UroToday.com - In the age of minimally invasive surgery, laparoscopic and robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy has been associated with a substantial increase in operative costs without a significant improvement in outcomes to date. As a result, there has been renewed interest in one of the original approaches to prostate cancer.

A drug-like molecule called Wnt can be substituted for the cancer gene c-Myc, one of four genes added to adult cells to reprogram them to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, according to Whitehead researchers. Researchers hope that such embryonic stem-cell-like cells, known as induced pluripotent (IPS) cells, eventually may treat diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and diabetes.

UroToday.com - Prostate cancer is the leading malignancy in American men and causes more than 60,000 deaths annually. Treatment of prostate cancer with either surgery, radiation therapy, cryotherapy or medical treatment is associated with significant life altering morbidity. Both incontinence and erectile dysfunction (ED) are too often sequelae of these treatment alternatives.

UroToday.com - Both cryoablation and brachytherapy are well studied alternatives to radical prostatectomy. The techniques are similar in the application of the needles to deliver the treatment, planning software and algorithms to achieve the best coverage, are delivered as outpatient treatment, and efficacy.