EDITORIAL

Big Ideas from Small Meetings

Arguably, the premier meeting for both American and international urologists is the American Urological Association (AUA) annual meeting. Over 16,000 urologists gather for a week of podium presentations, poster sessions, and workshops, as well as a broad range of social interactions. Other societies, such asthe European Association of Urology (EAU) and the Société Internationale d’Urologie (SIU) follow suit with eventfulagendas at exotic locations. The common thread among the well attended meetings of these expanding societiesis concurrent state-of-the-art presentations, podium sessions, poster sessions, and a multitude of workshops. Justto get from one end of the convention hall to the other end requires extraordinary stamina and a hunger for theacquisition of new information. Highly motivated attendees rush to catch as many of the sessions as possible whilebegrudging the lost opportunities from sessions that could not be attended due to conflicts of time and place.

At the other end of the spectrum are small, focused meetings with limited participants, where presentations are subject oriented and target key concepts for selected audiences. Presentations from the 2007 Masters in Urology meeting — an annual meeting that is held each summer in Bermuda — were featured in a Canadian Journal of Urology (CJU) supplement last year.

This year we are pleased to present a selection of papers from the Current Concepts in Men’s Health conference— an annual meeting sponsored by the Department of Urology at Albany Medical Center and held at the luxuriousSagamore Resort in Lake George, New York. At this meeting, a cadre of top-notch speakers, handpicked for theirexpertise and national reputations provide outstanding lectures at a leisurely pace that leaves plenty of opportunitiesfor informal exchanges and one-on-one discussions. The conference is usually held over the weekend to minimizeinterference with busy work schedules, and it offers an appealing social program with a family atmosphere toencourage attendance by spouses and children.

The CJU is pleased to present highlights from the most recent Current Concepts in Men’s Health conference for our readers. This year ’s program included an enlightening presentation on the structure and mission of the American Board of Urology by Barry Kogan, and a novel update on how to interpret PSA values to improve the diagnosis of prostate cancer by Peter Scardino. Ed Messing reviewed androgen deprivation therapy for advanced prostate cancer, including how to predict therapy failure and how to prolong its benefits. Jack Barkin reviewed the pathophysiology and pharmacotherapy of benign prostatic hyperplasia, while Elise De provided an elegant summary of the management of the refractory overactive bladder. Ron Kaufman discussed emerging new information regarding the use of anticholinergic therapy for the management of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Badar Mian described the latest developments in the management of high risk prostate cancer.

By bringing these timely topics to the broad audience composed of our esteemed readers, we hope to provide a well deserved forum for these outstanding presentations while raising interest in this and other small but high- impact conferences.

Gabriel P. Haas, MD, FACS Syracuse, New York, USA Editor-in-Chief

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© The Canadian Journal of Urology™; 15(6); December 2008

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