Clinical Outlook in 2024

For many years, PSA has been the most commonly used biomarker for prostate cancer screening and diagnosis. Although serum PSA measurement is highly sensitive, this biomarker has several limitations. Citrate, a molecule closely linked to the unique metabolism of prostate cancer, has the potential to be used as a complementary biomarker alongside PSA.

Inflammatory and fibrotic responses to polypropylene mesh led to the withdrawal of this practice for treatment of stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse in women in some countries. Improved material testing has been urged. We report poor responses of polypropylene mesh to repeated mechanical distension and macrophage interrogation. These results from preclinical in vitro testing show the potential of this approach for testing and improving materials before their introduction into the clinic.

Monogenic causes account for up to 20% of nephrolithiasis instances and are crucial for developing targeted treatments. Whole-exome sequencing, genome-wide association, candidate gene, and in vitro and animal functional studies are crucial to identify these mutations. Therapies targeting monogenic variants, such as RNA-interference-based treatments, have been successfully used to treat monogenic disorders.

The combination of pembrolizumab and enfortumab vedotin shows promise as a first-line therapy for advanced urothelial carcinoma. Enfortumab vedotin targets nectin-4, in turn enhancing T cell and natural killer cell activity, inhibiting immunosuppressive pathways and impeding tumour evasion. This synergy with pembrolizumab shows potential in enhancing immunotherapy for these patients.