Nephron sparing surgery (NSS) is considered for selected cases of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) as it maintains renal function and avoids morbidity associated with radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). The appropriate selection of patients suitable for NSS without compromising oncological outcomes can sometimes be difficult, given the limitations of diagnostic modalities. Recurrence rates for UTUC can be as high as 36 to 54% after NSS. Intraluminal adjuvant therapy can be attempted following NSS to reduce recurrence, but delivery to the upper tract is more challenging than into the bladder. Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and chemotherapy such as Mitomycin (MMC) have been administered via nephrostomy or ureteric catheter, which requires invasive/repeated instrumentation of the upper urinary tract. Drug delivery by reflux from bladder instillation along indwelling stents has also been tried but can potentially be unreliable. Recently, a gel formulation of mitomycin has been developed for the controlled exposure of the upper urinary tract to treatment over a number of hours. Drug-eluting stents to deliver chemotherapy to the upper urinary tract have been developed but have not yet entered clinical practice. Endoluminal phototherapy utilising an intravenous photosensitising agent is another novel approach that has recently been described. Intraluminal therapies may be beneficial in decreasing recurrence rates in UTUC, but currently have some limitations in their usage.

For centuries, physicians have depended on the use of written information to gain knowledge. Book printing and binding introduced by Gutenberg in the fifteenth century revolutionized and accelerated the distribution of information. Advancing medical knowledge and progress is not only linked to the scientific quality of a discovery determining it will be accepted by the peers but also by its communication and sharing of new findings with the medical community. All these factors determine whether new knowledge will advance and improve clinical practice, medical education, and ultimately, patient care, and human health. In the past decade medical publishing has witnessed a revolution with regard to the instant, online availability of published \"open access\" information, which can be accessed and printed from any computer connected to the internet. As an example, how language and availability of printed information may affect distribution of knowledge, we discuss the publication of the first results of balloon angioplasty in patients with peripheral vascular disease 40 years ago by Andreas Grüntzig, M.D. at the University of Zürich. Vascular Medicine, as part of Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, will provide open access provided to all published content for sharing and distributing new and most up-to-date information on clinical practice and medical knowledge in vascular medicine. We anticipate that the ongoing transformation of scientific publishing through open access will further accelerate this process and make new knowledge available even faster. Immediate, unrestricted, and rapid access to the most current knowledge published will play a role in maintaining and advancing human vascular health across the globe.