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The role of diuretic renography has become central in cases of upper tract dilatation, and in the first paper in this section the difficulties in interpreting results in asymptomatic congenital hydronephrosis are examined. These difficulties and controversies exist despite the presence of guidelines and consensus protocols, probably because renography procedures differ among centres. The authors found that there is a need for renography to be standardized for the optimum value to be obtained from the procedure.There are three papers from Los Angeles which attempt to standardize the measurement of bladder compliance, from both the theoretical and clinical perspective, and which assess the detrusor pressure rise of a normal bladder when filled to capacity.To discuss the main steps of renographic technique and underline some pitfalls related to the acquisition, processing and interpretation of diuretic renography, an important method for guiding the management of asymptomatic congenital hydronephrosis.Despite guidelines and consensus protocols, renographic procedures differ among centres, causing difficulties in comparison and controversy in the interpretation of results. Thus we comprehensively assessed published papers on the subject of diuretic renography.Differential renal function (DRF) is a robust measure provided there is adequate background subtraction. Pitfalls are related to the drawing of regions of interest, particularly in infants, to estimating the interval during which DRF is calculated, and to an adequate signal-to-noise ratio. There is no definition of a‘significant’ reduction in DRF. The classical variables of the diuretic renogram may not allow an estimate of the best drainage. Poor pelvic emptying may be apparent because the bladder is full and because the effect of gravity on drainage is incomplete. Estimating the drainage as residual activity rather than any parameter on the slope might be more adequate, especially if the time of frusemide administration is changed. Renal function and pelvic volume can influence the quality of drainage. Drainage may be better estimated using new tools.Provided the investigation is standardized and potential pitfalls accounted for, the diuretic renogram provides valuable and reproducible quantitative information on DRF and drainage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A calendar of events related to various congresses and conventions is presented which include one titled "RSM Clinicopathology Papers Prize Meeting and Stater of the Art Lecture" by the Royal Society of Medicine on March 18, 2010 in London, England, one titled "25th Annual EAU Congress" on April 16-20, 2010 in Barcelona, Spain, and one titled "1st World Congress of Pediatric Urology" on May 28-30, 2010 in San Francisco, California.

The article offers information on a novel approach of laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) to major urological procedures which had underscored the evolution to fewer incisions required during the surgery. It reports the initial experience conducted with LESS in the da Vinci surgical system by the Intuitive Surgical Inc. in Sunnyvale, California. The recovery advantage for LESS procedures has been associated with the performance of natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES).

The article focuses on the success of the University of California Davis Cancer Center since Ralph deVere takes over as director. He has created a world-class clinical and research facility. It has received a designation as a National Cancer Institute center with a $3.9 million grant. Incremental to the success of the center is the initiative of DeVere in bringing together the vast talent pool at the university and its cooperative agreement with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

OBJECTIVE To compare the prognostic accuracy of the two most used integrated staging systems to predict the outcome of patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively evaluated the clinical and pathological data of 388 patients surgically treated for clear cell RCC between 1986 and 2000. The pathological slides of all specimens were reviewed by a pathologist unaware of patient outcome. All patients were classified according to the ‘Stage, Size, Grade and Necrosis’ (SSIGN) score and University of California Los Angeles Integrated Staging System (UISS) model, and the predictive accuracy of the two models was evaluated using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves. RESULTS The median follow-up was 56 months; the 10-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) probabilities according to the SSIGN score were 96% in the ‘0–2’ category, 78% in the ‘3–4’, 43% in the ‘5–6’, 25.8% in the ‘7–9’ and 0% in the ‘≥10’ group ( P < 0.001). According to the UISS, in nonmetastatic patients the 10-year CSS probabilities were 100% in low, 73% in intermediate and 62% in high-risk groups; in metastatic patients the respective CSS probabilities were 37%, 33% and 12.5% ( P < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.870 for the SSIGN score and 0.832 for the UISS. Including only nonmetastatic patients in the analysis, the AUC was 0.830 for the SSIGN score and 0.760 for the UISS model. CONCLUSION Our study shows for the first time that the SSIGN score offers a better stratification of clear cell RCC than the UISS model. These data should be considered in the design of future randomized controlled trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A calendar of events related to medicine in various countries from September-December 2009 which includes the 39th annual meeting of International Incontinence Society on September 29, 2009 to October 3, 2009 in San Francisco, California, 2009 WCHW 6th Biennial World Congress on men's health and gender on October 9-11, 2009 in Vienna. Austria, and the 12th Biennial Meeting of the Asia Pacific Society for Sexual Medicine on December 12-15, 2009 in Singapore.

The article offers information on the Annual Congress of the European Association of Urology (EAU) to be held in Barcelona, Spain on April 16-20, 2010 and the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California from May 29 to June 3, 2010.