Many kidney cancer patients may be overtreated, study suggests
March 2nd 2006More than 90% of patients with small kidney tumors are opting to undergo total nephrectomy, even though they may be eligible for partial nephrectomy, according to a recently published study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor.
Antioxidants are not linked to decreased prostate Ca risk
March 2nd 2006Dietary or supplemental antioxidants do not appear to be associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer among men in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, suggests a study published last month in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2006; 98:245-54).
Psychological therapies may benefit CP/CPPS patients
March 1st 2006Baltimore--Psychological treatment, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, can help ease chronic pain. That's why these therapies may be able to do the same for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) patients, argued Judith Turner, PhD, at the NIDDK-sponsored Chronic Pelvic Pain/Chronic Prostatitis Scientific Workshop here.
Genetics could explain chronic pelvic pain
March 1st 2006Baltimore?What causes chronic pain in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS)? This could be the wrong question to ask, said Jeffrey S. Mogil, PhD, at the NIDDK-sponsored Chronic Pelvic Pain/Chronic Prostatitis Scientific Workshop. The better question may be: Why do these particular men have chronic pain, whereas others do not?
CMS fails to use AUA data in practice expense RVU update
March 1st 2006Washington--When 2006 began, there was somewhat of a mess in Washington involving Medicare reimbursement, and that was especially true for urologists. At press time, some of those issues were being resolved, but, even so, there will likely be fallout that will at least inconvenience urologists and their staffs.
New test finds UTI cause in 45 minutes; 98% accurate
March 1st 2006Los Angeles--A new biosensor technology that can identify the bacterial cause of urinary tract infections with 98% accuracy within 1 hour may help both clinicians and patients by closing the gap between diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
Second oral agent is approved for advanced RCC
March 1st 2006New York--The FDA has granted approval of oral sunitinib malate (Sutent), a multi-targeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. The approval came after a priority review and was based on results from two phase II clinical trials dem-onstrating impressive drug activity measured by high partial response rates and delay to disease progression. It marks the second FDA approval of a drug for advanced RCC in as many months.
Clinicians urged to adopt new model of chronic pain
March 1st 2006Baltimore--Scientific thinking about pain in general and chronic pain in particular has changed drastically in the last 50 years. Providers who treat chronic pain syndrome, such as chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), need to discard the old models if they are going to help patients.
IL-8 may offer early tool for finding nosocomial UTI
March 1st 2006Washington--Results from a small study demonstrate that urinary interleukin-8 (IL-8) can be used as an early diagnostic tool for nosocomial urinary tract infections, Mexican infectious disease specialists said during a presentation at the 45th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy here. IL-8 appears to offer a faster alternative to quantitative cultures, according to the researchers.
Psychological therapies may benefit CP/CPPS patients
March 1st 2006Baltimore--Psychological treatment, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, can help ease chronic pain. That's why these therapies may be able to do the same for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) patients, argued Judith Turner, PhD, at the NIDDK-sponsored Chronic Pelvic Pain/Chronic Prostatitis Scientific Workshop here.
Neurophysiologic tests for CP/CPPS show promise
March 1st 2006Baltimore?Someday, you may be using neurophysiologic testing for follow-up and possibly even diagnosis of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) before you turn to the four-glass or modified test. That's because, increasingly, CP/CPPS is being recognized not as a disorder of the prostate, but as a neurologic disorder?a chronic pain syndrome that may begin in the viscera, but becomes a nervous system disorder as pain is centralized.
Omega-6 fatty acids increase speed of prostate tumor growth
February 16th 2006Omega-6 fatty acids, such as those found in corn oil, appear to cause human prostate tumors in cell culture to grow twice as quickly as those to which omega-6 fats have not been added, according to a study conducted at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and published in Cancer Research (2006; 66:1427-33).
Race, poverty related to prostate cancer outcomes
February 16th 2006Only 25% of African-American men ages 60 to 69 years undergo PSA screening and 36% receive annual digital rectal exams, while just under 50% of African-Americans at high risk for the disease (those with a family history) undergo PSA tests and 38% receive DREs, according to a study published in Cancer (2006; 106:796-803).