Urology Beyond Europe: EAU touches base with overseas colleagues

The 25th Anniversary EAU Congress opened today in Barcelona with the EAU holding joint meetings with nine urological associations to discuss a wide range of urological issues and share best practices on clinical practice.

"This is an initiative that EAU should continue in future meetings," said a participant from India, and a member of the Urological Society of India. The society took up issues in functional urology and uro-oncology such as stress urinary incontinence (SUI), chyluria and penile cancer, amongst other issues.

"The EAU is an attractive organisation for many urological societies since our meetings keep improving in scientific value," said EAU Secretary General Per-Anders Abrahamsson. "Key opinion leaders from different regions across the world have a chance to meet and talk to each other at our Annual Congresses."

Altogether the EAU conducted sessions with urological associations from Korea, Indonesia, China, Iran, India, Latin America, the Arab countries, Japan and the Caucasus/Central Asia regions. The first five associations concurrently held joint sessions with the EAU in the morning whilst the last four sessions with Latin America, the Arab countries, Japan and the Caucasus/Central Asia regions took place until mid-afternoon.

Prostate cancer guidelines, surgical treatment of female SUI, erectile dysfunction management were taken up during the joint session with the Korean Urological Association (KUA) with leading European and Korean experts exchanging their views on issues such as the efficacy of female slings, PDE-5 inhibitors and prostate cancer guidelines. Indonesian and European experts, meanwhile, tackled treatment options in bladder, kidney and prostate cancers examining issues such as bone health, lymphadenectomy and hormonal treatment.

The joint EAU-Chinese Urological Association session took up training issues, prostate cancer and female urinary incontinence, whilst EAU lecturers and their counterparts from the Iranian Urological Association discussed male infertility, prostate cancer and urethral strictures. The joint session with the Confederacion Americana de Urologia (CAU) included bladder and prostate cancers, small renal masses and Lower Urinary Tract Syndrome (LUTS).

The joint sessions with the Arab Association of Urology (AAU), the Japanese Urological Association (JUA) and the Caucasus/Central Asia region also attracted enthusiastic attendance and participants who discussed a range of urological topics including uro-oncology, andrology and functional urology.

Abrahamsson noted that since the international joint meetings were featured in the programme of the annual congress a few years ago, it provided the EAU a venue wherein it can touch base with other regional associations and identify areas for collaboration in scientific and educational areas.

"We see increasing numbers of urologists and residents from outside Europe coming to the EU for training and education," said Abrahamsson.