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An independent data monitoring committee stopped a major phase III clinical trial of the investigational drug everolimus (RAD001) after interim results showed significantly better progression-free survival in patients with advanced kidney cancer who received everolimus compared with placebo.

One-third of women appear to suffer from one or more pelvic floor disorders, researchers from Kaiser Permanente reported in Obstetrics & Gynecology (2008; 111:678-85).

The FDA has approved an expanded clearance for the CellSearch System to be used as an aid in monitoring patients with metastatic prostate cancer. The system currently is cleared for monitoring metastatic breast and colorectal cancer patients.

A new blood test that measures levels of endoglin appears to accurately predict 98% of prostate cancers that will spread to regional lymph nodes, according to a study published in Clinical Cancer Research (2008; 14:1418-22). Endoglin is a plasma biomarker that has been previously shown to predict the spread of colon and breast cancer.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is expected to recommend to Congress this month that it increase average Medicare physician fees by 1.1% for 2009, rather than allowing a scheduled 5% reduction to take effect.

With all the changes you face, it's easy to forget that focusing on the basics just might provide the results you want.

Poor communication skills are a frequently cited factor in a patient's decision to leave a practice or even pursue a malpractice claim against a physician.

There is no specific code for the intravesical use of botulinum toxin A as a treatment of urgency and frequency of urination.

Since the introduction of PSA screening, prostate cancer-specific deaths have declined by 35%, but the number could be lowered even further.

The modern 10- to 12-core biopsy scheme has a higher diagnostic yield than the conventional sextant biopsy scheme does, especially on second biopsy.

Robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy may have made its way into the clinical arena under heavy marketing, but its value has now become clear.

The looming shortage of U.S. physicians is a complex, multifaceted problem-and one that faces urology as much, if not more than, other specialties.

Autologous muscle progenitor cells are able to restore otherwise irreversibly damaged sphincter function.

For very elderly patients with bladder cancer, good outcomes with radical cystectomy are possible primarily through appropriate patient selection, timely surgical management, and meticulous postoperative care.

Research led by Anthony Atala, MD, has shown that non-embryonic sources of stem cells may lead to safer, more effective clinical use.

Men with a history of infertility have a markedly increased risk of subsequently developing testicular cancer.

Traditional immunotherapy for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is being supplanted by new medications that target the biology of kidney cancer. Based on demonstrated efficacy, 3 of these novel agents have now been approved for advanced disease.

About 10% of needle biopsy reports will be returned with a diagnosis of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) or of "atypical" cells that are possibly indicative of carcinoma. Armed with knowledge of the likelihood of each of these diagnoses developing into cancer over time, urologists can avoid subjecting patients to unnecessary repeat biopsies.

Pelvic floor muscle training plus bladder training appear to resolve urinary incontinence, according to a new systematic review of published studies on non-surgical management of urinary incontinence in women.

FDA has received reports of systemic adverse reactions, including respiratory compromise and death following the use of botulinum toxins types A (Botox) and B (BotoMyobloc) for FDA-approved and unapproved uses. The reactions reported are suggestive of botulism, the agency said.

Prostate cancers that are resistant to androgen deprivation therapy are more invasive and are more likely to spread to other organs than are androgen-dependent prostate cancers, according to UCLA researchers. The findings could change the way some prostate cancers are treated, spurring earlier use of hormone therapy to prevent the cancer’s spread, said senior author Robert Reiter, MD.

A single PSA test taken before the age 50 years can be used to predict advanced prostate cancer in men up to 25 years in advance of a diagnosis, according to a study by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and Lund University in Sweden. The findings, published in the online journal BMC Medicine, should help physicians identify men who would benefit from intensive prostate cancer screenings over their lifetime.

An independent panel convened by the National Institutes of Health found that fewer than half of those experiencing urinary or fecal incontinence report their symptoms to health care providers without prompting, impairing their quality of life and hindering development of prevention and treatment strategies.

A diet low in fat and red meat but high in vegetables and lean protein may significantly decrease the risk of symptomatic BPH, according to researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

The American College of Preventive Medicine has found there is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against routine population prostate cancer screening with digital rectal examination or PSA. The college has issued a practice policy statement advising clinicians caring for men, particularly African-American men and those with a family history of prostate cancer, to provide them with information about the potential benefits and harms of screening and the limits of current evidence to allow these patients to make an informed decision about screening (Am J Prev Med 2008; 34:164-70).

Two novel, investigational forms of immunotherapy showed positive outcomes in separate studies reported at the recent Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco.