Highlights from the Society of Urologic Oncology, 5th Annual Meeting, December 3-4, 2004, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.

Purpose: The fifth annual meeting of the Society of Urologic Oncology was held December 3 and 4, 2004 in Bethesda, Maryland. The program provides a forum for the discussion of important issues in genitourinary malignancies among urologists, radiation oncologists and medical oncologists.

Materials And Methods: Agenda topics included kidney cancer, bladder cancer and prostate cancer. Several sessions featured new developments in basic, translational and clinical research. Each session was reviewed for content following the meeting and the highlights were summarized. The Young Urologic Oncologists' Forum was again a successful component of the meeting but it is beyond the scope of this summary.

Results: Sessions on kidney cancer focused on molecular genetics and advances in molecular therapeutics. Radio frequency ablation of renal masses was also addressed. Topics discussed in bladder cancer included screening and surgical management. Dr. Donald Skinner received the Huggins Medal and he addressed the society on the management of invasive bladder cancer. Reviewed session topics in prostate cancer included neoadjuvant treatment paradigms, radiation treatment and adjuvant therapy in patients in whom primary treatment has failed. A state-of-the-art lecture addressed hereditary prostate cancer.

Conclusions: The Society of Urologic Oncology meeting is unique in its multidisciplinary forum and focus on urological oncology. The meeting this year highlighted emerging trends, and the current state-of-the-art in kidney, bladder and prostate cancer. Additional focus was given to new molecular based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for genitourinary malignancies.