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The Surgical Trainees Interested in Laparoscopic and robotic Urological Surgery Group (STILUS) is launching the first phase of its new web site at the AUA annual meeting here this week. STILUS comprises physicians who are mentors and tutors in the field of urologic minimally invasive surgery. Its goal is to encourage and enhance the training of young urologists in endourology.

Radical prostatectomy patients are most likely to employ pharmacotherapy for erectile dysfunction in the immediate postoperative period, with those who undergo laparoscopic/robotic prostatectomy having the greatest rate of usage, investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston reported here.

Patients who undergo external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) either as primary treatment for prostate cancer or for post-prostatectomy positive margins are at increased risk of mortality if they later develop bladder or colorectal secondary malignancies, researchers from the University of California Davis in Sacramento reported here.

An adenovirus/PSA vaccine is safe and can induce anti-PSA antibody and T cell responses in a significant number of men with stage D2 or D3 prostate cancer, according to findings from a phase I trial conducted at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and reported here yesterday.

Second-look flexible nephroscopy after percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is cost effective only for residual stone fragments larger than 4 mm, according to findings from a study reported at the AUA meeting yesterday.

Three journalists who have raised the bar on medical reporting stepped into the spotlight yesterday as the second annual AUA Excellence in Urology Health Reporting Awards were presented here.

Continuing a tradition of displays that are as fascinating as they are informative, the 2008 AUA history exhibit focuses on the history, spread, and continued fight against contagions. Titled "Plagues & Pestilence," the booth uses text, archive photos, and presentations to bring the topic to life.

The University of Wisconsin, Madison has announced formation of the department of urology in the School of Medicine and Public Health, effective July 1.

Urologists can now enhance the ultrasound machines they currently have with 3-D and 4-D technology with the Artemis device, designed by Eigen (Grass Valley, CA). Artemis combines advanced imaging technology with mapping capabilities to give physicians a more complete set of information when performing prostate biopsies. It was recently cleared by FDA, and is being introduced here at the AUA annual meeting in Orlando, FL.

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, researchers from the University of Minnesota said here.

Over the next 5 days, the editors of Urology Times will bring you a quick recap of news and information from urology's biggest event, as it occurs. Our staff will keep you up to date on the meeting's top clinical news, announcements and briefings from the AUA pressroom, items from the exhibit floor, and more. Look for more in-depth versions of many of these articles in upcoming issues of Urology Times and on the UT web site, www.urologytimes.com.

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Conventional wisdom says that testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is unsafe for men who have been treated for prostate cancer. However, a small but growing body of research could provide justification for TRT in symptomatic men who have undergone definitive treatment for the disease.

Although several large, well-controlled, randomized studies support the use of adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) in all men with T3 disease following radical prostatectomy, none of these studies show significant overall survival benefits. This raises the question of whether physicians should employ this therapy more selectively.

While luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist injections offer patients advantages like flexibility and regular physician contact, LHRH implants can provide the convenience of once-yearly visits, as well as lower overhead for urologists.

A new 3-D technique for mapping biopsies and targeting focal therapy appears promising for imaging and guiding treatment of low-risk prostate cancers.

In 2008, urology is focusing on interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) in earnest, with important clinical trial results.

Several challenging issues related to urologic trauma and reconstructive surgery include management of bladder neck stenosis after prostate cancer therapy, advanced urethral reconstruction for benign disease, and renal trauma.

New technologies that allow single-port transluminal endoscopic surgery will likely draw considerable attention to the area of laparoscopic techniques and technologies

Increasingly, genetics is changing the way urologists diagnose and treat problems related to male infertility. As lab findings become clinical realities, andrologists and general urologists alike are finding their daily practices changed by advances in our understanding of the human genome.

In chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), two pivotal clinical trials "are going to have an immediate impact on the way you practice," said Anthony J. Schæffer, MD, professor and chairman of the department of urology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago.

In the office and the operating room, urologists are finding an array of more palatable approaches to managing pediatric cases.

Misconceptions about the origin of Peyronie's disease can lead to therapeutic strategies that have little or no chance of succeeding, according to Dr. Mulcahy.

Glenn M. Preminger, MD, professor of urologic surgery and director of the Comprehensive Kidney Stone Center at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, suggests that the next decade might best be spent refining those technologies and determining which patients are likely to derive the greatest benefit from these advances.

The expanding use of laparoscopic techniques in urologic surgery has placed a greater demand on training programs to develop better methods to provide laparoscopic skill training. Researchers from the United Kingdom have examined how changing the temporal relationship between hand movement and perception of that movement on the monitor affected the rate of acquisition of laparoscopic skills.

The advent of the taxanes has been an important recent breakthrough in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, and the availability of these new chemotherapeutic agents has been accompanied by an explosion in research investigating new protocols, especially involving multimodal regimens combining a taxane with immunotherapy or hormonal therapy.

While immediate cystectomy offers excellent long-term outcomes for patients with high-grade T1 transitional cell carcinoma, genetic biomarkers one day could help urologists select the most appropriate candidates for this surgery.

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) continues to be an effective minimally invasive approach to the treatment of large-volume renal stone disease.