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Due to demographic developments malignancies of urogenital origin will gain increasing importance. The urologist will face a growing group of patients with co-morbidities and functional disabilities as these neoplasms increase with age. Optimisation of peri-interventional management successfully reduces the risks of surgery. Integration of taxane-based cytostatic regimes achieves a prolongation of survival in hormone-refractory metastatic prostatic cancer. The introduction of gemcitabine in the management of malignancies of the bladder seems to have reduced toxicity while maintaining anti-tumour activity in comparison to MVAC. The role of haematopoetic growth factors remains to be defined in urologic malignancies - increasing dose intensity for better activity or reduction of toxicity. Individualisation of treatment requires early cooperation of the urologist, the oncologist and the geriatrician for an optimal outcome.

Objective: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common conditions associated with ageing in men. BPH often presents as lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to difficulties in voiding and irritability of the bladder. We conducted a retrospective cohort study within the Integrated Primary Care Information (IPCI) database, a general practitioners database in The Netherlands, to assess the incidence of LUTS suggestive of BPH (LUTS/BPH) in the general population. Materials: Our study population comprised all males, 45 years or older who were registered for at least 6 months prior to start of follow-up. The study period lasted from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2000. Cases of LUTS/BPH were defined as persons with a diagnosis of BPH, treatment or surgery for BPH, or urinary symptoms suggestive of BPH that could not be explained by other co-morbidity. Results: The study cohort comprised 80,774 males who contributed 141,035 person-years of follow-up. We identified 2181 incident and 5605 prevalent LUTS/BPH cases. The overall incidence rate of LUTS/BPH was 15 per 1000 man-years (95% CI: 14.8–16.1). The incidence increased linearly ( r 2 =0.99) with age from three cases per 1000 man-years at the age of 45–49 years (95% CI: 2.4–3.6) to a maximum of 38 cases per 1000 man-years at the age of 75–79 years (95% CI: 34.1–42.9). After the age of 80 years, the incidence rate remained constant. For a symptom-free man of 46 years, the risk to develop LUTS/BPH over the coming 30 years, if he survives, is 45%. The overall prevalence of LUTS/BPH was 10.3% (95% CI: 10.2–10.5). The prevalence rate was lowest among males 45–49 years of age (2.7%) and increased with age until a maximum at the age of 80 years (24%). Conclusions: The incidence rate of LUTS/BPH increases linearly with age and reaches its maximum at the age of 79 years.

Background and aim: Guidelines for osteoarthritis patients (OAP) focus on drug treatment of pain and inflammation. As there is a high risk for side-effects and interactions – especially in the vulnerable population of the elderly – evidence based recommendations for first choice drugs [for full text, please go to the a.m. URL], 16. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Arzneimittelanwendungsforschung und Arzneimittelepidemiologie