Recent Advances in Clinical Research that Impact the Office Management of Prostate Cancer

Researchers have published several studies during the last 2 years that impact office management of prostate cancer. These works deal with cancer screening, and new techniques for diagnosing, imaging and treating this disease, along with new insights into the genetics of prostate cancer. The key publications that impact urology practice are summarized.

English language articles published from 2013 to 2015 were selected, representing the author's opinion concerning their relative importance.

The selected articles address several aspects of prostate cancer management, including 1) prostate specific antigen screening, such as the USPSTF (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force) report, along with the most recent updates of the ERSPC (European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer) and the Swedish arm of this study; 2) new tests to improve prostate specific antigen testing specificity, including the 4Kscore® (which involves 4 kallikrein markers) and the Prostate Health Index; 3) optimal prostate specific antigen screening modeling; 4) prostate cancer treatment including changes to the Gleason score system, along with recent updates of the Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group Study Number 4, the ProtecT (Prostate Testing for Cancer and Treatment) study and the Toronto active surveillance series; 5) the potential role of chemotherapy in men with localized disease; 6) the potential impact of new genetic markers, their validation and ability to direct local and systemic therapy; 7) advances in prostate magnetic resonance imaging; and 8) changes in the external practice environment.

Researchers have published several articles during the last 2 years that impact the office management of prostate cancer. Urologists must be conversant with these findings to keep abreast of new approaches to treating their patients.