PET/MR imaging efficacious for mapping recurrent prostate cancer
June 17th 2013A relatively new imaging system demonstrates a higher capacity for mapping recurrent prostate cancer than integrated positron emission tomography and computed tomography, researchers recently reported at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Response letter received regarding new drug application for kidney cancer agent
June 17th 2013AVEO Oncology recently announced that it has received a complete response letter from the FDA informing the company that the FDA will not approve in its present form the new drug application for AVEO’s investigational agent tivozanib for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.
Prostate cancer screening guideline: Shared decision making key
June 17th 2013A new AUA guideline on the early detection of prostate cancer is a PSA-focused, evidence-based guideline intended to assist the urologist in advising an average-risk, asymptomatic man about prostate cancer screening in order to reduce prostate cancer mortality, said H. Ballentine Carter, MD, at the AUA annual meeting in San Diego.
Novel advanced prostate cancer treatment significantly improves survival
June 17th 2013Results from the primary endpoint analysis in a phase III randomized, placebo-controlled study showed that intravenous radium Ra 223 dichloride (Xofigo), an alpha-particle-emitting radiotherapeutic agent and calcium mimetic that binds to newly formed bone stroma, significantly improved overall survival in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients with bone metastases.
Annual stone disease-related costs could jump by $200 million by 2030
June 13th 2013The prevalence of urolithiasis in the United States and the cost of its care will increase dramatically in the future if the epidemics of obesity and diabetes mellitus continue unchecked, according to analyses conducted by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.
Granting professional courtesy poses risks for urologists
June 12th 2013The complicated landscape of federal and private insurance, fraud and abuse laws, and anti-kickback statutes have created new context for “professional courtesy,” and physicians should be aware of the applicable rules and regulations that could apply to this once-common practice.
Does your urology practice manager need a mentor?
June 12th 2013Typically, a consultant is brought into a urology practice for a particular project such as conducting an operational assessment, but just as importantly, once the consultant has gained this familiarity with the practice, he/she makes a great mentor.
AUA castration-resistant prostate cancer guideline seeks to clarify decision making
June 12th 2013The AUA has released its first-ever clinical practice guideline for castration-resistant prostate cancer, and all urologists who care for men with advanced prostate cancer should familiarize themselves with its contents, said Michael S. Cookson, MD, who presented the new guideline at the AUA annual meeting in San Diego.
Age, gender, and the urology work force: Evolving trends
June 10th 2013Recent studies examining the broad impact of the aging population suggest an increasing demand on the overall urology work force, which, when coupled with a changing work force demographic, predicts a significant shortage that is only likely to worsen.
Urotrauma bill may have platform for passage
June 7th 2013A national crisis over huge Veterans Administration backlogs in providing medical benefits to soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq may be providing the platform for congressional consideration of legislation aimed at addressing urotrauma injuries incurred in combat.
Agent active in PCa patients with BRCA mutations
June 3rd 2013In what is being called the largest clinical trial to examine the efficacy of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARP) inhibitor therapy in BRCA 1/2 carriers with diseases other than breast and ovarian cancer, the oral drug olaparib was found to be effective against advanced forms of both prostate and pancreatic cancer.