Doctors at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have shown that children suffering from bilateral Wilms tumor, a kidney cancer, may retain normal function in both kidneys after bilateral nephron-sparing surgery. The procedure may be used to retain normal kidney functioning even if scans have earlier indicated that the tumors are inoperable.

The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Foundation for Research and Development has developed a new diagnostic tool for the detection and monitoring of bladder cancer. The current tests for bladder cancer have an accuracy rate of only 40%, whereas the new test has established 90% accuracy (100% specificity). The new tool that tests human urine samples confirms the efficacy of a newly discovered cell receptor in diagnosing bladder cancer.

The U.S. FDA has granted Bioniche Life Sciences’ therapy for first-line non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer Fast Track designation. Later this year, the company will begin a Phase III clinical trial comparing Urocidin(TM), a formulation of its Mycobacterial Cell Wall-DNA Complex (MCC), to the current standard therapy in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer at high risk of recurrence or progression.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc announced that a study has revealed that men with enlarged prostates who were treated with the combined drugs, Avodart (dutasteride) and Tamsulosin, experienced significantly greater improvement in their urinary symptoms over 24 months, when compared to those who were administered either of the drugs alone. The CombAT (Combination of Avodart and Tamsulosin) study was conducted on 4,800 men with enlarged prostate, a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH.