ERN eUROGEN held a very successful and well-attended Thematic Session on rare and complex urology at the 38th Annual European Association of Urology Congress (EAU23) in Milan, on 13 March 2023.
Michelle Battye, ERN eUROGEN Programme Manager, delivered an “update on ERN eUROGEN developments”, followed by a presentation by Rob Cornes on behalf of the ERN eUROGEN ePAG on “The importance of communication in rare diseases & complex conditions: The patient perspective.” Patient empowerment will be a prominent feature of the next grant proposal to the European Commission and ERN eUROGEN already has several exciting activities underway relating to patient awareness and information.
There was then a presentation relating to each of the ERN’s three workstreams. Ramon Gorter and his colleagues from Amsterdam (NL) gave the Workstream 1 (Rare congenital uro-recto-genital anomalies) presentation on “Uro-recto-genital problems in rare and complex forms of anorectal malformation: Paediatric surgical, urological, & gynaecological perspectives.” All presenters emphasised the importance of both a multi-disciplinary team approach and transition from paediatric to adult services – an important issue, recognised by ERN eUROGEN’s Working Group on Transition.
For Workstream 2 (Functional uro-recto-genital conditions requiring highly specialised surgery), Mariangela Mancini from Padova (IT) spoke on “Interstitial cystitis: Current evidence, personal perspectives, ideas for the future” and stated the diagnosis pathway she feels should be in every urology textbook: history, physical exam, lab tests, abdominal ultrasound, cystoscopy with hydrodistension and biopsy, and urodynamics.
Finally, Arnout Alberts from Rotterdam (NL), Yue Che from Düsseldorf (DE), and Peter-Paul Willemse from Utrecht (NL) gave presentations about “Testicular Cancer: Collaborative projects” relating to Workstream 3 (Rare uro-recto-genital tumours), which emphasised the value of expert networks such as ERN eUROGEN.
Once again, ERN eUROGEN also had a booth in the congress exhibition centre and held a drop-in meeting where network members present at the meeting could come and ask questions informally.
Over 9,200 participants from 123 countries attended EAU23 in person with another 575 delegates online. More than 1,788 faculty members and abstract presenters contributed to the congress covering all the latest urological topics and developments.
EAU24 will be in Paris from 5-8 April 2024. Abstract submission will open on 1 August 2023 with a deadline of 1 November 2023. We encourage you to submit work relating to ERN eUROGEN and hope to see you there!
