UroStream

Time rewards those who strive, and success comes to those who persevere. As 2023 draws to a close, the year has left behind many noteworthy achievements in China’s field of urology, especially in the areas of prostate cancer surgery and drug treatments. On this occasion, Urology Frontier interviewed Xu Zhang, Academician of the Chinese PLA General Hospital and a pioneer in laparoscopic techniques in China’s urological surgery. In this interview, he shared significant developments in surgical and medical treatments for prostate cancer over the past year.

At the 2023 ESMO Congress, the field of urothelial carcinoma (UC) witnessed a major breakthrough. The global multicenter Phase III CheckMate-901 study showed that in the first-line treatment of unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC), nivolumab combined with cisplatin-based chemotherapy achieved dual positive results in the co-primary endpoints of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), compared to standard cisplatin chemotherapy (Abstract LBA7). This is the first regimen in nearly 30 years to demonstrate significantly superior survival benefits over cisplatin chemotherapy in this field. Urology Frontier invited Academician Xu Zhang, the Chair-elect of the Urology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association (CUA) and from the Chinese PLA General Hospital, to discuss the general incidence, current diagnosis and treatment status, and recent advances in UC. He also provided an interpretation of the significant immunotherapy study results.

In the winter along the Neckar River, Heidelberg's old town was adorned in snow, providing a fitting backdrop for an academic atmosphere rich in culture and freedom. The "Semi-Live 2024" International Urology Conference and the CGAU Academic Annual Meeting between China and Germany were successfully held from January 18 to 20 in Heidelberg, a hub of European academia. Top urological experts from over 10 countries, including Germany, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, India, and Egypt, attended. Notable participants included Professor Markus Hohenfellner, Chair of Urology at the University of Heidelberg, Professor Vito Pansadoro, Chair of the European Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgery Challenge Congress, Professor Richard Hautmann, pioneer of the "orthotopic ileal neobladder procedure," Professor Sascha Pahernik, Director of Urology at Nuremberg Hospital, Professor Liqiu Zhou from Peking University, and Professor Shuo Wang from The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine.

The ASCO Breakthrough Summit, held from August 8th to 10th in Yokohama, Japan, focused on new technologies in cancer treatment and shared breakthrough advances and research that are driving global cancer treatment forward. The research titled "Preliminary results of an open-label, single-arm, multi-center study on disitamab vedotin (DV) combined with toripalimab and radiotherapy as bladder-preserving therapy in HER2 overexpression muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC; DECIDING study-stage I)" by Dr. Haige Chen and Dr. Ruiyun Zhang from Renji Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, was selected for presentation. Urology Frontier invited Dr. Ruiyun Zhang to discuss the treatment needs of MIBC patients, the DECIDING study results, progress in ctDNA, and the team's ongoing explorations.

The "2024 CSCO Digestive Tract Tumor Standardized Treatment Workshop," co-hosted by the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology, Beijing Xisike Clinical Oncology Research Foundation, and Hangzhou Oriental Clinical Oncology Research Center, was held in Shanghai from August 17-18, 2024. This workshop featured diverse learning methods, including lectures, discussions, and live surgical demonstrations, aimed at improving the standardized treatment of digestive tract tumors, reducing regional disparities, and disseminating new advancements and concepts. Oncology Frontier interviewed Dr. Jin Li, President of Shanghai GoBroad Cancer Hospital China Pharmaceutical University, Chairman of the CSCO Foundation, and Chairman of the CSCO Gastric Cancer Expert Committee, to discuss the highlights and significance of this workshop, as well as the potential and future of artificial intelligence in clinical research.

From August 8 to 11, 2024, the Annual Meeting of the Urological Surgeons Branch of the Chinese Medical Association (CUDA) was held in Xi'an. The conference was hosted by the Chinese Medical Association and the CUDA Urological Surgeons Branch, with the Air Force Medical University Xijing Hospital as the organizer and the Shaanxi Provincial Medical Association Urological Surgeons Branch as a co-organizer. Under the theme of "Healthy China, Urology First," the conference gathered many of the latest achievements in urology. At the event, Urology Frontier invited Dr. Xuesong Li, Dr. Qi Tang, and Dr. Xiaoying Li from Peking University First Hospital for an in-depth discussion on the current state of non-invasive detection, radiotherapy, and translational medicine for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). They also shared their experiences in building subspecialties for UTUC and outlined the direction in which CUDA-UTUC is leading the field.

The 2024 Annual Meeting of the Urological Surgeons Branch of the Chinese Medical Association (CUDA) was held in Xi'an from August 8 to 11, 2024. The conference, organized by the Chinese Medical Association and the CUDA Urological Surgeons Branch, was hosted by the Air Force Medical University Xijing Hospital and co-organized by the Shaanxi Provincial Medical Association Urological Surgeons Branch. The event showcased the latest achievements in urology from a broad and diverse perspective. During the conference, Urology Frontier interviewed the Honorary Chairman of the conference, Dr. Guohua Zeng from The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, who shared insights on the remarkable achievements of minimally invasive urological stone surgery in China, the development trends of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), and valuable suggestions for improving the treatment and quality of life for patients with urinary stones.

The 2024 Annual Meeting of the Urological Surgeons Branch of the Chinese Medical Association (CUDA) was held in Xi'an from August 8 to 11, 2024. The conference was hosted by the Chinese Medical Association and the CUDA Urological Surgeons Branch, with the Air Force Medical University Xijing Hospital serving as the organizer and the Shaanxi Provincial Medical Association Urological Surgeons Branch as a co-organizer. Under the theme "Healthy China, Urology First," the conference showcased the latest achievements in urology. At the event, Urology Frontier interviewed Dr. Tie Zhong from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University to review the recent progress in the treatment of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) in China. The discussion focused on the benefits of new endocrine therapies and individualized treatment strategies, providing guidance for the future development of mHSPC.

Robot-assisted radical cystectomy is playing an increasingly significant role in the treatment of bladder cancer. At the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Urological Surgeons Branch of the Chinese Medical Association (CUDA) held in Xi'an from August 8 to 11, Dr. Jian Huang from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, shared his insights on "Robot-Assisted Function-Preserving Radical Cystectomy." After the conference, Urology Frontier invited Professor Huang to delve deeper into this topic.

Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is one of the most common malignancies in the urinary system. With the increasing availability of ADC (antibody-drug conjugate) drugs in clinical practice, optimizing ADC drug selection and combination therapies, as well as managing treatment-related adverse events, have become critical issues. Following the successful 2024 Annual Meeting of the Urological Surgeons Branch of the Chinese Medical Association (CUDA) in Xi'an, Urology Frontier invited Dr. Wei Yu from Peking University First Hospital to share insights on optimal ADC strategies for the systemic treatment of UC.