The International Prostate Forum introduction and history.

The International Prostate Forum (IPF) originally started with three urology departments in Japan, Turkey, and the United States. The forum emphasized discussions and presentations of new knowledge in all areas of prostate diseases with an early emphasis on ultrasound and diagnostics. The meeting has generally run every 2 years and rotated through the three sites with new leaders joining the effort.

In the cystoscopic follow-up of non-muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma, NMP-22 works for high grades, but unreliable in low grades and upper urinary tract tumors.

Introduction And Objectives: Two percent of the bladder non-muscle-invasive (NMI) transitional cell carcinomas (TCC) are associated with upper urinary tract (UUT) TCC. We evaluated the role of nuclear matrix protein-22 (NMP-22) (BladderChek) test in the diagnosis of lower urinary tract and UUT-TCC.

Methods: From March 2009 to June 2011, 122 patients with bladder NMI-TCC underwent 205 control cystoscopy.

Is stent placement necessary after uncomplicated ureteroscopy for removal of impacted ureteral stones?

Background And Purpose: Ureteral stent placement after ureteroscopic lithotripsy has some advantages and disadvantages. In this randomized study, the necessity of ureteral stent placement after uncomplicated ureteroscopy for impacted ureteral stones was assessed.

Materials And Methods: Between 2005 and 2007, 60 evaluable patients were equally randomized to groups with and without stents.

Duration of androgen suppression in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Background: The combination of radiotherapy plus long-term medical suppression of androgens (> or = 2 years) improves overall survival in patients with locally advanced prostate cancer. We compared the use of radiotherapy plus short-term androgen suppression with the use of radiotherapy plus long-term androgen suppression in the treatment of locally advanced prostate cancer.

Methods: We randomly assigned patients with locally advanced prostate cancer who had received external-beam radiotherapy plus 6 months of androgen suppression to two groups, one to receive no further treatment (short-term suppression) and the other to receive 2.

Prostate-specific antigen progression predicts overall survival in patients with metastatic prostate cancer: data from Southwest Oncology Group Trials 9346 (Intergroup Study 0162) and 9916.

Purpose: Prostate-specific antigen progression (PSA-P) is an indicator of progression in hormone-sensitive (HS) and castration-resistant (CR) prostate cancer (PC). We evaluated different definitions of PSA-P as predictors of overall survival (OS).

Patients And Methods: A total of 1,078 patients with HSPC who were on hormones (Southwest Oncology Group [SWOG] trial 9346 [S9346]) and 597 patients with CRPC who were treated with chemotherapy (SWOG trial 9916 [S9916]) were eligible for this analysis.