Hexaminolevulinate blue-light cystoscopy in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: review of the clinical evidence and consensus statement on appropriate use in the USA

Item does not contain fulltextHexaminolevulinate (HAL) is a tumour photosensitizer that is used in combination with blue-light cystoscopy (BLC) as an adjunct to white-light cystoscopy (WLC) in the diagnosis and management of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Since being licensed in Europe in 2005, HAL has been used in >200,000 procedures, with consistent evidence that it improves detection compared with WLC alone. Current data support an additional role in the reduction of recurrence of NMIBC. Since the approval of HAL by the FDA in 2010, experience of HAL-BLC in the USA continues to expand. To define areas of need and to identify the benefits of HAL-BLC in clinical practice, a focus group of expert urologists specializing in the management of patients with bladder cancer convened to review the clinical evidence, share their experiences and reach a consensus regarding the optimal use of HAL-BLC in the USA. The focus group concluded that HAL-BLC should be considered for initial assessment of NMIBC, surveillance for recurrent tumours, diagnosis in patients with positive urine cytology but negative WLC findings, and for tumour staging

Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny

Comparative analysis of multiple genomes in a phylogenetic framework dramatically improves the precision and sensitivity of evolutionary inference, producing more robust results than single-genome analyses can provide. The genomes of 12 Drosophila species, ten of which are presented here for the first time (sechellia, simulans, yakuba, erecta, ananassae, persimilis, willistoni, mojavensis, virilis and grimshawi), illustrate how rates and patterns of sequence divergence across taxa can illuminate evolutionary processes on a genomic scale. These genome sequences augment the formidable genetic tools that have made Drosophila melanogaster a pre-eminent model for animal genetics, and will further catalyse fundamental research on mechanisms of development, cell biology, genetics, disease, neurobiology, behaviour, physiology and evolution. Despite remarkable similarities among these Drosophila species, we identified many putatively non-neutral changes in protein-coding genes, non-coding RNA genes, and cis-regulatory regions. These may prove to underlie differences in the ecology and behaviour of these diverse species