June 2015

The world of precision medicine is upon us and we as providers, especially those involved in the management of oncology patients, will need to be conversant and have an understanding of these various pathways and drivers in order to more effectively manage our patients

In the oncology realm, specialty pharmacy has become a mainstay, but its role in urology practice is starting to trend upwards.

There are many processes for a urology practice to consider when partnering with a specialty pharmacy, including time and capital investments.

Using an allograft made up of dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane wrapped around the neurovascular bundle (NVB) during nerve-sparing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy improved continence and potency postsurgery, according to results of a small study.

Interest is high among urologists and medical oncologists with "the explosion of checkpoint blockade inhibition studies" that initially made inroads in melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer, but is also gaining traction in bladder cancer.

Two urine biomarkers, aquaporin 1 and perilipin 2, could be the key to the development of a simple urine test that leads to the detection of asymptomatic, early-stage kidney cancer.