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Atlanta-Delays of fewer than 25 days and more than 84 days from the time a general practitioner referral assigns a patient to cystectomy show a statistically significant, positive relationship to increased patient mortality. Results from a population-based study of the relationship between delayed treatment and mortality were presented at the AUA annual meeting here.

Atlanta-Neoadjuvant chemotherapy using a three-drug combination has demonstrated activity in locally advanced transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder, but it also possesses considerable toxicity. That was the conclusion reported in a poster by University of Michigan researchers at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.

Atlanta-Men whose infertility is due to varicocele may be able to improve the likelihood of achieving impregnation by undergoing bilateral, rather than unilateral varicocelectomy, when indicated. This was the conclusion of the authors of a Canadian study presented here at the AUA annual meeting.

Atlanta-If you're going to perform a vasectomy reversal, use a microscope. Despite the additional time and cost involved, microsurgical vasovasostomy is superior to the loupe-assisted macroscopic technique, findings from a recent study from Korea confirm.

Ann Arbor, MI-Evidence-based expectant management of men with lower-risk prostate cancer does not seem to be catching on among physicians and their patients. A new study suggests that, among men who are appropriate candidates for the wait-and-see approach, physicians are treating more than half with surgery or radiation therapy.

Atlanta-Patients who undergo radical prostatectomy for clinical stage T4 prostate cancer have a higher survival rate than do patients who receive radiation or hormone therapies alone, and surgical prostate cancer patients' survival is comparable to that of patients who receive both hormone and radiation therapies.

Atlanta-Undiagnosed urinary incontinence may occur in up to half of adult women age 25 to 80 years, according to a survey sent to patients at Kaiser Permanente Northwest Health Maintenance Organization, Portland, OR.

Several studies presented at the 2006 AUA annual meeting provided evidence of a relationship between erectile dysfunction and lower urinary tract symptoms, with some data showing that treatment of LUTS will improve ED and vice versa. Treating multiple conditions at once means that patients may be able to receive better overall care, but physicians must avoid simply treating symptoms and take a more global approach to patient care, according to Steven A. Kaplan, MD. In this Urology Times interview, Dr. Kaplan, professor of urology and chief of the Institute of Bladder and Prostate Health at Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, New York, discusses current findings on the association between ED and LUTS and their implications for patient management. He was interviewed by UT Editorial Consultant Philip M. Hanno, MD, MPH, professor of urology at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Linthicum, MD-AUA has partnered with two leading ophthalmology groups to raise awareness that individuals with past or present use of an alpha-1 blocker may develop a condition known as intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS) while undergoing cataract surgery and should inform their ophthalmologist about such medication use so that appropriate surgical techniques can be used.

Atlanta-For the past several years, Andrew P. Evan, PhD, chancellor's professor of anatomy and cell biology at Indiana University, Indianapolis, and his colleagues have pursued the etiology of kidney stone formation, stone by stone.

Kidney cancer patients with two otherwise healthy kidneys who underwent partial nephrectomy to remove a small cancer developed chronic kidney disease at a rate one-third lower than patients who underwent radical nephrectomy, reported researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Men with prostate cancer and their spouses/significant others are being sought for a joint study being conducted by two Los Angeles-area medical centers as part of a collaborative effort to better understand the genetics of the disease.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation has launched Athletes for a Cure, a fundraising and awareness program to assist individual athletes in their quest to raise money for better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer.

A protein in the blood may prove to be a biomarker that is more sensitive and specific than PSA and digital rectal exam, according to scientists at Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen may prevent or delay BPH, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

Treatment with hyaluronic acid/dextranomer gel (Deflux) showed a cure rate of more than 90% in children with vesicoureteral reflux, with 82.2% showing resolution after just one treatment, according to a study published last month in Pediatrics (2006; 118:698-703).