Dear Friends,

In June 2012 it will have been five years since the initiation of the First International Symposium on Focal Therapy and Imaging in Prostate and Kidney Cancer.  We wish to return to the site of the inaugural meeting and host the Fifth International Symposium on Focal Therapy and Imaging in Prostate and Kidney Cancer at the Washington Duke Inn June 6-8, 2012, in Durham, North Carolina.

Much has transformed the landscape of prostate cancer over these last five years.  To start, there has been a growing recognition of the over-treatment of prostate cancer, with now a shift towards expectant management prior to consideration of radical whole gland therapy for select men with early stage prostate cancer.  This understanding bodes well for focal therapy, as we have positioned it to be a minimally-invasive treatment that destroys the known area(s) of cancer while preserving a man's continence and potency.  Today, there is growing interest in focal therapy for kidney and prostate cancers by physicians and patients alike.

At the recent Fourth International Symposium held in the Netherlands we also witnessed  the confidence and enthusiasm for incorporating real-time imaging into the diagnostic and treatment strategy for prostate and kidney cancer.

We hope you will join us in Durham in June 2012!

Thomas J. Polascik, MD
Professor of Surgery
Department of Surgery, Division of Urology
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, North Carolina, USA