Carcinoma of the kidney, testis, and rare urologic malignancies

The purpose of this symposium was to provide a forum for discussion on curr ent information on the etiology and diagnosis of, and therapy for, tumors o f the kidney, testis, and several uncommon malignancies of the genitourinar y tract. The most recent contributions in epidemiology and molecular geneti cs were discussed with specific reference to their importance for clinical practice. Contemporary treatment approaches with the emphasis on multidisci plinary patient management of tumors commonly seen in the clinic as well as those that are only rarely diagnosed by urooncologists were presented. Maj or stress was given to the management optimization as it pertains to short- and long-term quality of life issues of patients treated for these rumors. Methods to reduce treatment toxicity including carcinogenic potential of c hemotherapy, radiotherapy, or their combination were found to be of nearly equal importance to patient survival. Symposium participants reached consen sus on a number of important points: 1) The management of patients with sev eral malignancies discussed requires the presence of a multidisciplinary te am of specialist who are interested in diagnosis and treatment of genitouri nary tumors; 2) Patients managed in such an environment are expected to hav e optimal survival and the best possible quality of life; 3) Real advances in the management of patients can be best obtained through well-designed pr ospective clinical trials; and 4) There is a need for timely introduction o f relevant advances in epidemiology and molecular genetics to clinics.