Volume 13 Issue 6, June 2016

Active surveillance is a safe and cost-effective method to manage patients with recurrent papillary, low-grade, Ta bladder tumours. New long-term data from a large patient cohort confirm previous findings that emphasize the benefits of limiting the number of surgical procedures requiring anaesthesia and hospitalization in these, often elderly, patients.

Human kidneys have many features in common with those of other species, but also unique properties. A detailed human–mouse comparison of the genetic programme governing early events in nephron formation has revealed interspecies differences that could explain how nephron number in adult kidneys is determined.

Angiogenesis has not yet been validated as a therapeutic target in advanced urothelial carcinoma. However, a recent phase II trial has suggested that ramucirumab — a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor-2 antibody — combined with second-line docetaxel, might be beneficial.

Prior reports demonstrate a near-zero risk of prostate-cancer death among patients with very low-risk tumours managed on active surveillance (AS). However, outcomes from an AS cohort in Sweden suggest that observing men with low-risk and intermediate-risk tumours carries a small — but significant — risk of treatment failure and death from prostate cancer.

Treatment of infertility-related hormonal dysfunction in men requires an understanding of the hormonal basis of spermatogenesis. However, the best method for accurately determining male androgenization status remains elusive and the tools available for inferring the intratesticular hormonal environment are unreliable. In this Review, the authors discuss the status of our knowledge for diagnosis and treatment of this condition.

The prostate glycoproteome can undergo a wide range of different alterations during the occurrence and progression of prostate cancer, which might explain some of the interpatient heterogeneity in disease severity and outcomes. In this Review, the authors describe the potential for alterations in the glycoproteome to provide biomarkers and/or clinical targets for the prognosis and/or treatment of prostate cancer.

Several oncolytic viruses for the treatment of urological cancers have been investigated in clinical trials. Delwar et al. summarize the challenges encountered to the success of these agents and discuss strategies to improve effectiveness and safety.

Androgen deprivation therapy in men with prostate cancer is associated with several adverse effects. Østergren and colleagues review the use of exercise interventions to improve physical functioning and mitigate fatigue, changes in body composition and components of metabolic syndrome.