Drug Therapy

Due to manufacturing issues, a formulation of the bladder cancer treatment bacillus Calmette-Guérin is currently unavailable from one manufacturer.

Researchers from New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York have successfully developed and tested a new prostate cancer screening method.

Fesoterodine fumarate (Toviaz) appears to reduce urge urinary incontinence in patients with overactive bladder who had a suboptimal response to tolterodine tartrate extended release (Detrol LA), according to a phase IV study.

Interim data from a phase III trial of a novel radiation agent in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) showed the agent's efficacy to be significantly sufficient to bring the trial to a halt at a planned interim analysis so as to be able offer the agent to men in the placebo arm.

The diabetes drug pioglitazone (Actos) was associated with a 22% increased risk of developing bladder cancer in a recent study, supporting earlier research findings of a link between the drug and bladder cancer.

American Medical Systems (Minnetonka, MN) has signed a co-development agreement with Allergan, Inc. to jointly develop and seek regulatory approval for the delivery of onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) using the AMS JetTouch system for treatment of overactive bladder.

The FDA has approved the once-daily oral beta-3 adrenergic agonist mirabegron (Myrbetriq) for the treatment of overactive bladder with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and urinary frequency.

Testosterone replacement therapy may result in weight reduction and improvement in symptoms of metabolic syndrome, according to separate studies presented at the Endocrine Society annual meeting in Houston.

Treatment with the dual 5-alpha- reductase inhibitor dutasteride (Avodart) does not compromise the utility of PSA to detect progression of disease in patients with low-risk localized prostate cancer who are being managed with active surveillance.

Two clinical trials testing experimental drugs aimed at restoring the immune system’s ability to spot and attack cancer have shown promising early results in patients with kidney cancer, as well as those with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma.

Janssen Research & Development, LLC recently submitted a supplemental new drug application to the FDA for abiraterone acetate (ZYTIGA) intended to extend the use of abiraterone administered with prednisone to include the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic after failure of androgen deprivation therapy and before chemotherapy.

The investigational agent radium-223 dichloride significantly increased overall survival in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer with bone metastases, updated results of a recent phase III trial showed.

New data have added to previous evidence that the use of pioglitazone (Actos) appears to be associated with an increased risk of incident bladder cancer among patients with type 2 diabetes, Canadian researchers recently reported.

Six months of treatment with the targeted androgen biosynthesis inhibitor abiraterone (ZYTIGA), in addition to standard hormonal therapy before prostatectomy, eliminated or nearly eliminated cancer in one-third of men with localized high-risk prostate cancer, a recent study found.

Elevated pretreatment androgen levels correlate with significantly better overall survival in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer, regardless of treatment, a recent post hoc analysis of a large randomized trial showed.

Phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors are safe and effective, alone or in combination with alpha-blockers, against lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to BPH, according to a recent systematic review and meta-analysis.

Three fourths of patients with refractory urothelial cancer had stable disease or better response when treated with the angiogenesis inhibitor pazopanib (Votrient), Italian researchers recently reported.

Physician opinion is divided almost evenly on the question of whether to prescribe phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors to patients for non-medical indications, a survey of Israeli doctors showed.

Urology Times asked urologists if they would use botulinum toxin to treat urinary incontinence.

In men scheduled for transrectal prostate biopsy, 70% of the fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli isolated from fecal flora represented the epidemic, multidrug-resistant ST131 strain, a recent phylogenic and virulence factor analysis found.

In treating nocturia related to urgency, flexible-dose fesoterodine (Toviaz) demonstrates statistical superiority to placebo in several areas, according to a study presented at the AUA annual meeting here.

Internet-marketed medication purporting to be a generic form of the phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitor Viagra (sildenafil citrate) is likely to be neither generic nor Viagra but instead is an expertly packaged mix of materials such as paint, insecticides, rat poisons, boric acid, and gypsum, according to a study presented at the AUA annual meeting in Atlanta.

Antibiotic prophylaxis appears to be beneficial in patients undergoing percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

The autologous cellular immunotherapy sipuleucel-T (Provenge) appears to demonstrate an overall survival benefit in patients with advanced prostate cancer, according to two studies presented at the AUA annual meeting in Atlanta.

In treating nocturia related to urgency, flexible-dose fesoterodine (Toviaz) demonstrates statistical superiority to placebo in several areas, reported researchers from State University of New York Downstate Medical School, Brooklyn.