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Prostate cancer nurse specialist shortage: a view from the coal face

Prostate Cancer UK recently reported that there is an impending crisis for men with prostate cancer, simply because the number of nurse specialists available is insufficient for their needs [1]. Background As has been widely reported, the incidence of prostate...

‘Man van’ launched to speed up cancer diagnosis and improve healthcare access

The ‘Man Van’, an innovative new outreach programme, was launched in March this year to provide free health checks for men and boost early diagnosis of prostate and other urological cancers. The mobile health clinic will visit workplaces and churches...

Pelvic floor imaging – a brief synopsis

Background Pelvic floor imaging is an important part of both gastrointestinal and functional urology / urogynaecological departments. Symptoms such as obstructive defecation, incontinence and sphincter complex disorders have a significant impact on patient lifestyle and physical / mental well-being [1,2]....

Testicular tumour imaging

Testicular tumours are the most common tumour in young males with a peak incidence seen between 25 and 34 years [1]. The overall incidence is slowly increasing, although the exact reasons for this are uncertain, and there is a greater...

Using cryopreserved prepubertal testis tissues – are we getting warmer?

The rising incidence of childhood cancer coupled with increasing survivorship means there is a growing population of childhood cancer survivors with unmet health needs. In the UK around 1 in 500 children and young people are survivors of childhood cancer....

Penile Mondor’s disease

Mondor’s disease is a rare, self-limiting entity characterised by subcutaneous chord like bands throughout the body. These bands arise due to phlebitis of the subcutaneous vessels. Penile Mondor’s disease (PMD) is an isolated superficial thrombophlebitis of the superficial dorsal vein...

Recent developments in bladder cancer

There have been some exciting developments in bladder cancer over the last few years. Immunotherapy has prolonged survival in a proportion of patients with metastatic disease, with sustained efficacy in some. Advances in genetic analysis and molecular subtyping make personalised...

Visual-estimation (cognitive), image-fusion (software) and in-bore targeted prostate biopsy: is there an optimal approach?

The diagnostic superiority of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) prior to targeted and systematic prostate biopsy over systematic transrectal ultrasound-guided (TRUS) biopsy alone in the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) has been proven by multiple level 1 studies...

Intravesical GAG replacement therapies for bladder pain syndrome / interstitial cystitis – an update

The barrier function of the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) layer of the urothelium was identified by Parsons in 1975, and intravesical therapies to treat chronic inflammatory conditions of the bladder were developed soon after. However, the active role of the urothelium in...

Cutting-edge or over-hyped? Evaluating the role of robotic surgery in the management of renal cell carcinoma

The quest for a minimally-invasive approach to major abdominal surgery finds its roots at the start of the previous century, when Georg Kelling first described the technique of ‘ceolioscopy’ to inspect intraabdominal organs in 1901 [1]. Since those early days,...

Marin Marais: Fiddling with bladder stones

In this series of articles, I am going to show you some of the exhibits contained in the Museum of Urology, hosted on the BAUS website (www.baus.org.uk). I’ve known about Marin Marais’ musical composition describing his bladder stone operation for...