Current Research

Nicholas Cost, MD

Co-Director of Surgical Oncology at Children's Hospital Colorado

Chair of Renal Tumor Committee within the Children's Oncology Group

Impact of Chemo on Child Bladder Function

Dr. Nicholas Cost (left) and his team are investigating the effects on bladder function of two specific anti-cancer chemotherapies, vincristine and doxorubicin, which are known to cause the side effects of neurotoxicity and myotoxicity, respectively.

Surveying childhood cancer survivors treated with these chemotherapies for symptoms of bladder dysfunction and studying bladder physiology will allow us to take the first steps in understanding chemotherapy-induced pediatric bladder dysfunction.

We have observed that over 40% of childhood cancer survivors treated with these two agents demonstrate signs and symptoms of bladder dysfunction.

Additionally, early translational investigation in the laboratory of altered bladder physiology demonstrates smooth muscle dysfunction. Determining the clinical extent of this problem as well as understanding the mechanisms behind this bladder dysfunction can go towards future goals of treatment and prevention. Data obtained from this work will benefit childhood cancer survivors globally.

ACT and ProACT Devices

Dr. Brian Flynn (right) and his team are currently completing device trials for an adjustable, implantable treatment for incontinence.

ACT (for women) is a pre-approval study. Currently, there are twelve women who are implanted with the ACT device and are experiencing its life-changing effects. ACT treats stress urinary incontinence (SUI) caused by intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD). 

ProACT (for men) is a post-approval study with six enrolled participants, each implanted with the device. ACT treats SUI as a result of radical prostatectomy or transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP).

This study is sponsored by Uromedica. Read more about ProACT and ACT here.

Brian Flynn, MD

Fellowship Director of Functional and Reconstructive Urology

Heiko Yang, MD, PhD

Multiple Studies

Therapeutic discovery using a normothermic ex vivo kidney perfusion platform.

This study will explore the parameters of organ-directed therapy using cutting edge ex vivo technology and human organs. Viable organs that are deemed unsuitable for transplantation will be used for normothermic ex vivo perfusion experiments. They will be perfused on the Yang lab’s normothermic ex vivo kidney perfusion circuit for a predetermined period of time during which therapeutics such as lipid nanoparticles containing a payload (mRNA, proteins, etc.) will be delivered to the organ. At the end of the perfusion, the tissue will be processed for histology and biochemical assessment. The goal is to create a roadmap for how to accomplish organ-directed ex vivo therapy.

Cellular and molecular mechanisms of urologic disease across the life span.

This basic and translational study will use prospectively collected patient specimens to study the cellular and molecular impact of aging on urologic disease. Samples of blood, urine, tissue, calcified materials, and foreign bodies from urologic patients who receive care at University of Colorado Health and Children’s Hospital Colorado will be collected at the time of surgery and analyzed to investigate the impact of aging on key cell populations (i.e. epithelial, immune) within the diseased urologic tissues of adults and children as well as identify novel serum and urinary biomarkers of urologic disease and characterize their differences in adults and children.