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Vattikuti Fellowship Alumnus Wins Award:
Dr. Santosh Waigankar has won top honors at the EAU

27 March 2025

Santosh Waigankar has once again impressed the surgical community, something he has been doing since being selected for the very first Vattikuti Fellowship in Urology years ago under Dr. T. B. Yuvaraja. At the ERUS 25 Conference in Spain, he earned the Best Poster Prize for his work on comparing biopsies to MRI examination of prostate tissue.

Here is what he posted on LinkedIn: " Humbled and Honored to Receive the Best Poster Prize at EAU25.
I am thrilled to announce that our study on focal therapy for prostate cancer has been awarded the Best Poster Prize at EAU25! This recognition underscores the importance of optimizing patient selection strategies for focal therapy—balancing oncological control while minimizing side effects.

What Did We Study?
Our research explored a fundamental question:
Does biopsy sampling density improve recurrence prediction, or is MRI visibility the real driver?
Key Takeaways from Our Study: THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR
  • MRI visibility—not biopsy sampling density—determines recurrence risk.
  • Despite different biopsy strategies, recurrence & salvage rates remained similar.
  • Higher biopsy density did not lead to better oncological control (41 vs. 59 months, p=0.102).

What This Means for Clinical Practice: If more biopsies don’t necessarily prevent recurrence, should we shift our focus toward enhancing MRI-based patient selection rather than increasing biopsy burden?
A huge thank you to my co-authors and mentor for their support!

We are very excited that Santosh has proven the worth of the Vattikuti Fellowship Program- thanks to his dedication and efforts to expand the knowledge of treatment options for prostate cancer. Keep up the good work!