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More than 90% of patients with small kidney tumors are opting to undergo total nephrectomy, even though they may be eligible for partial nephrectomy, according to a recently published study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor.

Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic and the University of California, San Francisco, have discovered a new virus in prostate tumors.

Dietary or supplemental antioxidants do not appear to be associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer among men in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, suggests a study published last month in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2006; 98:245-54).

Baltimore--Psychological treatment, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, can help ease chronic pain. That's why these therapies may be able to do the same for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) patients, argued Judith Turner, PhD, at the NIDDK-sponsored Chronic Pelvic Pain/Chronic Prostatitis Scientific Workshop here.

Fiber is cleared for use with Holmium laser in BPH

Baltimore?What causes chronic pain in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS)? This could be the wrong question to ask, said Jeffrey S. Mogil, PhD, at the NIDDK-sponsored Chronic Pelvic Pain/Chronic Prostatitis Scientific Workshop. The better question may be: Why do these particular men have chronic pain, whereas others do not?

San Antonio--Recently published prospective evidence strongly supports the growing recognition among physicians that erectile dysfunction may be a sign of future cardiovascular disease in some men.

Researchers are taking a broader view of chronic pain that will allow development of new treatment strategies.

Washington--When 2006 began, there was somewhat of a mess in Washington involving Medicare reimbursement, and that was especially true for urologists. At press time, some of those issues were being resolved, but, even so, there will likely be fallout that will at least inconvenience urologists and their staffs.

How do I charge for a patient sent from a nursing home for a consult who, upon evaluation, required a cystoscopy?

The Independent Data Monitoring Committee for the phase II trial of Nymox Pharmaceuticals' NX-1207, a novel drug treatment for BPH, has recommended continuation of the multicenter trial on the basis of unblinded re-sults to date.

Prostate cancer is more prevalent than anticipated in patients with a normal DRE and a PSA <4.0 ng/mL.

Los Angeles--A new biosensor technology that can identify the bacterial cause of urinary tract infections with 98% accuracy within 1 hour may help both clinicians and patients by closing the gap between diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

The use of opiates in chronic nonmalignant pain has its share of proponents and opponents among urologists who specialize in chronic pelvic pain.

Rochester, NY--A point-of-care assay that measures the nuclear matrix protein NMP22 in urine significantly improves detection of recurrent bladder cancer when used with cystoscopy, according to a new study.

New York--The FDA has granted approval of oral sunitinib malate (Sutent), a multi-targeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. The approval came after a priority review and was based on results from two phase II clinical trials dem-onstrating impressive drug activity measured by high partial response rates and delay to disease progression. It marks the second FDA approval of a drug for advanced RCC in as many months.

Baltimore--Scientific thinking about pain in general and chronic pain in particular has changed drastically in the last 50 years. Providers who treat chronic pain syndrome, such as chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), need to discard the old models if they are going to help patients.

Washington--Results from a small study demonstrate that urinary interleukin-8 (IL-8) can be used as an early diagnostic tool for nosocomial urinary tract infections, Mexican infectious disease specialists said during a presentation at the 45th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy here. IL-8 appears to offer a faster alternative to quantitative cultures, according to the researchers.

In one study, 85% of the CP/CPPS patients had decreased frequency of sexual contact because of their pain, 67% said it interfered with or ended relationships, and 43% said it inhibited forming new relationships.

Baltimore--Psychological treatment, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, can help ease chronic pain. That's why these therapies may be able to do the same for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) patients, argued Judith Turner, PhD, at the NIDDK-sponsored Chronic Pelvic Pain/Chronic Prostatitis Scientific Workshop here.

Past terminology has held management back, Dr. Baranowski argued. The 'itis' of prostatitis, for example, has encouraged patients to seek anti-inflammatory or long-term antibiotic therapies that often don't help.

Baltimore?Someday, you may be using neurophysiologic testing for follow-up and possibly even diagnosis of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) before you turn to the four-glass or modified test. That's because, increasingly, CP/CPPS is being recognized not as a disorder of the prostate, but as a neurologic disorder?a chronic pain syndrome that may begin in the viscera, but becomes a nervous system disorder as pain is centralized.

Baltimore--As the focus on pelvic pain syndromes moves away from the organs to the nervous system, researchers such as Ursula Wesselmann, MD, PhD, are trying to find out how acute pain develops into chronic pain.

Lt. Cmdr. Rich Jadick, MD, has received a Bronze Star with Combat "V" for Valor, one of the Marine Corps? most prestigious awards.

Urologist Terry Mason, MD, has been named commissioner of the Department of Public Health for the city of Chicago.

Omega-6 fatty acids, such as those found in corn oil, appear to cause human prostate tumors in cell culture to grow twice as quickly as those to which omega-6 fats have not been added, according to a study conducted at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and published in Cancer Research (2006; 66:1427-33).

Only 25% of African-American men ages 60 to 69 years undergo PSA screening and 36% receive annual digital rectal exams, while just under 50% of African-Americans at high risk for the disease (those with a family history) undergo PSA tests and 38% receive DREs, according to a study published in Cancer (2006; 106:796-803).

Losing a modest amount of weight through dietary changes and increased activity reduces the occurrence of urinary incontinence in women with prediabetes, according to a recent study published in Diabetes Care (2006; 29:385-90).