Urology News

The treatment of bone metastases in prostate cancer has changed over the years, and several options are now either available or under development. Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, director of the Genitourinary Oncology Program at Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Connecticut, spoke about advances in bone-targeted therapy at the 6th Annual Interdisciplinary Prostate Cancer Congress, which was held in New York City on March 16. “Bisphosphonates used to be the only option,” he said, “but treatment has evolved over the years.”

Bone resorption and bone formation are dysregulated in prostate cancer, and clinical evidence indicates that both processes contribute to bone metastases. The mechanisms for bone metastases are complex, and include tumor stimulation of osteoclasts and osteoblasts, and the response of the bone microenvironment. In addition, factors independent of the tumor may contribute to bone resorption.

A new test can help distinguish aggressive prostate cancer from less threatening ones, potentially saving many men from unneeded operations for tumors that would never hurt them, researchers are reporting.

The test, developed by Genomic Health, could triple the number of men who could confidently monitor their tumors rather than undergo surgery or radiation treatments, according to the company and to researchers.

Only about a quarter of men diagnosed with erectile dysfunction (ED) receive treatment, despite the availability and heavy media promotion of treatments, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association.

Physicians in the U.S. increasingly have been prescribing pharmacotherapy to treat lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) related to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), according to data from two studies presented at the American Urological Association annual meeting.

In a genome-wide analysis of 13 metastatic prostate cancers, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center found consistent epigenetic “signatures” across all metastatic tumors in each patient. The discovery of the stable, epigenetic “marks” that sit on the nuclear DNA of cancer cells and alter gene expression, defies a prevailing belief that the marks vary so much within each individual’s widespread cancers that they have little or no value as targets for therapy or as biomarkers for treatment response and predicting disease severity.

Robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RPN) is associated with intermediate-term oncologic and renal function outcomes equivalent to those of laparoscopic and open partial nephrectomy, according to a new study.

Jihad H. Kaouk, MD, and colleagues at Cleveland Clinic's Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute reviewed outcomes of 134 patients who underwent RPN and who had a minimum of two years of follow-up. Of these, 70 had at least three to six years of follow-up. The cohort had a mean age of 59 years and a mean body mass index of 29.8 kg/m2. The mean tumor size based on computed tomography scans was 3 cm.

Men should be offered a screening test for prostate cancer in their late 40s, researchers say.

The idea is controversial as prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing can be unreliable, throwing up false positive results that can cause undue worry and even treatment over something benign.

But the Swedish team say checking every man aged 45-49 would predict nearly half of all prostate cancer deaths.

Early findings from the first prospective U.S. trial of prostatic artery embolization (PAE) suggest this approach may be safe and effective for treating lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) related to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), researchers reported at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 38th Annual Scientific Meeting.

As part of the ENTHUSE (Endothelin A Use) program, the efficacy and safety of zibotentan (ZD4054), an oral specific endothelin A receptor antagonist, has been investigated in combination with docetaxel in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).