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Physician-scientists from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center will present their latest research findings at the American Urological Association's Annual Meeting in San Francisco, May 29 to June 3.

Dr. Steven Kaplan, a urologist and professor of urology at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and Dr. Darracott Vaughan, senior author and professor emeritus of urology at Weill Cornell Medical College, have published data showing that 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-ARI), drugs used to control for benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), an enlarged prostate, may greatly improve the accuracy of traditional PSA tests for prostate cancer diagnosis.

"Taking 5-ARI drugs may eliminate the background noise associated with PSA testing — canceling out a benign response and leaving only one signal for malignancy," explains Dr. Kaplan, lead author of the study. "Using PSA testing, we may now be able to distinguish prostate cancer from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) disease."

Dr. Kaplan will present these potentially groundbreaking findings during a press briefing on June 1 at 1:00 p.m. PST and for meeting attendees on June 2 at 12:20 p.m. PST at Moscone North, 120 & 123. Among the most significant presentations are the following.

• Surgeons' robotic surgery experience has impact on surgical cancer margins and operative time [2023]

Wednesday, June 2, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.; Moscone North, 130 & 131

Dr. Ashutosh Tewari

Director of Robotic Prostatectomy and Prostate Cancer-Urologic Oncology Outcomes and Urologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center; Professor of Urology at Weill Cornell Medical College

Dr. Tewari will present results from a multi-institutional study examining surgeons' robotic surgical experience. Recent media reports have raised concerns regarding training for robotic surgical procedures. The impact of experience is outlined in this study, demonstrating that greater surgical experience appears to be associated with a reduced percentage of positive surgical cancer margins and operative time after robot-assisted radical prostate removal.

• Generic form of prostate enlargement drug shows fewer side effects [1786]

Tuesday, June 1, 4:30 p.m. – 4:40 p.m.; Moscone North, 120 & 123

Dr. Alexis Te

Director of the Brady Prostate Center and Urologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center; Professor of Urology at Weill Cornell Medical College

Dr. Te will present results from a five-year study showing that generic, less-expensive drug for controlling prostate enlargement may produce fewer side-effects, such as erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory dysfunction, lowered libido and breast enlargement. The drugs 5–alpha reductase inhibitors (5–ARI) have been widely used in the management of men with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). The study compared the generic finasteride and name brand dutasteride.

• Fewer complications with laparoscopic kidney surgery compared with open [1482]

Tuesday, June 1, 11:20 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.; Moscone North, 122 & 125

Dr. Douglas Scherr

Urologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center; Associate Professor of Urology at Weill Cornell Medical College

Dr. Scherr will present results showing that laparoscopic surgery has fewer complications than traditional open procedures for the treatment of kidney disease and cancer, such as lowered operative time during laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN), less blood loss and shortened hospital stay.

• New surgical modification for reduced incontinence following prostate removal [2029]

Wednesday, June 2, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.; Moscone North, 130 & 131

Dr. Ashutosh Tewari

Director of Robotic Prostatectomy and Prostate Cancer-Urologic Oncology Outcomes and Urologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center; Professor of Urology at Weill Cornell Medical College

Dr. Tewari will present findings showing that a surgical modification called the anatomic retro-apical technique reduces incontinence following robotic prostate removal surgery. Incontinence is the most common side effect following prostate removal.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, located in New York City, is one of the leading academic medical centers in the world, comprising the teaching hospital NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical College, the medical school of Cornell University. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, education, research and community service. Weill Cornell physician-scientists have been responsible for many medical advances — including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer; the synthesis of penicillin; the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S.; the first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease; the first indication of bone marrow's critical role in tumor growth; and, most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division and NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area and is consistently ranked among the best academic medical institutions in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. Weill Cornell Medical College is the first U.S. medical college to offer a medical degree overseas and maintains a strong global presence in Austria, Brazil, Haiti, Tanzania, Turkey and Qatar. For more information, visit www.med.cornell.edu.