Biomarkers In Urology An Issue Of Urologic Clinics

In this issue of Urologic Clinics of North America, guest editor Dr. Adam Feldman brings his considerable expertise to the topic of Biomarkers in Urology. The use of biomarkers in clinical practice can range from screening, to refined detection in an at-risk population, to risk stratification following diagnosis, to prognostication following therapy. A better understanding of tumor biology and genetic heterogeneity will lead clinicians to adopt clinical paradigms that utilize sequences of biomarker assessments. In this issue, key experts help you remain at the forefront of the care of urologic malignancies by providing a timely update on emerging biomarkers in urology. Contains 15 practice-oriented topics including biomarkers in pediatric urology; unleashing the urinary microbiome in benign urologic disease; biomarkers for detection and assessment of clinically significant prostate cancer; biomarkers in testicular cancer: classic tumor markers and beyond; and more. Provides in-depth clinical reviews on biomarkers in urology, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

The past decade has been marked by the acceleration of our understanding of the molecular biology of cancer. Simultaneously, there have been increasing exigencies to diagnose, treat and follow cancer patients more economically. Biomarkers represent the marriage of science and economics. Biomarkers offer the potential to increase the precision of diagnosis, prognosis, and surveillance of urological malignancies. This issue presents the cutting-edge advances of biomarker technology to urologic oncology.

In this issue of Urologic Clinics of North America, guest editor Dr. Adam Feldman brings his considerable expertise to the topic of Biomarkers in Urology. The use of biomarkers in clinical practice can range from screening, to refined detection in an at-risk population, to risk stratification following diagnosis, to prognostication following therapy. A better understanding of tumor biology and genetic heterogeneity will lead clinicians to adopt clinical paradigms that utilize sequences of biomarker assessments. In this issue, key experts help you remain at the forefront of the care of urologic malignancies by providing a timely update on emerging biomarkers in urology. Contains 15 practice-oriented topics including biomarkers in pediatric urology; unleashing the urinary microbiome in benign urologic disease; biomarkers for detection and assessment of clinically significant prostate cancer; biomarkers in testicular cancer: classic tumor markers and beyond; and more. Provides in-depth clinical reviews on biomarkers in urology, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

The Guest Editors of this issue of Urologic Clinics of North America have put together a comprehensive collection of articles that provides the current knowledge on urologic cancer immunotherapy. Expert authors have contributed clinical review articles on the following topics: Era of personalized vaccines for GU cancers; TCR and dendritic vaccine platforms for GU cancers; Neo-adjuvant platforms for GU cancer immunotherapy; Immune-editing in Cancer: Role of tumor microenvironment and immune-suppressive pathways in localized and aggressive disease; Clinical integration of neo-adjuvant platforms for prostate cancer immunotherapy; Immunotherapy for muscle and non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: BCG and beyond; Immunotherapy for metastatic bladder cancer; Immunotherapy options for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer; Role of tissue infiltrating lymphocytes: Understanding TCR; Therapeutic platforms for IPSC-derived CAR-T; Immune-suppression in prostate cancer: Underlying causes and influence on response to immunotherapy; and Racial disparity in response to immunotherapy. Urologists will come away with the most current information they need to improve outcomes in the urologic cancer patient.

PSA screening remains highly controversial due to several important disadvantages. More PSA is produced with prostatic enlargement and in other benign conditions such as urinary tract infections. False positive tests can then lead to unnecessary diagnostic workup with invasive prostate biopsy. Another major problem with screening programs in general is overdiagnosis of cancers that would not have caused harm during the patient's lifetime. For example, many prostate cancers have a relatively indolent behavior so may not require diagnosis or treatment in a patient with limited life expectancy. All forms of prostate cancer treatment have potential urinary and sexual side effects, so reducing overdiagnosis and overtreatment are critical public health issues. Because screening has many proven benefits but also significant harms, there are widely disparate guidelines on prostate cancer screening from major organizations worldwide. This issue of the Urologic Clinics will provide insights into the many different prostate cancer guidelines and related policy issues.

An estimated 234,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year, making it one of the most common cancers affecting American men; however, it can be a controversial disease to diagnose and treat now that there is research abounding for both “watchful waiting and aggressive treatments. Dr. Oh supplies balanced information, with articles on: Prostate Cancer: To Screen or Not To Screen?; High Intensity Focused Ultrasound: Ready for Primetime?; The Case for Open vs. Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy; Primary and Salvage Prostate Cancer Cryotherapy; and The Case for Open vs. Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy, to name a few. The state-of-the art information presented in this issue make is must-have for all urologists.

Dr. Samir Taneja, Consulting Editor, is stepping into the Guest Editor role for this issue of Urologic Clinics devoted to Prostate Cancer. He has assembled top experts to address the latest advances in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. Articles are devoted to the following topics: Whom to Biopsy: Pre-Diagnostic Risk Stratification with Biomarkers, Nomograms, and Risk Calculators; How to Biopsy: Transperineal vs. Tranrectal, Saturation vs. Targeted: What’s the Evidence; Pre-Diagnostic Risk and Assessment with Imaging and Image-guided Biopsy; Whom to treat: Post-Diagnostic Risk Assessment with Gleason score, Risk Models, and Genomic Classifier; Strategies for Staging and Utilization of Imaging; Contemporary Active Surveillance: Candidate Selection, Follow-up Tools, and Expected Outcomes; Focal Ablation of Early Stage Prostate Cancer: Candidate Selection, Treatment Guidance, and Assessment of Outcome; Extent of Lymphadenectomy at Time of Prostatectomy: An Evidence-based Approach; How to Radiate the Prostate: Hypofractionation, Sterotactic Body Radiation Therapy, and Conventional Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy; Managing Relapse after Surgical Therapy: Adjuvant vs. Salvage Therapy; Newly diagnosed Metastatic Prostate Cancer – Has the Paradigm Changed; Role of Local therapy in Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer: Should we Expect Cure; Approaching the High-Risk Patient; and Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: An Algorithmic Approach. Readers will come away with state-of-the-art information on strategies for diagnosing, treating, and managing prostate cancer.

The guest editors, Dr. William Huang and Dr. Ezequiel Becher, have assembled a state-of-the art issue devoted to Advanced and Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC). They have secured expert authors to contribute clinical reviews on the important topics involving treating and managing patients with RCC. Specific articles are devoted to the following topics: Imaging for Metastatic RCC; Adjuvant Therapy for Localized High Risk RCC; Current Standards for Therapeutic Sequencing for Advanced RCC; Role of Lymphadenectomy in patients with advanced RCC; Cytoreductive Nephrectomy in the Era of TKI/IO - Who, When and Why; Minimally Invasive Surgery for Patients with Locally Advanced and Metastatic Disease RCC; Evolving Role of Urologists in the Management of Advanced RCC; Neoadjuvant Therapy for Locally Advanced RCC; Epidemiology and Risk Assessment/Biomarkers for Patients with Advanced RCC; Radiation Therapy for Patients with Metastatic RCC; Evolving Role of Metastatectomy for Patients with Metastatic RCC; and Management of Non-Clear Cell Metastatic RCC. Readers will come away with the information they need to treat and manage patients and to improve outcomes.