The study team has queried clinicaltrials.gov database for the active, recruiting, and enrolling studies on the benign prostatic hyperplasia and benign prostatic hypertrophy. Eligible trials were grouped by the specialty of the primary investigator, funding source, and type of intervention.
The study sample included 65 trials related to BPH. The majority of protocols evaluated endoscopic treatment methods (44.6%). Prostate artery embolization techniques were studied in 32.3% of the trials. Eight trials (12.3%) examined drug therapies while seven (10.8) didn’t report any prospective interventions. Only one trial studied a novel medication for BPH (Figure 1)
Figure 1
Urologists, followed by radiologists and other sub-specialties, dominated Principal Investigator’s specialty (64.6%, 27.7%, and 7.7%, respectively). Educational grants, internal hospital and private funding funded most of the studies (69.2%). Clinical companies sponsored 35.4 % of the trials while the US federal government provided funding for one study (Figure 2).
Figure 2
This review showed that BPH studies are underrepresented in the urologic research community. Most of the research evolved around surgical treatment methods, but not novel drug therapies. BPH trials should be prioritized by the federal funding agencies considering the high burden of disease in the population.
Presented by: Karis Buford, MD, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York
Written by: Hanna Stambakio, BS, Clinical Research Coordinator, Division of Urology, University of Pennsylvania, @AStambakio at American Urological Association's 2019 Annual Meeting (AUA 2019), May 3 – 6, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois