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A recent retrospective study suggests that PCNL outcome is independent of body mass index, at least in terms of successful stone removal, operative blood loss, length of hospital stay, and postoperative pyrexia.

Outcomes for percutaneous stone removal have been shown to be less dependent on stone size, complexity, and other factors than SWL, with most patients achieving stone-free status with a single procedure.

Just over half of SWL patients can expect at least one recurrence of stone disease and that recurrent stone disease is associated with new-onset diabetes mellitus.

Urologists' ability to perform imaging in the office has come under attack, thanks to the efforts of legislators, insurers, and competing specialists.

Among men with unfavorable prostate cancer being treated with radiotherapy and adjuvant androgen suppression, there appear to be significant outcomes advantages for a prolonged duration of hormonal therapy.

Over the long term, stone recurrence is less frequent with percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) than with shock wave lithotripsy (SWL).

New urology products and services.

Indevus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has received an approvable letter from the FDA for valrubicin (Valstar), indicated for intravesical therapy of bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)-refractory carcinoma in situ of the bladder in patients for whom immediate cystectomy would be associated with unacceptable morbidity or mortality.

Tadalafil (Cialis) appears to improve erectile function in men with spinal cord injuries, according to a French study published in the online edition of Archives of Neurology.

Although previous studies suggest that high plasma concentrations of carotenoids, retinol, or tocopherols may reduce the risk of prostate cancer, recent research from Europe showed no associations between these micronutrients and overall prostate cancer risk. However, when study subjects were stratified by disease stage, both plasma lycopene and the sum of all measured plasma carotenoids were associated with reduced risk of advanced disease only.

The monoclonal antibody bavituximab significantly shrank resistant human prostate tumors in mice when added to a standard regimen of androgen deprivation and docetaxel (Taxotere), according to researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

More prostate cancers were detected among men who were screened every 2 years than among men screened every 4 years, according to a study published in an online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2007; 99:1296-303). But the shorter time between screenings did not reduce the number of aggressive cancers found between the scheduled screening tests.

Combination treatment with the 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor dutasteride (Avodart) and the alpha-blocker tamsulosin (Flomax) provides significantly greater urinary symptom improvement for men with BPH than either therapy alone does over 24 months, according to a study presented at the recent meeting of the Société Internationale d’Urologie in Paris.

Finasteride (Proscar) appears to raise the odds that physicians will find fast-growing prostate cancers early, suggests a study from the Southwest Oncology Group.

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Sildenafil citrate (Viagra) may elevate the release of reproductive hormone, according to the authors of an animal study from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The finding is potentially the first sign of a chemical means by which erectile dysfunction drugs may physically affect the body beyond heightening blood flow to sexual organs.

Sandra Vassos has been named the new executive director of the AUA Foundation.

Surgeons at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, effectively removed a patient's kidney by conducting an atypical nephrectomy, known as “single keyhole access” surgery, via the umbilicus. This marked the first such surgery that involved a kidney, and it required one incision.

A cancer patient advocacy group said it will rally at FDA headquarters this month to ask FDA to reconsider its “flawed” decision on sipuleucel-T (Provenge), a form of immunotherapy under investigation for the treatment of late-stage prostate cancer.

GPC Biotech AG has retracted its new drug application for satraplatin, which was submitted for rapid approval to treat hormone-refractory prostate cancer patients who had experienced unsuccessful previous chemotherapy.

Sexual dysfunction is common in patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), regardless of the type of CP/CPPS they have, according to two recent studies.

The Prostate Cancer Education Council, a nonprofit consortium of expert physicians, health educators, scientists, and prostate health advocates, is teaming with former Detroit Pistons basketball coach Chuck Daly to spread the word on prostate health issues. BPH Game Plan Starts with U, the culmination of their efforts, is a recently launched national initiative to promote screenings and to raise awareness of BPH.

Levels of five androgen receptors in prostatectomy specimens appear to predict which men will progress in their disease and which will respond to androgen deprivation therapy.

Prostate cancer patients younger than 60 years who had healthy erectile function (EF) prior to low doses of brachytherapy have a strong likelihood of sustaining long-term EF, according to a study by radiation oncologists and urologists at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

The therapeutic role of phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors could expand to include some patients with BPH and lower urinary tract symptoms, according to findings from two studies presented at the AUA annual meeting in Anaheim, CA.

An immune molecule potentially responsible for the onset, return, and progression of prostate cancer has been discovered by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The report on the B7-H3 molecule appeared in Cancer Research (2007; 67:7893-900).

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) can cause a lot of discomfort, as well as frustration resulting from the inability to urinate normally. For some men, it can also cause emotional stress. Getting the facts right about BPH can help alleviate the emotional stress.