The identification of effective biomarkers has becoming a major focus in cancer research, mainly due to the necessity of selecting potentially responsive patients in order to improve their outcomes, as well as to reduce the toxicity and costs related to ineffective treatments. In genitourinary tumors, the lack of biomarkers does not allow for the development of personalized strategies for a single patient, thus representing a major goal in this field. This eBook includes the description of these emerging techniques and identify the most promising biomarkers in genitourinary tumors.

The past decade has been marked by the acceleration of our understanding of the molecular biology of cancer. Simultaneously, there have been increasing exigencies to diagnose, treat and follow cancer patients more economically. Biomarkers represent the marriage of science and economics. Biomarkers offer the potential to increase the precision of diagnosis, prognosis, and surveillance of urological malignancies. This issue presents the cutting-edge advances of biomarker technology to urologic oncology.

Cancer will remain a global major health problem unless new diagnostic, prognostic, and management approaches are discovered to address both loss of life and quality of life. Here we summarize the general physiology, pathology, heterogeneity, and evolution of cancer, current status, limitations and challenges associated with prevention, incidence, treatment, survival, and mortality, as well as future directions with regards to solid tumors. Perspectives are provided on how to improve pre-clinical understandings, outcomes, and patient care. Further, this comprehensive, timely overview of the literature has educational value as part of an academic course, seminar, or as a supplementary text.

In this issue of Urologic Clinics of North America, guest editors Drs. Michael L. Blute and Steven L. Chang bring their considerable expertise to the topic of Renal Cancer: Old and New Paradigms. Recent significant advances in the management of renal cancer have expanded beyond simply eliminating disease to preserving and optimizing quality of life. In this issue, top experts highlight historical perspectives as well as current status and future treatments of renal cancer. - Contains 13 practice-oriented topics on biomarkers for the detection and surveillance of renal cancer; the changing role of renal mass biopsy; renal cysts: an oncological conundrum; the surgical management of renal cancer with inferior vena caval thrombus; integrating surgery in the multidisciplinary care of advanced renal cancer; and more. - Provides in-depth clinical reviews on renal cancer, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. - Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

This issue of the Urologic Clinics provides a timely update on Renal Cancer and the evolving treatment standards in urology. Articles include Contemporary Imaging of the Renal Mass, Surgical Approach to Multifocal Renal Cancers, and Systemic Therapy Prior to Surgery. Effects of the various existing surgical approaches on long-term renal function is also discussed, along with a review of the current trends in surgical management of renal cancers with specific attention to utilization of laparoscopic approach, partial nephrectomy, ablative technologies and observation.

The genitourinary system is closely related to the endocrine system. Some genitourinary organs are endocrine organs themselves. Over the past decades, the diagnosis and treatment on both endocrine and urological diseases have developed rapidly. Concerns regarding the normal growth, development, and physiological functions of the genitourinary system, as well as the pathogenesis and treatment of urinary diseases have been raised. The diseases from these two different systems belong to the specialties of internal medicine and surgery respectively. For example, prostate is regulated by androgen originates from testis, adrenal and even malignancies. Androgen deprivation therapy has definite effect on prostatic adenocarcinoma but may also develop castration resistance. The disorders of gonad and reproductive health are also implicated in hormone regulation, such as delayed hypogonadism. Many diseases such as Cushing's syndrome and aldosteronism are transdisciplinary. However, the research on the normal physiological function, and the comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of both systems are short of cross-integration, resulting in a lack of close cooperation between physicians and surgeons. We are calling for more attention on the joint participation in multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment, as well as collaboration on basic research in the field of genitourinary and endocrine diseases.

Bladder Cancer: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ book that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Diagnosis and Screening. The editors have built Bladder Cancer: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Diagnosis and Screening in this book to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Bladder Cancer: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

Advances in Molecular Nanotechnology Research and Application: 2011 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Molecular Nanotechnology. The editors have built Advances in Molecular Nanotechnology Research and Application: 2011 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Molecular Nanotechnology in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Advances in Molecular Nanotechnology Research and Application: 2011 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

After our successful first Special Issue about bladder cancer, we proceeded with the second issue. Again, many international scientists submitted their newest research results in that extremely interesting field and followed our call for submissions. It is not only the collection and combination of old and new markers that could develop new possibilities, but also the focus on different classifications and sub-classifications that will unveil new ways in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. It seems that the two established diagnostic tools will still play an important role, but new markers and diagnostics tools will present more detailed and more differentiated possibilities in the treatment of urinary bladder cancer. This second Special Issue is full of scientific results that could provide new ways to help patients with instruments for early diagnostics and with predictive and prognostic markers on their way to finding new and personalized strategies for therapy. The editors thank all of the submitting authors for their efforts and time spent on each manuscript. We hope that this Special Issue will prove useful to research work in bladder cancer in the future. We hope that many talented researchers will use multiple forms of art to improve their professional successes and to ameliorate diagnostics and therapy in bladder cancer.