate cancer appears to offer no survival benefit.

A collaborative effort involving Duke University experts in urology, engineering, pathology, and mathematics has resulted in improved efficiency for shock wave lithotripsy, the researchers report.

There are two accepted versions of the E&M documentation guidelines that have been released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: one from 1995 and another from 1997. The main difference between the guidelines lies in the detail that surrounds the appropriate level of documentation for physical examination.

The investigational 17,20 lyase inhibitor orteronel failed to significantly extend overall survival in an international phase III study of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Although the activity of enzalutamide (XTANDI) is blunted in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have been treated previously with abiraterone acetate (ZYTIGA), a meaningful number of these patients still experience a decline in PSA level with enzalutamide, according to a recent study.

The sequential use of two targeted treatments for metastatic renal cell carcinoma appears to yield similar total progression-free survival regardless of the order in which they are given, phase III study results indicate.