Benign prostate hyperplasia/lower urinary tract symptoms research focuses on effects of medications, disease

Key Points

The 2012 AUA annual meeting will reflect incremental progress occurring in the management of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) secondary to BPH, as well as emerging information about the epidemiology and underlying biology of the disease process.

Multiple presentations focus on elucidating more information about medications' effects on cells and tissue and about the impact of other medical conditions and disease processes on the prostate and lower urinary tract.

An expanding list of medications with activity relevant to BPH has increased the need for better understanding about how the medications work and how their clinical use can be optimized. Several presentations will provide information about new insights into patient selection and identifying patients most likely to benefit from a specific medication or therapy.

Outcomes of basic research have given urologists reason to rethink conventional wisdom about the use of some medications, such as testosterone, for patients who have BPH. Multiple laboratory studies have suggested that testosterone has beneficial effects on the prostate.

"We used to think that testosterone was absolutely contraindicated in men with BPH," Dr. Kaplan said. "Now, we're beginning to shy away from that view, and many of us are feeling more comfortable about giving testosterone to men with BPH and even prostate cancer.

"I did a 180-degree turnabout as a result of preparing for an AUA plenary session. In reviewing the evidence, I came to the conclusion that testosterone might be ameliorative in modulating prostate inflammation and growth."

Reports from epidemiologic investigations include a number of posters and oral presentations about the effects of other medical conditions on BPH. Recent studies have shown that non-urologic conditions, such as obesity and metabolic syndrome, can have an impact on development and severity of LUTS. Other studies will continue to examine the co-occurrence of urologic conditions once thought to be completely separate entities, such as BPH/LUTS and sexual dysfunction.