European urology
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Editorial
Virtual Conferences and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Are We Missing Out with an Online Only Platform?
Virtual conferences rapidly became the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although necessary, there are shortfalls to strictly virtual meetings, including less enthusiasm for submitting abstracts. An approach that combines in-person attendance and virtual platforms may be an optimal compromise both during the ongoing pandemic and moving forward.
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Editorial
Untangling the PROfound Trial for Advanced Prostate Cancer: Is There Really a Role for Olaparib?
The phase 3 PROfound trial led to the recent approval of the PARP inhibitor olaparib for men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and mutations in homologous recombination repair genes. We raise methodological concerns about the trial, including: a suboptimal control arm, problematic use of crossover, use of radiographic progression-free survival as the primary endpoint, and ambiguous benefit for patients with mutations in homologous recombination repair genes other than BRCA1, BRCA2, and ATM.
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The speed and reach of the COVID-19 pandemic have forced rapid changes in how we conduct medical practice and research. The rapid evolution in how scientific meetings are conducted may have long-term benefits. A new reality in which technology and sociality are merged may offer a more engaging and adaptable scientific congress experience with more flexible and dynamic use of content modulated to the needs of each attendee.
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Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients with COVID-19 are more likely to develop acute respiratory distress syndrome. Thus, several adjustments to the use of intravesical instillations of bacillus Calmette-Guérin should be made during the current pandemic to limit the risk of contamination.