Dear colleagues and friends,

In June 2016 it will have been nine 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 9th International Symposium on Focal Therapy and Imaging in Prostate and Kidney Cancer at the Washington Duke Inn Hotel in Durham, North Carolina, on June 23-25, 2016.

Much has transformed the landscape of prostate cancer over these last years. To start, there has been a growing recognition of the overtreatment 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 8th 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. In the coming year, we anticipate the continued exponential growth in new modalities and paradigms in the focal treatment of urogenital cancer.

We hope you will join us at the forefront of focal therapy in Durham in June 2016!

Thomas J. Polascik, MD

Professor of Surgery

Department of Surgery, Division of Urology

Duke University Medical Center

Durham, North Carolina, USA