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Many physicians are concerned and confused about all the discussion on pay for performance, and urologists are no exception.

Preliminary results from the REDUCE (REduction by DUtasteride of prostate Cancer Events) trial suggest a relationship between the degree of chronic inflammation and lower urinary tract symptoms, but not clinical prostatitis-like symptoms in the REDUCE population.

After nearly 7 years of follow-up, cryoablation appears to be as effective as external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) in the treatment of localized prostate cancer, according to the results of a prospective, randomized trial.

About 110 urologists met in the nation's capitol in March to learn more about the important public policy and payment issues shaping practices across the country.

Data from two similarly designed European studies comparing photoselective vaporization of the prostate and transurethral resection of the prostate show similar outcomes after a 2-year follow-up in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms due to BPH.

A laparoscopic preperitoneal approach cannot only serve as a teaching platform for laparoscopic skills for surgeons, but it also demonstrates reproducible outcomes in the treatment of BPH.

Urologist Andrew von Eschenbach, MD, was named commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration in 2006. In this exclusive interview, from Urology Times sister publication Pharmaceutical Executive, he discusses drug safety, DTC advertising, FDA's culture, and how the agency plans to bring itself into the age of molecular medicine.

New urology products and services.

Men who present with infertility issues and their partners are relatively uninformed about the causes and treatments of male infertility, a fact that may be attributable to urologists' failure to properly market their capabilities in this area of clinical practice, says a University of Connecticut, Farmington, urologist.

Listen to the Urology Times Radio podcast from Day Five of the 2007 AUA Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California. This podcast includes interviews with highly regarded experts in urological medicine including: Daniel Kaplon, MD, reports on the risk of osteopenia in infertile men Stanton Honig, MD, discusses patients' understanding of male infertilityPeter Chan, MD, explains why routine semen analysis fails to predict reproductive outcomes

The AUA Foundation has named the 2007 class for its Research Scholars Program.

Men who present with infertility issues and their partners are relatively uninformed about the causes and treatments of male infertility, a fact that may be attributable to urologists' failure to properly market their capabilities in this area of clinical practice, says a University of Connecticut, Farmington, urologist.

Routine semen analysis does not absolutely predict the quality of sperm chromatin, which may help to explain why it often fails to predict reproductive outcomes in infertile couples, results of a Canadian study suggest.

While it does not affect the vast majority of male infertility patients, there is a subgroup of men with disrupted hormonal axes and/or hypogonadism whom urologists should work up for the presence of osteopenia, according to the results of a study from Brown University in Providence, RI, reported here yesterday.

Whether a woman develops stress urinary incontinence, urge urinary incontinence, or mixed urinary incontinence is largely a product of a confluence of age, race, and body mass index, according to a cross-sectional analysis of the Reproductive Risks of Incontinence Study at Kaiser, a population-based study of 2,109 women over age 40 funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Although a relatively newer treatment for prostate cancer, data from an online database have allowed researchers to evaluate cyroablation as an initial treatment for localized prostate cancer in a meaningful way. Five-year results from the Cryo On Line Database (COLD) Registry suggest that cryoablation has outcomes similar to those seen with radiation therapy and surgery, researchers reported here yesterday.

Data from a European study comparing photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP) and transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) show similar outcomes after a 2-year follow-up in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms due to BPH, researchers reported here yesterday.

Two-year results of the Stress Incontinence Surgical Treatment Efficacy Trial (SISTEr) will allow physicians and patients to have more educated conversations about procedures for stress urinary incontinence and what can be expected in terms of efficacy and complications, according to the investigators of that prospective, randomized, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases-supported trial.

Listen to the Urology Times Radio podcast from Day Four of the 2007 AUA Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California. This podcast includes interviews with highly regarded experts in urological medicine including: Jennifer Anger, MD, discusses age as a predictor of poorer sling surgery outcomes Robert Getzenberg, PhD, presents the latest findings on EPCA-2 as a biomarker for prostate cancerMichael Albo, MD, discusses data comparing the sling and Burch procedures for SUI

Use of an extraperitoneal approach for either laparoscopic or robot-assisted radical prostatectomy yields excellent results and has a number of significant advantages over a transperitoneal route, say surgeons who presented their experience with extraperitoneal surgery at the AUA annual meeting here.

At least half of all men age 50 and older will develop benign BPH, and of these, 29% may undergo BPH-related surgery during their lifetimes. Drawing on data from more than 6,900 men in the BPH Registry and Patient Survey, Claus Roehrborn, MD, and colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, sought to identify early factors related to the eventual surgeries.

Two-year results of the Stress Incontinence Surgical Treatment Efficacy Trial (SISTEr) will allow physicians and patients to have more educated conversations about procedures for stress urinary incontinence and what can be expected in terms of efficacy and complications, according to the investigators of that prospective, randomized, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases-supported trial.

Subbarao V. Yalla, MD, and Maryrose Sullivan, PhD, both from the VA Boston Healthcare System and Harvard University, received the Verathon Technology Challenge Award here Sunday for their paper titled "Non-invasive Objective Assessment of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction: Differentiation of Overactive Bladder and Bladder Outlet Obstruction." The prize for the winning paper was $10,000.

Rainer M. Engel, MD, curator of the William P. Didusch Center for Urologic History, documents the history of women in medicine at "Women Healers," an exhibit on display during this week's AUA annual meeting. Although female urologists did not exist 60 years ago, nearly 800 women practice urology in the United States today.

An analysis of experience with nerve-sparing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy in more than 2,600 men after up to 5.5 years of follow-up indicates that the procedure provides good cancer control and functional outcomes comparable to those achieved with open surgery, urologists from the Vattikuti Urology Institute, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, reported at yesterday's AUA annual meeting.

In expanded studies, Early Prostate Cancer Antigen-2 (EPCA-2) continues to demonstrate high specificity and sensitivity as a serum biomarker for prostate cancer, reported the researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, who developed this diagnostic tool.

Older women can expect more complications from sling surgery and less favorable outcomes than can younger patients, according to a retrospective study of 1,356 sling procedures. The data were derived from Medicare claims.

A small study from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine has revealed solid evidence that sacral neuromodulation affects the central nervous system.

Alpha-blockers have a positive effect on several debilitating symptoms associated with urination in patients receiving double-J stents, according to a study presented by Evangelos Gkougkousis from the Second Department of Urology, Sismanoglio Hospital, University of Athens, here at the AUA annual meeting.

Listen to the Urology Times Radio podcast from Day Three of the 2007 AUA Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California. This podcast includes interviews with highly regarded experts in urological medicine including: Pat Fulgham, MD, discusses threats to imaging in urology Anthony Atala, MD, provides an update on tissue engineeringPeggy Norton, MD, presents new data on voiding symptoms in women planning continence surgery