UROonco24 will take place in the historic city of Budapest, Hungary, from 14:00 on Thursday 20 June, until 15:00 on Saturday 22 June 2024. This European onco-urology meeting represents a dynamic learning platform where experts and delegates can share knowledge, deliberate on the latest research, and pave the way together to improve patient outcomes.
In this article, ESOU board members Dr. Gianluca Giannarini (IT) and Dr. Maria Carmen Mir Maresma (ES) share some details of the critical issues and promising developments in the field of GU cancers that are in the scientific programme this year.
Insights from Dr. Giannarini: “Prostate cancer sessions will cover the whole spectrum of the disease. This year, there will be a special focus on the management of biochemical recurrence and persistence after radical prostatectomy, and of oligometastatic disease detected with PSMA PET imaging, as well as on novel strategies of treatment intensification and combination in the overt metastatic hormone-sensitive and castration-resistant setting.”
“Of particular interest will be the two corners on pivotal clinical trials (e.g. EMBARK, RADICALS-HD, PSMAfore and CONTACT-02) with study investigators and key opinion leaders presenting updates and debating in very lively ‘trials-put-in-practice’ multidisciplinary round tables.”
“Continuing the very favourable trend of the recent years, 2024, too, will be an exciting year for advances in care of patients with prostate cancer. During major urological and uro-oncological meetings, practice-changing data have been, or will be, released, particularly on novel treatments for men with biochemically recurrent disease after radical prostatectomy, on combination and intensification strategies for advanced disease, either in the hormone-sensitive and in the castration-resistant stage, and on the anticipation of novel effective treatments, such as PSMA-based theranostics, to earlier stages of disease.”
“Prostate cancer research is more than ever in great ferment with a continuous flourishing of clinical trials testing novel treatment paradigms aimed at offering personalised pathways of care for what is one of the most common malignancies.”
Insights from Dr. Mir Maresma: “One of the key bladder cancer topics that will be in question is the controversial – should we do radical cystectomy after clinical complete response following neoadjuvant chemotherapy? We are still looking for surrogates to identify real responders and which patients can avoid cystectomy without hampering overall survival.”
According to Dr. Mir Maresma, other crucial issues to be discussed at UROonco24 include:
- Strategies on how to de-identify safely the follow-up of patients with LG NMIBC (too many cystoscopies are done).
- Outpatient laser ablation with flexible cystoscopy will be presented, as a well-established protocol that would tentatively decrease bladder cancer associated cost and quality of life burden.
- Are molecular subtypes in upper tract urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) ready for prime time? New insights on this field will be presented and discussed on their clinical translation.
Looking ahead to bladder cancer research, Dr. Mir Maresma anticipates the unveiling of new trials, with particular emphasis on advancements in endovesical drug delivery for NMIBC.
See the full scientific programme here, and register before 6 June, 2024 (23:59 CEST) to benefit from savings with the late registration fee.
