Updated clinical guidelines presented at EAU Anniversary Congress

A number of updated guidelines are presented at the Anniversary Congress of the European Association of Urology (EAU) held in Barcelona, from 16 through 20 April. The abridged versions - Pocket Guidelines - which are based on the extended text documents will also be available in Barcelona to all EAU members and press.

Production of clinical guidelines is one of the core activities of the organisation. Close to 150 experts split up over 18 different topic-oriented panels, are involved in this ongoing process. Guidelines aim to present the best evidence available on a given pathology and provide a standardized approach to the treatment of urological conditions. Ultimately, healthcare professionals must make their own decisions about care on a case-by-case basis, after consultation with their patients, using their clinical judgment, knowledge and expertise.

The EAU Working Group on Muscle-invasive and Metastatic Bladder Cancer, chaired by Prof. Dr. A. Stenzl (DE), have updated their guidelines based on the latest information available.

The prostate cancer guidelines have been updated by Professor Heidenreich (DE) and his team of experts. The full spectrum from diagnosis, staging, treatment - active surveillance and watchful waiting, radical prostatectomy, radiation therapy, hormonal and cytotoxic treatment, experimental treatments - and follow-up is covered, including the most recent, if possible evidence-based, information. The guideline group has included a complete chapter on the pathohistological work-up and assessment of prostate biopsies which form the backbone of any treatment decision making process and radical prostatectomy specimens. They furthermore critically reflected and included the new data of the European and the American prostate cancer screening trials and give recommendations to the urological community on how to deal with this new information. With regard to radical prostatectomy the guideline panel included the new data on surgery in locally advanced disease using a multimodal approach. For the first time, all data on the most recent prospective randomized trials on adjuvant radiation therapy have been updated so that every single surgeon is able to select the most appropriate adjuvant treatment regime for his patient. The guideline group completely updated the data on systemic medical treatment of hormone-na-ve and castration-resistant prostate cancer and the guidelines give straight-forward recommendations with regard to optimal therapy in metastatic PCA which can be applied on an individual basis.