Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
In the quest to reduce the incidences of morbidity and mortality associated with surgery, a number of initiatives are being explored. Could a simple checklist provide an effective means of improving surgical outcome?
New research confirms that weight loss is an effective first-line intervention for overweight or obese women with urinary incontinence. Such patients should be encouraged to lose weight, but must also be given access to a full range of treatment options.
Upon its 'reinvention', thalidomide was quickly applied to 'microenvironment-dependent' diseases such as multiple myeloma, yet its role in the solid tumor spectrum has not been validated. A report into recurrent prostate cancer by Figg et al.1 shows that thalidomide can reduce time to PSA progression in patients treated with androgen deprivation therapy.
In a study published in The Lancet, long-term androgen suppression (AS) combined with radiotherapy, compared with AS alone, improved outcomes in patients with locally advanced but nonmetastatic prostate cancer. The combined therapy significantly reduced prostate-cancer-specific deaths at 10 years from 23.9% to 11.9% (P <0.001), and improved overall survival.
Every treatment has unintended adverse effects, and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer is no exception. A flurry of reports has implicated ADT in increasing cardiovascular risk and mortality. In this regard, the 2009 study by Efstathiou and colleagues is a notable exception.
The discovery that prostate cancer gene 3 (PCA3) is overexpressed in malignant prostate cells has led to the development of a PCA3 urine test for prostate cancer. In this Review, the authors discuss the molecular marker PCA3and its application in the diagnosis of prostate cancer and use as a prognostic indicator in men with prostate cancer.
Drawing on their own considerable experience, Huang and colleagues, from the University of California, San Francisco, review current therapies and emerging treatments for the management of priapism. Medical and surgical approaches to both the ischemic and nonischemic subtypes of this disorder are discussed.
Emphysematous pyelonephritis is a severe, necrotizing, renal parenchymal infection that is characterized by the production of intraparenchymal gas. Predominantly affecting female diabetics, the presentation of this disorder has changed over the past 25 years. A more conservative approach to treatment is now recommended.
GlutathioneS-transferases protect cells from toxic electrophilic compounds, including potential carcinogens, by catalyzing their conjugation to glutathione. These enzymes are found in both kidney and urothelial tissue. In this Review, Simic and colleagues discuss the relationships between enzyme polymorphism, altered expression, susceptibility to kidney and bladder tumors, and resistance to chemotherapy.
