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Men with localized prostate cancer who receive high-dose external radiation therapy are less likely to have cancer recurrence than those who receive conventional-dose radiation therapy, according to a randomized study published in JAMA (2005; 294:1233-9).

Although overall physician compensation flattened out in 2004, compensation growth for specialty physicians fell behind that of primary care physicians for the first time in several years, according to a report from the Medical Group Management Association.

The AUA Foundation (formerly the American Foundation for Urologic Disease) has named John M. Huber as executive director.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has sent a second strongly worded letter to the FDA pushing for better disclosure of the blindness risk associated with phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors for erectile dysfunction.

G. James Gallagher, who served as AUA's executive director for 18-plus years, died suddenly on Aug. 15 while vacationing in Delaware.

Combining physical and psychological therapy for chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS, or chronic nonbacterial prostatitis) can provide relief for many patients who have pain refractory to conventional treatments, according Stanford (CA) University researchers.

A new estimate shows that chronic prostatitis, especially nonbacterial prostatitis, is common in American men and that most diagnosis and treatment takes place in the primary care setting.

Minimally invasive transurethral microwave thermotherapy using the ProstaLund Feedback Treatment system (PLFT; ProstaLund, Los Angeles) is a safe and effective alternative to surgery in patients with symptomatic BPH and persistent urinary retention, according to Scandinavian investigators.

A study presented at the AUA annual meeting confirmed what many urologists have suspected: The sexual health of men is affected by the severity of their lower urinary tract symptoms.

Prostate cancer manipulates an important group of signaling proteins called Wnts to establish itself in bone, according to scientists at the University of Michigan's Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor.

Initial findings from a continuing phase II multicenter study of docetaxel (Taxotere) as adjuvant therapy in radical prostatectomy patients at high risk of recurrence have shown that the drug is well tolerated, with reversible side effects.

The epidemiologic confusion wrought by the introduction of the PSA test in the 1990s appears to have settled down, according to a study of biopsy patterns.

The growth of prostate cancer cells can be halted by combining a form of vitamin D with low doses of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, according to results of an in vitro study by researchers at the Stanford (CA) University School of Medicine.

The Self-Cath Hydrogel intermittent urinary catheter from Mentor Corp. is designed to reduce the risk of urinary tract infections in patients who must self-catheterize.

General patterns of genetic expression have been identified in postmenopausal women with stress urinary incontinence that are not present in postmenopausal women without the condition. This is the first step toward being able to identify patients most at risk for stress incontinence early on, with the eventual hope of helping to prevent the condition, said researchers from the University of Rochester (NY) Medical Center.

Pudendal nerve stimulation, using a pudendal percutaneous implant under neurophysiologic guidance, appears effective in treating neurogenic overactive bladder, Italian researchers reported Thursday.

Biological mesh is likely an effective material to use for the correction of medium- and high-grade anterior compartment vaginal defects and will likely be more readily adapted by the body, according to research presented here on Friday.

Data from a 13-week British study add to the mounting evidence of the efficacy of botulinum toxin (Botox) for the treatment of overactive bladder.

Two newer-generation antimuscarinic agents &#8212 solifenacin succinate (Vesicare) and tolterodine tartrate extended-release (Detrol LA) &#8212 improve symptoms of overactive bladder, but solifenacin appears to provide superior outcomes, partly because it offers a flexible dosing regimen, researchers say.

San Antonio--A combination of physical and psychological therapy for chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS, or chronic nonbacterial prostatitis) can provide relief for many patients who have pain refractory to conventional treatments, according to researchers from Stanford (CA) University.

Q I read the article about "group shared appointments" in the Aug. 1, 2005, issue of Urology Times. Are there specific billing, coding, and documentation issues associated with this type of appointment?

San Antonio--The Meares-Stamey four-glass test is the gold standard for localizing bacteria and assessing inflammation in the lower urinary tract of symptomatic men. The classifications of prostatitis—bacterial, nonbacterial, inflammatory, and noninflammatory—are based on it. But few clinicians actually perform the test.

San Antonio--Robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) is a minimally invasive procedure associated with a shorter operative time than that of conventional laparoscopy, and clinical outcomes comparing favorably to those obtained after open radical prostatectomy performed at major centers, according to a study presented at the AUA annual meeting here. David I. Lee, MD, who gathered the data while in private practice, said his findings suggest that the procedure can be successfully adapted to a community practice setting.

Despite ongoing debate over the reliability of PSA as a marker of disease progression, it remains the primary means of determining prostate cancer recurrence following local therapy as well as the establishment of androgen independence following androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). This article provides an up-to-date review on the role of PSA kinetics—PSA velocity (PSAV), PSA doubling time (PSADT), and time to PSA recurrence—in evaluation and treatment of patients with prostate cancer.

Newark, CA--The FDA has approved for marketing Novasys Medical's Renessa System, a treatment for stress urinary incontinence due to hypermobility in women unresponsive to conservative care who are not candidates for surgical therapy. The 20-minute outpatient treatment involves applying controlled heat to tissue in the lower urinary tract, denaturing collagen at multiple small sites to increase tissue resistance to involuntary leakage during increased intra-abdominal pressure.

San Antonio--PSA can be used to measure prostate size in patients with true BPH, according to a study using information from the Medical Therapy of Prostatic Symptoms (MTOPS) study. Claus G. Roehrborn, MD, and colleagues determined that in men with lower urinary tract symptoms and BPH, more than half of the PSA variability is due to prostate volume.

San Antonio--A rapid increase in PSA level could be indicative of progressive benign prostatic hyperplasia if prostate cancer is ruled out. With the push for testing PSA levels in men at earlier ages, keeping BPH in mind when tracking results over time makes sense.

San Antonio--Five-year follow-up data from the original FDA trial cohort demonstrate that transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT) using the TherMatrx TMx-2000 (American Medical Systems, Minnetonka, MN) provides durable, safe treatment for men with symptomatic BPH. Study findings were presented by David M. Albala, MD, at the AUA annual meeting here.