The 25th Anniversary EAU Congress in Barcelona will feature a wide range of plenary and sub-plenary sessions covering the most pressing issues of urology practice and research. This year’s sessions aim to provide important updates, address today’s most relevant controversies and discuss the budding trends of this multidisciplinary field.“In the last few years we have tried to make sure that all plenary and sub-plenary sessions are narrowly focused on one particular theme,” commented Prof. Freddie Hamdy, Chair of the EAU Scientific Congress Office. “It is important that the issues addressed within one session do not conflict, and that the delegates, interested in a specific field only, can get the information they are seeking without having to switch the rooms all the time.”
This year, plenary and sub-plenary sessions will cover advances in the management of RCC, NOTES surgery, EAU Guidelines update, new trends and developments in tissue engineering as well as many other topics.
Much anticipated is the plenary session chaired by Profs. F. Hamdy and G. Thalmann – “Prostate cancer: From risk prevention to risk calculator”. The topic has been widely discussed in the urological community following the results of the ERSPC study presented last year at the 24th EAU Annual Congress.
“This study has raised two very relevant issues – that of overdiagnosis and chemoprevention,” Prof. Hamdy said. “They are especially relevant for European health providers, who operate within very different national healthcare systems.”
“We have some of the best speakers in the world presenting on these issues,” he emphasised. “The results of two particular studies on chemoprevention will be extensively discussed, and all the risk calculators which are now available – including their advantages and shortcomings – will be critically assessed.”
This session will be of great value to all practising urologists, as it will provide them with the tools and the knowledge necessary for the counselling of their patients. “One of the most difficult issues with PCa diagnosis and management is actually communicating to the patient all the uncertainties that come with PSA testing, and we hope that this session will generate new dimensions for an informative and open dialogue,” explained Prof. Hamdy.
Prostate screening and prevention is not only a controversial but also a highly sensitive topic, as it involves the perspectives of several groups – healthcare providers, patients and policy-makers.
“We have recently signed a partnership agreement with Europe UOMO, Europe’s largest prostate cancer patient organisation and we are also in the process of integrating this discussion with politicians, including those who make decisions on the European level, in Brussels,” commented Prof. Per-Anders Abrahamsson, Secretary General of the EAU. “All of this will be reflected in the session on PCa prevention and risk assessment, allowing for a much broader context.”
