Helena Chang, MD, presented “Metabolic Workup of Stones” during the 31st Annual Perspectives in Urology: Point-Counterpoint, on October 18, 2024, in Scottsdale, Arizona.
How to cite: Chang, Helena. “Metabolic Workup of Stones.” October 18, 2024. Accessed Feb 2025. https://grandroundsinurology.com/metabolic-workup-of-stones/
Metabolic Workup of Stones – Summary
Helena Chang, MD, delves into the medical management of kidney stones, highlighting current guidelines, challenges, and future directions. In this 15-minute presentation, Dr. Chang emphasizes the prevalence of kidney stones, affecting over 10% of Americans, and the critical need for effective metabolic workups to reduce recurrence.
She explains the current AUA guidelines, covering evaluation, dietary interventions, pharmacologic therapies, and follow-up. She acknowledges the widespread use of pharmacologic interventions like thiazide diuretics and potassium citrate but identifies gaps in adherence and follow-up testing.
Dr. Chang envisions a future shaped by randomized trials, artificial intelligence, and multidisciplinary approaches, including advanced practice providers and pharmacist-led telemedicine programs. She stresses the importance of incorporating stone recurrence as a measurable endpoint in future studies, moving beyond surrogate markers from urine studies.
About the 31st Annual Perspectives in Urology: Point Counterpoint conference: Presented by Program Chair and Grand Rounds in Urology Editor-in-Chief E. David Crawford, MD, this conference brought together leading experts in urology, medical oncology, and radiation oncology to discuss and debate the latest topics in genitourinary cancers, primarily prostate cancer and bladder cancer. This interactive conference offered topical lectures, pro/con debates, interesting-case presentations, interactive panel discussions, and interactive audience and faculty networking.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Helena Chang, MD, is a Professor in the Surgery Department, Director, Revlon/UCLA Breast Center, and is a member of Signal Transduction and Therapeutics, at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Santa Clara, California. Dr. Chang specializes in Cancer and Surgical Oncology.
Dr. Chang earned undergraduate degrees at Stanford University in biological sciences and international relations. Before going on to medical school, she worked to influence policies that improve access to health care in Washington, D.C. Dr. Chang earned her medical degree at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin. She then completed a residency in urology at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Chang went on to complete a fellowship in endourology and minimally invasive surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.
Dr. Helena Chang's long-term research interest is in the development of immunotherapy in treating adult ductal epithelial cancer. Chang has developed several recombinant live vaccines that actively secrete a tumor antigen and human cytokines. The role of these vaccines in human cancer treatment and prevention is being investigated. The biological activity of the targeted tumor antigen (MUC-1 peptide) and its involvement in cancer invasion and metastases is being characterized by her research team. She is also working closely with clinician-scientists and basic researchers.
