A combination of sipuleucel-T (Provenge) active cellular immunotherapy for prostate cancer and bevacizumab (Avastin) significantly increased the PSA doubling time in patients with prostate cancer who had relapsed after prior surgical and radiation therapy, according to recently published data from the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center and the University of California, San Francisco.
Three or four no-shows per day add up to as much as $1,000 per month, with no resulting revenue to the practice.
Brisbane, Australia-Decisions about when and how to perform prostate biopsy have become more complex in recent years, said Michael Jewett, MD, professor of surgery (urology), University of Toronto, in an address at the Urological Society of Australasia annual meeting here. The objective of biopsy should be to detect prostate cancer in men who will benefit from the information they yield.
Paris-Once-daily administration of a newer alpha-blocker appears to have a positive effect in the treatment of patients suffering from lower urinary tract symptoms and BPH compared with placebo, but comes up short in preventing acute urinary retention occurrence, according to Claus G. Roehrborn, MD, professor and chairman of the department of urology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. Dr. Roehrborn presented the results of a 2-year study at the European Association of Urology annual congress here.
Paris-In patients with lower urinary tract symptoms due to bladder outlet obstruction, targeted high-energy transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT) provides a suitable option for improvement of their condition, according to Bob Djavan, MD, who presented the results of an 8-year, multicenter, European study at the European Association of Urology annual congress here.
Atlanta-The debate over the most appropriate surgical approach for placement of an artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) may be coming to a resolution. In the largest retrospective trial reported to date, Gerard D. Henry, MD, a urologist with Regional Urology, Shreveport, LA, found that the traditional perineal approach offers significantly better urinary control than the newer penoscrotal insertion approach.
Body mass index does not appear to independently predict long-term prostate cancer survival after radical prostatectomy
Atlanta-Intravesical administration of an agent that is chemically related to cannabis produces a positive response in laboratory rats and may be useful in patients with painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis, investigators from the University of Pittsburgh reported at the AUA annual meeting.
Five states failed the first-ever prostate cancer state-by-statereport card issued by the National Prostate Cancer Coalition.Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, and Wisconsin did not makethe grade while California, Connecticut, Kansas, and New York allearned As.
The urology community is mourning the death of Joseph W. Segura,MD, who died Tuesday, May 23 after a battle with mesothelioma.
You do not have to write a check for the drug, nor do you have to collect for it, but you are still involved in the process.
Washington-A recent report by Medicare trustees warning that the program will run out of money by 2018, 2 years earlier than previously predicted, can be expected to make it more difficult for Medicare physicians to avoid payment reductions and could expedite implementation of the controversial pay for performance (P4P) reforms.
Cell Genesys Inc.'s GVAX immunotherapy for prostate cancer has been granted fast-track status from the FDA. The product is involved in two phase III trials, which are designed to show survival benefit with GVAX versus docetaxel (Taxotere) plus prednisone (Deltasone, Meticorten, Orasone, et al). The studies involve 1,200 men with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Both have received special protocol assessments from FDA.
New blister packaging offered for once-daily UTI drug
You might be surprised how close you actually are to retirement.
People who pay more of their own costs up front... make choices based on cost as well as quality.
A video format seems to be an acceptable means to respond to patients' dissatisfaction with available information and eagerness for further information.
Brisbane, Australia-Intravesical instillation of certain drugs has proven to be safe in reducing stent-related symptoms in patients undergoing ureteroscopy, and drug-eluting stents could eventually become a new treatment paradigm for other urologic disorders, such as bladder cancer and interstitial cystitis, said John Denstedt, MD, professor of urology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON. Dr. Denstedt discussed current research in stent technology and prospects for the future in a presentation at the Urological Society of Australasia annual meeting here.
Brisbane, Australia-Patients with neurogenic bladder overactivity treated with botulinum toxin A (Botox) have shown improvements in incontinence of up to 50% compared with placebo, but questions about the agent need to be addressed in further prospective, randomized trials before botulinum toxin can be accepted as an established treatment for voiding dysfunction, said Jeffrey Thavaseelan, MD, head of urology at the Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia.
Paris-Significant statistical correlations are seen between body mass index (BMI) and BPH symptoms, according to Claus G. Roehrborn, MD, who led a global 4-year treatment study evaluating the relationships of BMI and both measures of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS)/BPH severity and metabolic syndrome. Results of the study were presented at the European Association of Urology annual congress here.
Atlanta-Epidemiologic studies have a tendency to raise as many questions as they answer. A large study emanating from the Watertown, MA-based New England Research Institutes (NERI), an independent research organization, is an example.
Paris-Microwave thermotherapy is a safe, noninvasive treatment modality that challenges transurethral resection of the prostate as a first-line choice of treatment in patients with BPH, Scandinavian researchers said here at the European Association of Urology annual congress.
Paris-Trial without catheter (TWOC) after a median of 3 days' catheterization has become standard practice in France for patients with acute urinary retention associated with BPH, according to results of a prospective, cross-sectional survey assessing current AUR practice patterns. In addition, TWOC was significantly more successful in patients who received treatment with an alpha-blocker prior to a TWOC than it was in patients who did not receive an alpha-blocker, according to Francois Desgrandchamps, MD, who presented the study results at the European Association of Urology annual congress here.
Atlanta-Young men with PSA velocities greater than 0.5 ng/mL/year are at significantly greater risk for prostate cancer, researchers report in a new study. This suggests that the traditional recommendation of a threshold of 0.75 ng/mL/year to distinguish prostate cancer from benign conditions would miss a substantial proportion of prostate cancers among men younger than 60 years of age.
Atlanta-Cryoablation is a feasible treatment option for patients who have failed radiotherapy, especially for those who may not be considered suitable candidates for salvage radical prostatectomy, according to a new study from Canada.
Atlanta-Autologous adipose stem cells lend themselves well to the engineering of bladder smooth muscle and may eventually make the use of gastrointestinal tissue for this purpose obsolete, say researchers from UCLA.
Brisbane, Australia-Small renal masses are a separate entity from renal cell carcinoma, according to Michael Jewett, MD, professor of surgery, University of Toronto, Canada.
Maywood, IL-The addition of a standard four-stitch Burch suspension to the standard sacrocolpopexy surgical procedure in continent women with pelvic organ prolapse produces dramatic reductions in postoperative stress incontinence, according to a large multicenter study directed by physicians at the Loyola University Medical Center. Results of the trial comparing sacrocolpopexy with and without the Burch suspension were sufficiently dramatic to cause the trial directors to stop enrollment at the first interim analysis.
Atlanta-Men who are being treated with androgen deprivation therapy for progressive prostate cancer face a second, less-recognized risk: osteoporosis and bone fracture. An initial report from a 2-year trial shows that weekly treatment with the oral bisphosphonate alendronate (Fosamax) can halt and even reverse the bone loss associated with androgen deprivation therapy.
Atlanta-Stimulation of the pudendal nerve may be an alternative to sacral neurostimulation (SNS) in the treatment of urinary voiding dysfunction. Two recent studies at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI, indicate that pudendal neurostimulation (PNS) significantly improves cystometric parameters and is effective in patients who do not respond to sacral nerve stimulation.