Genitourinary Cancer

Genitourinary cancer expertise

MUSC Hollings Cancer Center is a national leader in treating genitourinary cancers. Genitourinary cancers include:

• Bladder cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Penile cancer
• Testicular cancer

Genitourinary cancers affect the urinary and male reproductive systems, but they can vary widely in how they develop, how quickly they grow and how they are treated.

At MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, our specialists have extensive experience diagnosing and treating genitourinary cancers, from early-stage cancers that may need close monitoring or minimally invasive treatment to advanced cancers that need a combination of therapies.

Your care team brings together experts in urology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, pathology, genetics and other specialties. Together, they review your diagnosis and develop a personalized treatment plan based on your specific cancer, its stage and your overall health and treatment goals.

As South Carolina’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, Hollings also gives patients access to innovative clinical trials and the latest advances in genitourinary cancer care.

Genitourinary cancer treatment

At Hollings, our genitourinary cancer specialists understand that every patient and every cancer is different. Your care team will work with you to develop a treatment plan based on your type of cancer, how advanced it is, your overall health and your goals.

Personalized treatment options

Depending on your cancer type and stage, your treatment plan may involve one or more of the following approaches.

• Active surveillance closely monitors certain slow-growing cancers or small tumors that do not need treatment right away.
• Surgery removes the cancer and may be performed using minimally invasive or advanced robotic techniques.
• Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to destroy cancer cells while limiting damage to nearby healthy tissue.
• Tumor ablation destroys cancerous tissue without surgically removing it using extreme cold, focused sound waves, electrical pulses or other methods.
• Chemotherapy uses powerful medicines to destroy cancer cells or stop them from growing and dividing throughout the body.
• Immunotherapy uses medicines that help the immune system to better recognize and attack cancer cells.
• Targeted therapy uses medicines that attack specific features of cancer cells that help them to grow and survive.
• Clinical trials evaluate promising new treatments and approaches and may give eligible patients access to therapies that are not yet widely available.

Throughout your care, our goal is not only to treat your cancer effectively but also to protect your quality of life and long-term health.

Advanced surgical options

Hollings offers both traditional and minimally invasive surgery for genitourinary cancers. Our surgeons use advanced robotic techniques when appropriate, which may allow them to operate through smaller incisions. For some patients, that means less pain and a faster recovery.

Hollings offers several types of surgery to remove all or part of the prostate or kidney. These include single-port robotic surgery, which is performed through one small incision; multi-port robotic surgery, which uses several small incisions; and traditional open surgery.

Refer a genitourinary cancer patient

To refer a genitourinary cancer patient to Hollings, please call 843-985-3972.

Nurse navigator support

Our genitourinary cancer nurse navigators will help you understand what to expect during treatment and answer questions you may have. Brigitte Kettering, MSN, RN, OCN (ketterin@musc.edu), works with prostate cancer patients. Kristin Powers, BSN, RN (powmeekk@musc.edu), works with patients with bladder, kidney, testicular and other genitourinary cancers.

Clinical trials for genitourinary cancer

As a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, we firmly believe that clinical trials are an important part of cancer care. Clinical trials show us whether new treatments work better than existing treatments. That’s important for future patients. But clinical trials are also important for current patients, because they offer the possibility of early access to new therapies or protocols that could become the standard-of-care in the future.

We offer a variety of genitourinary cancer clinical trials, including trials developed by researchers at Hollings, industry trials and trials organized by other cancer centers. Some trials focus on new therapies, while others test new ideas for supportive care or screening. Learn more about clinical trials at Hollings and see our current genitourinary cancer clinical trials and trials for specific types of genitourinary cancer:

• Bladder cancer clinical trials
• Kidney cancer clinical trials
• Prostate cancer clinical trials

Hollings is also a member of NRG Oncology and the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. These cooperative groups organize multi-institution cancer clinical trials that happen across the country. Through membership in these groups, Hollings is able to offer a wider range of clinical trials.

Ask your doctor if there is a clinical trial that fits your needs.