Research in Urology
The Urologic Oncology Program forms multidisciplinary teams of skilled specialists to diagnose and provide optimum care for individual patients with urologic cancers, including bladder, prostate, penile, urethral, renal, and testicular. Clinical research programs are aimed primarily at enhancing tumor detection and therapy, while laboratory programs focus on understanding the mechanisms of tumor progression and developing new intervention strategies.
The Urologic Oncology Research Program is an integrated effort which includes both basic science Ph.D. investigators as well as physician scientists who emphasize the translation of basic research to clinical applications. The program collaborates extensively with investigators in other areas such as the departments of Behavioral Science, Biomathematics, Cell Biology, Cellular Oncology, Epidemiology, Genitourinary Medical Oncology, Pathology, Radiation Oncology and Molecular and Cellular Oncology.
Pioneering Urologic Oncology Research
Research projects in these areas are already in progress and will benefit from donor support as scientists move the innovative ideas from the laboratory to the clinic. Patients everywhere are the winners when donors have the vision to support the basic science research that leads to clinical trials.
Hope for Prostate Cancer Patients
- Early detection methods find the cancer when it is most treatable, and chemoprevention reduces the vulnerability of those at risk for prostate cancer
- Robotic surgery and minimally invasive surgical techniques mean fewer side effects after prostate surgery and faster recovery
- Treatments for aggressive metastatic disease become more effective as researchers identify the molecular pathways that are key to metastasis
Hope for Kidney Cancer Patients
- Identification of molecular markers – Markers will aid in diagnosis and allow doctors to better predict each patient’s prognosis
- New follow-up treatments after surgery – For patients with locally
advanced disease, these treatments will decrease the risk of recurrence - Vaccines and targeted molecular therapies – These breakthroughs will improve the odds for patients with locally advanced and metastatic kidney cancer
Hope for Bladder/Ureteral Cancer Patients
- Study of the genetic and molecular basis for bladder cancer. With a genetic and molecular map, the treatment targets will be specific for each patient
- Tests for early detection and follow-up – Patients will have non-invasive or less invasive tests to find cancer or to check for recurrence
- Bladder replacement surgical techniques – This will be a new option for patients undergoing cystectomy for locally advanced disease
Hope for Testicular Cancer Patients
- Study of the genetic and molecular basis for testicular cancer. With a genetic and molecular map, the treatment targets will be specific for each patient
- Identification of molecular markers – Markers will aid in diagnosis and allow doctors to better predict each patient’s prognosis
- Minimally invasive or non-invasive surgery – The development of these options will primarily benefit patients with metastatic testicular cancer