Predictive medicine in urology.

Facing the limitations of financial resources available for health services, the necessity of evaluating new strategies in health management becomes evident. Experience from non-urological diseases suggests that prevention not only can reduce the number of incidences but also can be cost-effective. Predictive medicine or modern risk assessment could be a powerful tool to determine a given individual's risk for eventually developing the disease. A significant reduction in disease-related mortality as well as a reduction in costs can be expected if prevention and screening are focused on individuals at risk.