Prostate diseases rank amongst the most common conditions encountered by urologists. Benign prostatic hyperplasia impacts around 60% of men in their 60s and nearly every man in his 80s and beyond. Increased longevity and the baby boomer generation entering their golden years have brought an unprecedented increase in the number of men needing care for prostate conditions.

With this in mind, a group of academic leaders saw the urgency and the opportunity to form a medical society focused on benign prostate conditions, the Society of Benign Prostate Disease (SoBPD). Conceptualized in 2018 by Steve Kaplan, Kevin McVary, and Claus Roehrborn, it was founded and incorporated in 2020, just ahead of the pandemic. Resultantly, the young society had a difficult birth under adverse circumstances, arguably the largest pandemic the world had ever seen, but its drive prevailed. Despite the absence of in-person meetings and scientific gatherings (the lifeblood of academic medicine and source of support for medical societies), SoBPD persevered, has grown, and is now flourishing! Membership has been on a steady rise, as has collaboration among members on a number of projects (Figure).

The SoBPD aims to play a vital role in raising awareness about nonmalignant conditions of the prostate gland and their substantial burden on both patients and society. To do this the SoBPD aims to:

1. Provide education to and facilitate discussion between health care providers to facilitate up-to-date and evidence-driven care of benign prostate disease.
2. Promote understanding of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, natural history, and treatment of benign prostate disease across countries and cultures around the world.
3. Stimulate and drive the research of more effective and safer treatments for benign prostate conditions, as well as the mechanisms underlying healthy and diseased states.

These aims will be achieved while recognizing the marked global prevalence of these conditions, the demographic and economic factors involved, and the limited resources available to investigate and care for patients afflicted by benign prostate disease.

Over the first years of its existence, the SoBPD has organized and hosted ever-growing meetings, both independently and in conjunction with the annual American Urological Association meeting. Plans for the 2025 SoBPD annual meeting in Orlando, Florida from Feb 6th to 8th will go beyond the already successful program featuring basic and translational science, cutting-edge clinical research, and emerging technologies, to also include hands-on labs. The intent of this expanded program is to provide mentored procedural experiences to urologists looking to adopt new treatments for benign prostatic diseases into their practices, as well as to engage trainees (who get free membership in the society!) in the ever-growing field of caring for benign prostatic disease.

Beyond engaging in educational opportunities and networking with fellow society members, the SoBPD with support from one of our corporate partners (Teleflex, Morrisville, NC), is launching a traveling 1-year fellowship that supports training at an institution with expertise across the current breadth of benign prostatic hyperplasia procedures. The hope of SoBPD is to continue expanding educational opportunities and working with industry partners to continue driving innovation and growth in the management of benign prostate disease.There is ample opportunity to become involved with the SoBPD, regardless of career stage. As the organization has grown, items on the immediate agenda are to engage the membership in committees and other opportunities to help drive programming, research, education, outreach, and continued growth of the organization.

Please consider joining this cutting-edge group and don’t hesitate to reach out to a member or contact the team through the website (www.SoBPD.com).