9th ESOU Meeting re-examines prostate cancer issues on screening, biopsies and imaging

The issue of prostate cancer screening remains a much-discussed topic but recent studies are proving that screening decreases prostate cancer mortality, according to J. Hugosson who lectured during the three-day 9th ESOU (EAU Section of Oncological Urology) Meeting which opened today in Hamburg, Germany.

“Screening decreases prostate cancer mortality, but whether organized screening is better than non organized (opportunistic) is not yet established,” said Hugosson. Hugosson also said that harms with PSA screening are considerable but how it affects individual patients vary.

“The efficacy of screening seems to vary considerably between different screening programmes,” he said and stressed that “it is not a question of “if” to screen but how and who should be screened.”

With around 700 participants the 9th ESOU Meeting discussed a wide range of issues and the latest developments in prostate, renal, bladder, penile and testis cancers.

“For this meeting we are examining in various lectures, debates and discussions the latest and key developments in uro-oncology,” said ESOU chairman Maurizio Brausi (IT) and meeting president Gerald Mickisch (DE). F. Klose (DE) gave the opening remarks and welcomed all participants as he emphasised the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration.

The opening plenary session tackled prevention strategies in prostate cancer with B. Schmitz-Drager (DE) discussing prevention strategies and its relevance in clinical practice, while B. Djavan lectured on negative biopsies. K. Pummer provided an update on innovations on diagnostic imaging. The first session on prostate cancer ended with a debate by M. Wirth (DE) and A. Mendoza-Valdes (MX), with the former defending the EAU guidelines on intermittent hormonal therapy as a standard for PCa and the latter re-examining its benefits.