Net Guides: Genitourinary Cancers

//THE ONLINE ONCOLOGIST™

American Society of Clinical Oncology — genitourinary cancers

The Website of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) features a section devoted to information related to genitourinary cancers. This section contains articles on genitourinary cancers from the Journal of Clinical Oncology and abstracts from the ASCO annual meetings, which are sorted into groups based on the specific genitourinary cancer they focus on: bladder cancer, germ cell/testicular cancer, kidney cancer, and other genitourinary cancers. Other resources include news articles on the subject, clinical practice guidelines, and related manuscripts from ASCO’s 2010 Educational Book. Another area of the genitourinary cancers page provides information on the 2011 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, scheduled for Orlando, Florida, February 17-19. Visitors also may view presentations from the 2010 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium and the 2010 ASCO annual meeting. A fee must be paid in order to view the videos and slides from the 2010 ASCO annual meeting, which also is available in the form of a podcast. The fee ensures exclusive access to the material for 3 years following the meeting, after which time the content will be made available to the public.

http://gucancers.asco.org/

//THE EDUCATED PATIENT™

Prostate Cancer Foundation

The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is dedicated to curing prostate cancer through funding research and helping patients with prostate cancer through advocacy, support, and information. The “Understanding Prostate Cancer” area of the Website is divided into 3 sections: “About Prostate Cancer,” “Living with Prostate Cancer,” and “Helpful Resources.” The first of these sections has information on the risk factors, prevention, and symptoms of prostate cancer, as well as information on the prostate in general and the importance of early detection and screening. The “Living with Prostate Cancer” section has a page for the newly diagnosed and details on treatment options, side effects, recurrence, and advanced disease. The final section helps visitors find patient support, help for families and caregivers, clinical trial information, guides, newsletters, nutritional information, a glossary of terms, and more.

http://www.pcf.org

//ONLINE CME

Long-term management of bilateral, multifocal, recurrent renal cell carcinoma

Credits: 0.75

Fee: None

Expires: May 7, 2011

This CME activity is designed to educate participants on the long-term treatment of patients with bilateral multifocal renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and recurrent disease. The 3 primary sections of the CME article focus on bilaterality and multifocality, management approaches, and the treatment of recurrence. After completing the activity, participants should be aware of the national incidence of RCC in the United States, as well as the frequency of multifocal and/or bilateral RCC. Participants should also be able to state the American Society of Transplantation guidelines for kidney transplantation in this setting, describe the morbidity and mortality associated with renal replacement therapy, and review intra- and postoperative complication rates associated with repeat partial nephrectomy in patients with RCC.

http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/721350

//eABSTRACT

Application of helical tomotherapy in genitourinary malignancies

Journal: Canadian Journal of Urology

Authors: Rodrigues G, Yartsev S, Bauman G

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the use of helical tomotherapy (HT) in the treatment of genitourinary malignancies. HT is a novel method of delivering intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) that combines the imaging features of helical computed tomography with megavoltage linear accelerator treatment. Patients with primary genitourinary malignancies were recruited for this study. Descriptive statistics such as clinical trial enrollment, treatment goal, site of radiotherapy, primary disease site, patient age, dose/fractionation, and immobilization were calculated.

Results: The study included 57 patients with primary genitourinary malignancies who were treated with HT. The median age was 69 years (range 45 to 83 years); 56 patients (98.2%) were male. Of the group, 94.7% had prostate cancer. Ten patients (17.5%) were treated with palliative intent, 46 patients (80.7%) with radical intent, and 1 patient (1.8%) was given only adjuvant treatment due to a high risk postoperative bladder. The authors concluded that HT could be used in both radical and palliative settings for the treatment of genitourinary malignancies because of its critical structure avoidance properties and ability to deliver conformal IMRT therapy precisely.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21172110

//CLINICAL TRIAL

Gemcitabine after surgery in treating patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent bladder cancer

Study Type: Interventional

Age/Sex Requirements: ≥18 years

Sponsor: Southwest Oncology Group

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00445601

Purpose: This study will test the efficacy of administering the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine hydrochloride directly to patients’ bladders after they undergo surgical treatment for newly diagnosed or recurrent bladder cancer. The study will compare gemcitabine with placebo. The primary measure of the study will be the efficacy of a single intravesical instillation of gemcitabine versus placebo after transurethral resection of the bladder tumor. Secondary measures will be whether gemcitabine can improve the time to progression to muscle invasive disease, the toxicity of the regimen, and whether intravesical instillation of gemcitabine immediately after surgery results in reduced long-term morbidity in patients.

http://bit.ly/dQCEto

PHARMA FOCUS

Votrient (pazopanib)

Votrient is an orally administered angiogenesis inhibitor manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. The FDA has approved its use for the treatment of advanced RCC. A Phase III clinical trial showed that Votrient reduced the risk of disease progression or mortality by 54% compared with placebo, regardless of prior treatment. Reports of severe and fatal hepatotoxicity have been recorded in clinical studies of Votrient, so patients should have hepatic function monitored and dosing should be adjusted or discontinued as recommended by GlaxoSmithKline. The most common adverse effects in clinical studies were diarrhea, hypertension, hair color changes, nausea, anorexia, and vomiting. Patients who are pregnant, have preexisting severe hepatic impairment, or who have histories of hemoptysis, cerebral, or clinically significant gastrointestinal hemorrhage in the past 6 months should not take Votrient. For further information, visit http://bit.ly/fpPc6H and http://tiny.cc/uzrwe