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The article reflects two prevalent diseases including diabetes and kidney stone disease. It mentions that the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey by National Center for Health Statistics, which is a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (NHANES 2007-2010) found prevalence of kidney stones to be an 8.8 percent. It informs that studies in the U.S. population have shown increase in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), obesity, and the metabolic syndrome.

The article discusses the challenges and successes of the use of robotic urological surgery at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) medical centers as indicated in the case of the Palo Alto VA center in California. It cites an increase in the number of veterans who specifically request robotic assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Several aspects of RARP including robotic surgery program challenges, preoperative care and patient selection, changing operating room culture and postoperative patient care are discussed.

The authors discusses the use of partial nephrectomy in the health care system of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Guidelines issued by the American Urological Association describe nephron sparing surgery (NSS) as the preferred treatment modality for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). An overview of the Veteran's Affairs Central Cancer Registry (VACCR) data repository is provided. The authors conclude that current partial nephrectomy rates in the VA health care system are comparable to those in the SEER-Medicare tumor registry studies.

The article discusses issues related to the emergence of targeted molecular therapies as mainstays of treating advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). According to the article, the discovery of specific genes, gene products and aberrant molecular pathways associated with RCC has fueled the development of targeted therapies and clinical trials examining their efficacy. The article also discusses the rationale and evidence for targeted therapy strategies.