Episode 13: Perspectives on Optimizing Community Care at World GU 2025

At the 2025 World Conference on Genitourinary Cancers (World GU), Oncology Decoded hosts Manojkumar Bupathi, MD, MS, and Benjamin Garmezy, MD, spoke with different experts about critical developments in the treatment of those with genitourinary cancers. Bupathi is executive cochair of the Genitourinary Cancer Research Executive Committee at Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI) and medical oncologist with Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers specializing in solid tumors and genitourinary cancers. Garmezy is associate director of genitourinary research and executive cochair of the Genitourinary Cancer Research Executive Committee at SCRI and medical oncologist at SCRI Oncology Partners specializing in genitourinary cancers.

In this episode, Bupathi and Garmezy met with Sam S. Chang MD, MBA, and Jeff Yorio, MD, to share ideas on improving the efficacy of multidisciplinary care for patients with prostate cancer, kidney cancer, and bladder cancer in a community practices. Chang is the chief surgical officer and the Urologic Oncology division chief at the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center. Yorio is a medical oncologist who serves as the Central Texas Research Site Leader for Texas Oncology and SCRI.

The conversation first touched upon optimizing prostate cancer management in a community-based setting. Chang highlighted strategies for risk stratifying disease based on previously published guidelines, noting how the utility of surveillance may depend on a patient’s observed degree of risk. Additionally, the experts discussed how factors such as Decipher® Prostate scores, MRI scans, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels may influence the decision to surveil patients with prostate cancer.

The group also spoke about strategies for deciding between monitoring patients or expediting intervention with modalities like nephrectomy or cryoablation for those with kidney cancer. An observed mass of less than 2 cm, for example, represented a situation where surveillance could be more preferable. The experts also detailed appropriate conditions for administering immunotherapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)–based regimens upfront prior to surgery.

Regarding bladder cancer management, the group emphasized improving systemic therapies and locally assessing the bladder more efficiently. Additionally, with a newfound “embarrassment of riches and possibilities” related to the development and approval of novel intravesical therapies, the experts discussed how medical oncologists can effectively collaborate with urologists to monitor patients undergoing this type of treatment.