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While it is still unclear whether and how Congress will reform the Medicare sustainable growth rate formula in time to avoid a 25% payment cut beginning in January, many physician groups, including the AUA, are adamantly opposed to another key component of the proposed 2014 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.

In its push to close the loophole on physician self-referral for prostate cancer treatment, the American Society for Radiation Oncology now has what some may call an unlikely ally.

Abiraterone acetate (ZYTIGA) significantly delays progression of pain and quality of life deterioration when taken in conjunction with prednisone, the authors of a multicenter study reported.

Short-term hormone therapy appears to produce outcomes that are as favorable as those for long-term therapy in men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer, according to the results of two studies from the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group.

Toxic chemicals in the environment harm our ability to reproduce and are associated with poor semen quality and prostate cancer, among other long-term health problems, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

The American Society for Radiation Oncology and the American Academy of Family Physicians have both released recommendations on the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer as part of the Choosing Wisely campaign.

Urology Times congratulates Howard M. Snyder, III, MD, who received the Urology Medal at the recently concluded Pediatric Urology Fall Congress in Las Vegas. The Urology Medal is given to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of pediatric urology.

When it comes to how urologists are paid, change is coming.

The level of expression of three genes associated with aging can be used to predict whether seemingly low-risk prostate cancer will remain slow growing, according to a recent study.

New research shows a significant decrease in PSA screening by primary care physicians since the release of the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against screening in May 2012.

A proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that would cap payments for more than 200 physician services at outpatient prospective payment system or ambulatory surgery center rates would threaten patient access to optimal, cost-effective health care, according to the Large Urology Group Practice Association.

Outcomes following salvage radiation therapy after recurrent prostate cancer in a racially mixed cohort are no better when it’s started at a PSA level

Following suburethral mesh sling removal, half of patients had operations to treat incontinence, according to a study reported at the AUA annual meeting in San Diego.

The widely unpopular Medicare sustainable growth rate enacted under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 has threatened cuts to Medicare payments to physicians for years. This year there is hope that a solution to the perennial problem will be enacted into law.

Regular use of aspirin in the year before a diagnosis of stage I-III prostate cancer is associated with a reduction in prostate cancer-specific mortality, say Irish researchers.

African-American men are more influenced by convenience than are Caucasian men in their choice of treatment for early-stage prostate cancer, according to a recent study.

New therapies that are extending survival of men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer may also be contributing to an increasing trend for the development of non-osseous metastatic disease in these patients, according to a recent study.

Three different procedures to treat stress urinary incontinence led to high rates of recurrence-free outcomes at 5 years, and the choice of retreatment of SUI varied according to the initial procedure, long-term follow-up in two randomized trials showed.

Need for a repeat voiding trial after midurethral sling surgery does not increase the likelihood of a suboptimal outcome and may even predict a better long-term result, say researchers from the Urinary Incontinence Treatment Network.

Stress-incontinent women whose urinary urgency incontinence worsens following a sling procedure are a heterogeneous group, according to research presented at the AUA annual meeting in San Diego.

A recently developed instrument may improve the adjustment capabilities of a magnetic coupling system being investigated for use in laparoscopic procedures.

Researchers say they’re seeing positive results in early analysis of an adaptive optical element they have developed to increase the flexibility of surgical lasers in the treatment of upper urinary tract disorders.

A new survey of urologic surgeons from around the world found that an overwhelming majority believes simulation-based training for robot-assisted surgery should be a mandatory part of their surgical programs.

Optimizing outcomes using focal tumor ablation techniques depends on acquiring a better understanding of the tissue effects of these technologies, according to a recent study.

Researchers say a cooling device can reduce local inflammation and shorten time to continence-and even prevent permanent incontinence-in patients who undergo robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.

Insufficient estrogen levels in men may be at least partially to blame for symptoms that are often attributed to hypogonadism, according to a recently published study.

In an attempt to clarify what it calls conflicting guideline statements on prostate cancer screening from various organizations, the Large Urology Group Practice Association has issued its own position on the use of the PSA test as a screening tool.

The FDA has authorized the marketing of the UroLift system, the first permanent implant to relieve low or blocked urine flow in men aged 50 years and older with BPH.