Volume 11 Issue 10, October 2014

Patients with prostate cancer are known to be affected by higher levels of depression than their peers. Patients with this combination are less likely to undergo definitive treatment and have lower rates of survival. A new study has investigated the likelihood of a diagnosis of depression prior to prostate cancer.

Biopsy of small renal masses (SRMs) that look like renal cell carcinoma (RCC) continues to be debated and most patients undergo treatment without tissue diagnosis. At least 20% of SRMs are benign and most RCCs are low-grade and will grow slowly. Routine biopsy should be adopted to reduce unnecessary surgery.

Bladder biopsy of normal-looking mucosa, as determined by cystoscopy, might not add clinical value in patients with positive voided-urine cytology after treatment of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Methods to add value to bladder biopsies, such as characterization of molecular alterations, should be considered.

The international and African urology communities lost a great academic leader and mentor when Professor Chris Heyns died suddenly on 2^nd August 2014. He chaired a meeting as President of the South African Urology Association (SAUA) just hours before his death, making the shock of losing him even more intense.

Prevention of recurrent disease is the cornerstone of the management of paediatric nephrolithiasis and includes an evaluation to identify underlying causes or risk factors of stone formation. 24 h urine collection should be an initial step in the evaluation of the metabolic status of every child with urinary tract stones.

Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) were first described in the gastrointestinal tract, however ICC-like cells (ICC-LC) can also be found in the lower urinary tract (LUT), where they act as electrical pacemakers and as intermediary cells involved in the modulation of neurotransmission to adjacent smooth muscle cells. In this Review, Drumm et al. discuss the physiological functions of ICC-LC, focussing on their role as pacemakers, and consider how the study of their intracellular Ca²⁺dynamics will provide a better understanding of the role of ICC-LC in LUT excitability.

In this Review, Fatton and colleagues examine the effects of lower urinary tract symptoms, particularly stress urinary incontinence, on female sexual function. They discuss the clinical tools used to assess sexual dysfunction, and describe sexual function outcomes after surgery for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence.

Song et al. describe the evidence connecting neurotrophins and lower urinary tract function, with particular regard to brain-derived neurotrophic factor, stress urinary incontinence and bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis, and discuss the potential for future therapies based on modulation of neurotrophin levels in the urinary tract and its innervating nerves.

A focus group of expert urologists has reviewed the clinical evidence relating to blue-light cystoscopy with hexaminolevulinate photosensitizer, and here sets out consensus statements for the use of this technique in the diagnosis of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.