Allan J. Pantuck, MD

In this issue of ONCOLOGY, Daviset al provide a succinct overviewof the contemporary managementof high-risk prostate cancer patients.[1] As the authors point out, theintroduction and widespread implementationof prostate-specific antigen(PSA) as a tumor marker hasdriven a remarkable stage migrationin how patients present with prostatecancer, yet a significant number ofmen continue to present with featuresplacing them at high risk for localtreatment failure, development ofprostate cancer metastases, and ultimately,death.

In this issue of ONCOLOGY,Chaudhary and Hull succinctlysummarize historical trends andcurrent thinking regarding the role ofcytoreductive nephrectomy in patientswith metastatic kidney cancer.Before the era of immunotherapy,there was little evidence that the naturalhistory of metastatic renal cellcarcinoma was improved by cytoreductivenephrectomy.[1] Patientswith metastatic cancer generally diefrom complications related to theirsites of tumor spread and not fromthe primary tumor; thus, on face value,it seems illogical to surgicallyremove the primary tumor in thesepatients.