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Orlando, FL--Gemcitabine (Gemzar) administered as an intravesical instillation appears to be well tolerated and to demonstrate modest efficacy in patients with stage Ta, grade I/II urinary bladder cancer, with about one-third of patients achieving a response. However, a twice-weekly dose given for 3 weeks is comparable in efficacy to a once-weekly dose given for 6 weeks, a new study suggests, and a single dose given once is not effective in this patient population.

San Antonio--Ureteroscopy is associated with significantly better outcomes than extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) for the treatment of proximal ureteral stones, according to the results of a prospective randomized study undertaken by urologists at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. The researchers now recommend the ureteroscopic approach as first-line treatment for proximal stones, they said at the 2005 AUA annual meeting here.

Orlando, FL--An investigational agent that inhibits both Raf kinase and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor significantly prolongs progression-free survival in pa-tients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, according to results of a phase III clinical trial presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology annual meeting here.

Washington--The federal government is preparing restrictions on the physician-owned specialty hospital industry, an emerging field it says could be a financial boon to physician investors and unfair competition to traditional hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers.

New York--Imaging and Urodynamics of the Lower Urinary Tract is a new textbook from publishers Taylor & Francis. The book is a comprehensive reference on lower urinary tract imaging and nonendoscopic assessment, divided into separate sections on the bladder and the urethra.

Be certain that you have an adequate number of patients or potential patients to keep a new associate busy.

According to a 2004 AUA survey, urologists are working harder and longer than ever. An aging population combined with the training of fewer urologists (many of whom wish to limit work hours) has created an unprecedented workload.

San Antonio--Jejuno-ileal bypass (JIB) reversal improves urinary stone risk factors, although preventing stone recurrence may require alkalinization therapy to normalize urinary citrate excretion, according to a study conducted by researchers at The Cleveland Clinic.

San Antonio--People who receive a high-calcium diet in the setting of liberal oxalate intake may be at increased risk for calcium oxalate stone formation, according to the results of a small metabolic study reported at the 2005 AUA annual meeting here.

San Antonio--Using their established ex vivo model for measuring ureteral contractility, urologists at the University of Wisconsin, Madison have demonstrated that the nonselective alpha-1 receptor antagonist doxazosin (Cardura) relaxes ureteral smooth muscle and reverses the contractile effects induced by phenylephrine and epinephrine.

QThe definition of premature ejaculation seems very subjective. Criteria stated in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) are

San Antonio--Results of a prospective, randomized, controlled study undertaken by Italian urologists indicate that expulsive medical therapy is a useful adjunct to extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy in the treatment of ureteral stones.

Urologists should recommend that their patients with stones maintain a normal intake of calcium.

The Cleveland Clinic has announced a new campaign to raise funds for the construction of a new $60 million, state-of-the-art building on its main campus to house the Glickman Urological Institute.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. and Proctor & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have entered into an agreement for the co-promotion and further development of darifenacin (Enablex) extended-release tablets for the treatment of overactive bladder in the United States.

Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corp. and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., have submitted a new drug application with the FDA for sorafenib for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. Submission is based on an ongoing phase III trial suggesting that the drug doubled progression-free survival compared with patients receiving placebo.

A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2005; 97:975-80) suggests that regular nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use over a long duration is associated with a modestly reduced risk of prostate cancer.

Patients receiving tamsulosin hydrochloride (Flomax) experienced significantly greater improvement in symptoms associated with BPH than patients who received terazosin hydrochloride (Hytrin) after 4 days of treatment, according to a study appearing in The Journal of Applied Research in Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics (2005; 5:231-45).

Women receiving four weekly bladder-specific acupuncture treatments experienced significant improvements in bladder capacity, urgency, frequency, and quality of life compared with women receiving placebo treatments in a study appearing in Obstetrics & Gynecology (2005; 106:138-43).

Men receiving low-dose rate brachytherapy to combat early-stage prostate cancer are still able to achieve an erection and face a low rate of incontinence 1 year post-treatment, according to a study published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics (2005; 62:956-64).

Prostate cancer survivor Arnold Palmer is encouraging urologists to assist in the effort to raise awareness and funding for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

Abbott Laboratories has been granted permission by the FDA to initiate an expanded access program for the investigational agent astrasentan (Xinlay) for men with late-stage, hormone refractory prostate cancer.

Barr Laboratories, Inc., has received final FDA approval to market a generic version of desmopressin acetate tablets, 0.1 mg and 0.2 mg, for the management of primary nocturnal enuresis.

A common virus known as adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2) appears to kill multiple types of cancer cells, including prostate cancer cells, in laboratory cultures yet has no effect on healthy cells, suggesting its potential to be developed as an anti-cancer agent, according to researchers from Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA.

Up to 84% of doses with the investigational oral phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitor avanafil resulted in erections sufficient for vaginal penetration compared with placebo (p

Men who experience signs and symptoms of prostate obstruction resulting from BPH are three times more likely to develop chronic kidney disease, according to a community-based study from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

A new study appearing in JAMA (2005; 294:66-70) suggests there is no specific PSA value that has both high sensitivity and specificity for monitoring healthy men for prostate cancer, but rather there is a continuum of prostate cancer risk at all values of PSA.

Anaheim, CA--Laboratory data from German investigators point to the use of the CD70 protein as a biomarker for clear-cell renal cell carcinoma and suggest that the marker could be useful in differential diagnosis in cases of uncertain histologic classification. This, in turn, could be very important clinically if found to be present in serum or urine.