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Robert Pugach, MD, medical director of Pacific Coast Urology Medical Center, Beverly Hills, CA, was elected vice chair of the American Medical Association’s Organized Medical Staff Governing Council at its June meeting in Chicago. He previously served as secretary and Western States caucus chair of this section.

AUA has appointed Priscilla Chatman, JD, as director of government relations and advocacy for its expanded government relations program.

Sunitinib malate (Sutent), indicated for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma, may be associated with heart failure in less than 3% of patients receiving the drug, according to a study published in Cancer (2008; 112:2500-8). The finding may represent a potentially serious toxicity and may underscore the need for careful monitoring of cardiac function and aggressive control of hypertension in these patients.

Researchers conducting a study to learn whether children with vesicoureteral reflux should be treated with an extended course of antibiotics are seeking to enroll more participants.

Morbidly obese patients who undergo a particular type of gastric bypass surgery called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) are at increased risk of developing kidney stones within a few months following the procedure, rather than several months to years afterward, according to research published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (2008; 206:1145-53).

Indevus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has received an approvable letter from FDA for its long-acting depot preparation of testosterone undecanoate (Nebido), which is indicated for the treatment of male hypogonadism.

Manufacturers of fluoroquinolone antimicrobial drugs have been notified by FDA that a boxed warning in the product labeling concerning the increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture is necessary.

Compared with conservative management of the disease, androgen deprivation therapy does not appear to be associated with improved survival in elderly men with localized prostate cancer, according to a study in JAMA (2008; 300:173-81).

The U.S. Senate has approved legislation by a veto-proof margin that would void a 10.6% pay cut for physicians treating Medicare patients. The bill now goes to the White House.

In its 103rd installment, the AUA annual meeting introduced urologists to interesting research about relationships between urologic conditions and other significant health issues. The annual take-home messages are presented here.

Open radical nephrectomy has long been the standard of care for patinets with organ-confined or locally advanced renal cell carcinoma. In recent years, however, laparoscopy has replaced open surgery for some patients undergoing radical nephrectomy, based on easier convalescence with equivalent cancer control.q

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Use of minimally invasive surgical treatments (MISTs) for BPH has increased tremendously in the past decade, but urologists should be careful about overusing these newer technologies, given the lack of long-term evidence of their efficacy, according to researchers from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Men initially diagnosed with Gleason 7 disease who also had a small area of tertiary cancer seen on biopsy were found to have a more aggressive form of cancer.

Two testosterone gel formulations are efficacious in obese men and those with diabetes, according to separate studies reported at the Endocrine Society annual meeting in San Francisco.

Patients on intermittent catheterization are now allowed up to 200 single-use, disposable catheters per month, thanks to a change in policy by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The decision provides improved access to single-use catheters in patients with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, and spina bifida.

In an attempt to remedy the pressures associated with insurance claims reimbursement for physician services, the American Medical Association has launched the Cure for Claims campaign simultaneously with its first National Health Insurer Report Card on claims processing.

A panel of seven biomarkers can predict with 86% accuracy which prostate cancer patients will experience recurrence and progression of prostate cancer, researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas reported in Clinical Cancer Research (2008; 14:3785-91).

The risk of developing prostate cancer among older men who receive testosterone replacement therapy for low testosterone is no greater than it is for similarly aged men not treated with testosterone, according to a study presented at The Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco.

FDA has approved the 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor dutasteride (Avodart) in combination with the alpha-blocker tamsulosin (Flomax) for treatment of symptomatic enlarged prostate. Both drugs had previously been approved individually for treatment of enlarged prostate.

A federal court judge has upheld an effort by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to prevent physicians from administering anatomic pathology diagnostic testing services performed in “pod labs,” rejecting a challenge by Uropath, LLC and several urology groups.

Chances of surviving prostate cancer in men whose tumors recur after prostatectomy are threefold higher for those who undergo radiotherapy within 2 years after recurrence, according to new research findings from the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore. In men whose new tumors grew fastest, prolonged survival chances were greatest, researchers reported last week in JAMA (2008; 299:2760-9).

The Sexual Medicine Society of North America has announced a public education program commemorating a decade of treatment for erectile dysfunction: The first tablet to treat ED was introduced 10 years ago.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals has announced initiation of the INTORACT (INvestigation of Torisel and Avastin Combination Therapy) study, a randomized, open-label phase III study comparing temsirolimus (Torisel) plus bevacizumab (Avastin) versus bevacizumab plus interferon-alfa for first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Modern 3-D computed tomography is effective for locating the prostatic apex for radiation therapy treatment planning in prostate cancer patients because it eliminates the need for an invasive procedure and related side effects, according to a study in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics (2008; 71:51-7).

Researchers at the University of California Davis Children’s Hospital have identified the potential stem cells that become the bladder, adding to the body of research that already has identified stem cells that can regenerate many of the body’s other organs.