ABSTRACT
Worldwide, demographic shifts are leading toward an increasingly aged society and, as a result, the absolute numbers of patients diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and subsequently requiring therapy for prostatic disease will continue to rise [1]. In the year 2020, the life expectancy of males at birth will exceed 80 years in many countries, and most men can therefore be expected to live to an age at which they have an 88% chance of developing histological BPH and more than a 50% chance of developing lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) caused by BPH. In addition to this, the prevalence of clinical prostate cancer is still increasing [1]. A major effort is therefore required in our increasingly long-lived population to lessen the impact of these prostatic diseases on the men and the women who share their lives.
