Urology research and evidence
The landmark trials, meta-analyses and guidelines behind Dr. Farah's approach to prostate cancer, continence, penile implants and enlarged prostate, plus his own peer-reviewed publications and American Urological Association presentations.
Medically reviewed by Guillaume Farah, MD · Last reviewed October 2026
Research
The evidence behind
each recommendation.
The landmark trials, meta-analyses and guidelines that shape care in Dr. Farah's focus areas, written for readers who want the clinical detail. His own publications and AUA presentations are under "Dr. Farah's research."
PSA & biopsy
- PREVENT: transperineal vs transrectal MRI-targeted prostate biopsy 875 men. Infection 0% with transperineal biopsy and no antibiotic prophylaxis vs 1.6% transrectal; grade group 2 or higher detection 55% vs 52%. Read in JAMA Oncology (opens in new tab)
- PRECISION: MRI-targeted or standard biopsy for prostate cancer diagnosis 500 men. MRI pathway found more clinically significant cancer (38% vs 26%) and less insignificant cancer (9% vs 22%); 28% avoided biopsy after a non-suspicious MRI. Find it on PubMed (opens in new tab)
Prostate cancer surgery
- ProtecT: 15-year outcomes after monitoring, surgery or radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer 1,643 men. Prostate cancer mortality about 3% in every arm; metastasis 9.4% with active monitoring vs 4.7% after prostatectomy and 5.0% after radiotherapy. Find it on PubMed (opens in new tab)
- Single-port vs multi-port robot-assisted radical prostatectomy 5 comparative studies, 666 patients. Single-port: shorter stay and less opioid use (26% vs 57%), with similar complications, margins and 90-day continence. Find it on PubMed (opens in new tab)
Continence
- Incontinence after prostate treatment: guideline amendment 38 recommendations, 9 updated, covering evaluation, timing, slings, adjustable balloons, AUS erosion risk and the AUS failure algorithm. Read the guideline (opens in new tab)
- MASTER: male synthetic sling vs artificial urinary sphincter after prostate surgery 380 men, 28 UK hospitals. Improved continence at 12 months was similar (69% sling vs 68% AUS); the AUS gave greater quality-of-life benefit and satisfaction. Find it on PubMed (opens in new tab)
Penile implants
- Long-term follow-up after penile prosthesis implantation: survival and quality of life Median 17-year follow-up of three-piece IPPs: estimated device survival 53% at 20 years, with high functional and relational quality-of-life scores among men still using the device. Find it on PubMed (opens in new tab)
- Long-term mechanical survival of inflatable penile prostheses: 2,384 first-time implants Mechanical-failure-free survival of 79.4% at 10 years and 71.2% at 15 years, improving with reinforced and coated device generations. Find it on PubMed (opens in new tab)
Enlarged prostate
- WATER: five-year outcomes of Aquablation vs TURP 181 men. Similar symptom relief, with a larger benefit for Aquablation in prostates over 50 mL; ejaculatory dysfunction 7% vs 25%; retreatment about 1% per year. Find it on PubMed (opens in new tab)
- Rezum water vapor thermal therapy: final 5-year results of the sham-controlled trial 197 men. IPSS improved by 11.3 points (about 48%) at 5 years; surgical retreatment 4.4%; no sustained new erectile dysfunction. Find it on PubMed (opens in new tab)
Dr. Farah's research
- Durability and long-term outcomes of the prostatic urethral lift (UroLift): a multisurgeon retrospective analysis of 1,990 cases How long UroLift relief lasts, and how often men need further treatment, across nearly 2,000 procedures by multiple surgeons.
- Vasectomy trends following Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) in Western New York Changes in vasectomy demand in the region after the 2022 decision.
- Colpectomy and fistula formation in female-to-male gender-affirming surgery: a meta-analysis Pooled data on whether colpectomy lowers the rate of fistula formation after female-to-male gender-affirming surgery.
- Impact of prostate biopsy technique on outcomes of the Precision Prostatectomy procedure Whether the way the diagnostic biopsy is taken affects results of a focal, function-preserving prostatectomy. Find it on PubMed (opens in new tab)
- Perioperative outcomes after laser enucleation of the prostate: analysis of 1,963 NSQIP patients Short-term complications and recovery after laser enucleation for an enlarged prostate, from a national surgical database.
- Hypogonadism predicts hospital admission in men with COVID-19 infection Low testosterone as a marker of more severe COVID-19 illness in men.
- The impact of the price transparency mandate on cost reporting for common urological services across the U.S. News top 21 hospitals Hospital price lists in their current form don't let patients estimate out-of-pocket costs; the study proposes a more useful format. Find it on PubMed (opens in new tab)
- Anti-androgen therapy overcomes delayed salvage radiation in recurrent prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy Whether adding hormone therapy rescues cancer control when salvage radiation starts late.
- Robotic kidney transplantation with regional hypothermia vs open kidney transplantation for end-stage renal disease: an IDEAL stage 2b study Prospective comparison of robotic and open kidney transplant outcomes. Find it on PubMed (opens in new tab)
- Role of MRI-fusion biopsy in patients with prostate cancer on active surveillance Using MRI-targeted biopsy to monitor men whose cancer is being watched rather than treated.
- Systematic 12-core vs MRI-fusion prostate biopsy compared with final surgical pathology Which biopsy method better predicts the cancer actually found at prostatectomy.
- Ultra-low-dose CT vs abdominal plain film for stone-free assessment after shock-wave lithotripsy Effect of imaging choice on later ER visits, repeat procedures and cost.
For the newest studies on each condition, open the final "The data" step of any pathway on the Pathways page.
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