Favorable intermediate risk prostate cancer with biopsy Gleason score of 6

Background To identify potential prognostic factors among patients with favorable intermediate risk prostate cancer with a biopsy Gleason score 6. Methods From 2003 to 2019, favorable intermediate risk patients who underwent radical prostatectomy were included in this study. All patients were evaluated preoperatively with MRI. Using PI-RADS scores, patients were divided into two groups, and clinic-pathological outcomes were compared. The impact of preoperative factors on significant pathologic Gleason score upgrading (≥ 4 + 3) and biochemical recurrence were assessed via multivariate analysis. Subgroup analysis was performed in patients with PI-RADS ≤ 2. Results Among the 239 patients, 116 (48.5%) were MRI-negative (PI-RADS ≤ 3) and 123 (51.5%) were MRI-positive (PI-RADS > 3). Six patients in the MRI-negative group (5.2%) were characterized as requiring significant pathologic Gleason score upgrading compared with 34 patients (27.6%) in the MRI-positive group (p < 0.001). PI-RADS score was shown to be a significant predictor of significant pathologic Gleason score upgrading (OR = 6.246, p < 0.001) and biochemical recurrence (HR = 2.595, p = 0.043). 10-years biochemical recurrence-free survival was estimated to be 84.4% and 72.6% in the MRI-negative and MRI-positive groups (p = 0.035). In the 79 patients with PI-RADS ≤ 2, tumor length in biopsy cores was identified as a significant predictor of pathologic Gleason score (OR = 11.336, p = 0.014). Conclusions Among the patients with favorable intermediate risk prostate cancer with a biopsy Gleason score 6, preoperative MRI was capable of predicting significant pathologic Gleason score upgrading and biochemical recurrence. Especially, the patients with PI-RADS ≤ 2 and low biopsy tumor length could be a potential candidate to active surveillance

Prostate Biopsy: General Consideration and Systematic Biopsy

Korea is rapidly entering into an aging society, and an increasing socioeconomic burden related to prostate cancer is inevitable. Therefore, the need for early detection and accurate diagnosis of prostate cancer is becoming increasingly critical. Ideally, a biopsy should accurately detect cancers using a minimum number of cores. However, as prostate cancer is often indistinguishable on imaging, image-guided targeted biopsies alone are insufficient for diagnosis. After decades of trial and error, the diagnosis of prostate cancer relies heavily on systematic biopsy, which is characterized by random and repetitive core acquisition throughout the gland. This review will provide an overview of the historical aspects of prostate cancer diagnosis. Moreover, the review will also address the general considerations involved in prostate biopsy, and discuss the periprocedural management of the patients

MIL-100(Fe)-Hybridized Nanofibers for Adsorption and Visible Light Photocatalytic Degradation of Water Pollutants: Experimental and DFT Approach

As rapid industrial growth spawns severe water contamination and a far-reaching impact on environmental safety, the development of a purification system is in high demand. Herein, a visible light-induced photocatalytic adsorbent membrane was developed by growing a porous metal-organic framework (MOF), MIL-100(Fe) crystals, onto electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers, and its purification capability by adsorption and the photocatalytic effect was investigated. As water-soluble organic foulants, a cationic dye, rhodamine B (FthB), and an anionic dye, methyl orange (MO), were employed, and the adsorption/desorption characteristics were analyzed. Since MIL-100(Fe) possesses positive charges in aqueous solution, MO was more rapidly adsorbed onto the MIL-100(Fe) grown PAN membrane (MIL-100(Fe)@PAN) than RhB. Under visible light, both photocatalytic degradation and adsorption occurred concurrently, facilitating the purification process. The reusability - of MIL-100(Fe)@PAN as an adsorbent was explored by cyclic adsorption-desorption experiments. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations corroborated higher binding energy of charged MO over RhB and demonstrated the possible steric hindrance of RhB to adhere in MOF pores. The emphasis of the study lies in the combined investigation of the experimental approach and DFT calculations for the fundamental understanding of adsorption/desorption phenomena occurring in the purification process. This study provides theoretical support for the interaction between MOF-hybrid complexes and contaminants when MOF-hybridized composites adsorb or photodegrade water-soluble pollutants of different charges and sizes.N

Comparative study of standard and small transrectal transducers for prostate ultrasonography

Purpose The objective of this study was to evaluate pain and image quality associated with the use of two different ultrasound transducers. Methods Fifty healthy male participants aged 30 years or older were prospectively enrolled. All ultrasound procedures were performed using a V8 machine (Samsung Medison, Seoul, Korea) equipped with EA2-11 (conventional) and miniER7 (small-caliber) transrectal transducers, operated by a single genitourinary radiologist. To minimize bias, one group of volunteers underwent ultrasonography with the conventional transducer first, followed by the small transducer. For the remaining participants, the examinations were performed in the opposite order. Ultrasonography, including the measurement of total prostate and transitional zone volumes, was conducted in accordance with standard practice. After testing with both probes, participants were asked to rate their pain on a 10-point numerical rating scale (NRS). A radiologist then evaluated the quality of the images acquired with each probe using a 5-point numeric scale and compared the prostate volume measurements obtained by each method. Results The mean NRS scores associated with the conventional and small transducers were 4.7±1.8 and 2.7±1.2, respectively (P0.05). The whole prostate gland volume as measured with the conventional transducer (mean±standard deviation, 24.2±9.1 mL) was greater than the measurement (22.1±8.7 mL) obtained with the small-caliber transducer (P<0.05). However, only two of the 50 whole gland volume measurements differed by more than two standard deviations. Conclusion The use of a small transrectal probe significantly reduced pain without compromising image quality

Astaxanthin Modulates Apoptotic Molecules to Induce Death of SKBR3 Breast Cancer Cells

Astaxanthin (AST) is related to apoptosis but the details of the mechanism of how AST makes apoptosis is not clear. The present study investigated apoptotic effects of AST to SKBR3, a breast cancer cell line in detail. Cell viability assay showed cellular proliferation and morphological changes of the cells were observed under AST treatment. FACS analysis indicated that AST blocked cell cycle progression at G0/G1, suppressed proliferation dose-dependently, and induced apoptosis of the cells. The apoptosis of the cells by AST was further demonstrated through the decreased expression level of mutp53 and cleaved a PARP-1 fragment, respectively. In addition, AST induced the intrinsic apoptosis of the cells by activation of Bax/Bcl2, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-9 as well as the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, JNK, and p38. Furthermore, AST decreased production of intracellular reactive oxygen species as well as modulated expressions of superoxide dismutases and Pontin, an anti-apoptotic factor. Co-immunoprecipitation assay revealed AST reduced interaction between Pontin and mutant p53. Taken together, these studies proved that AST regulates the expression of apoptotic molecules to induce intrinsic apoptosis of the cells, suggesting AST therapy might provide an alternative for improving the efficacies of other anti-cancer therapies for breast cancer

Evaluation of Influencing Factors in Cleaning Performance for Bio-Fouling Removal Based on High-Pressure Water Jets

Regular inspections and hull cleanings are essential to prevent bio-fouling on ships. However, traditional cleaning methods such as brush cleaning and high-pressure water-jet cleaning at docks are ineffective in cleaning niche areas like bow thrusters and sea chests. Consequently, cleaning robots based on brushes and water jets have been developed to effectively remove bio-fouling. However, there are concerns that brushes may damage hull coatings, allowing bio-fouling to penetrate the damaged areas. In this study, removal experiments were conducted to identify the most dominant factor in fouling removal using water jet-based cleaning, in preparation for the development of non-contact cavitation high-pressure water jet-cleaning robots. The Taguchi method was used to identify influential factors and generate experimental conditions, and equipment systems for the removal experiments were established. Image analysis was performed to assess the bio-fouling occurrences on each specimen before and after cleaning, and numerical simulations of the nozzle were conducted to estimate stagnation pressure and wall shear stress to confirm the effect on micro-fouling removal. The results indicated that pump pressure is the most influential factor in removing large bio-fouling organisms grown in marine environments and on ship surfaces

Diagnostic yield of multiparametric MRI for local recurrence at biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy

Purpose: To validate the diagnostic yield of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) for local biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy in patients with biochemical recurrence using large consecutive patient data. Materials and methods: Of 4632 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy for prostate adenocarcinoma, 748 patients with prostate-specific antigen &gt; 0.2 ng/mL and second confirmatory level were retrospectively identified. Among them, 468 patients who underwent multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging were analyzed. The primary outcome measure was the diagnostic yield of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging for local recurrence, and the secondary measure was its accuracy, using the response to salvage radiotherapy as reference. Results: Only 33 patients (7.1%) showed positive imaging findings. The positive and negative predictive values were 84.8% (28/33) and 37.5% (45/120), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity were 27.2% (28/103) and 90% (45/50), respectively. The overall accuracy was 47.7% (73/153). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, prostate-specific antigen level at recurrence was found to be the only factor significantly higher in the positive image findings group. Conclusions: The universal use of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging resulted in a low-diagnostic yield for local recurrence in patients with biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy. The results suggest that selective use of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging should be considered in patients with a higher prostate-specific antigen threshold. (C) 2022 Asian Pacific Prostate Society. Published by Elsevier B.V.N

Differentiating renal epithelioid angiomyolipoma from clear cell carcinoma: using a radiomics model combined with CT imaging characteristics

Purpose This study aims to assess the computed tomography (CT) findings of renal epithelioid angiomyolipoma (EAML) and develop a radiomics-based model for differentiating EAMLs and clear cell renal cell carcinomas (RCCs). Method This two-center retrospective study included 28 histologically confirmed EAMLs and 56 size-matched clear cell RCCs with preoperative three-phase kidney CTs. We conducted subjective image analysis to determine the CT parameters that can distinguish EAMLs from clear cell RCCs. Training and test sets were divided by chronological order of CT scans, and radiomics model was built using ten selected features among radiomics and CT features. The diagnostic performance of the radiomics model was compared with that of the three radiologists using the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results The mean size of the EAMLs was 6.2 +/- 5.0 cm. On multivariate analysis, a snowman or ice cream cone tumor shape (OR 16.3; 95% CI 1.7-156.9, P = 0.02) and lower tumor-to-cortex (TOC) enhancement ratio in the corticomedullary phase (OR 33.4; 95% CI 5.7-197, P &lt; 0.001) were significant independent factors for identifying EAMLs. The diagnostic performance of the radiomics model (AUC 0.89) was similar to those of genitourinary radiologists (AUC 0.78 and 0.81, P &gt; 0.05) and superior to that of a third-year resident (AUC 0.63, P = 0.04). Conclusions A snowman or ice cream cone shape and lower TOC ratio were more closely associated with EAMLs than with clear cell RCCs. A CT radiomics model was useful for differentiating EAMLs from clear cell RCCs with better diagnostic performance than an inexperienced radiologist.N

Exploring the potential of ex-vivo 7-T magnetic resonance imaging on patients with clinically significant prostate cancer: visibility and size perspective

Background: Despite progress in multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), issues of prostate cancer invisibility and underestimated tumor burden persist. This study investigates the potential of an ultra-high field MRI at 7-T in an ex-vivo setting to address these limitations. Methods: This prospective study included 54 tumors from 20 treatment-naïve clinically significant prostate cancer patients, confirmed by biopsy, despite negative findings on preoperative 3-T MRI. Ex-vivo 7-T MRI of resected prostates was performed, with assessment on tumor visibility and size. Factors influencing visibility were analyzed using logistic regression analyses. Results: Tumor visibility was confirmed in 80% of patients, and 48% of all tumors on ex-vivo imaging. Gleason pattern 4 percentage (odds ratio 1.09) and tumor size on pathology (odds ratio 1.36) were significantly associated with visibility (P < 0.05). Mean MRI-visible and invisible tumor sizes were 10.5 mm and 5.3 mm, respectively. The size discrepancy between MRI and pathology was 2.7 mm. Conclusion: Tumor visibility on ex-vivo 7-T MRI was influenced by tumor grade and size. The notable tumor visibility initially overlooked on 3-T MRI, along with small size discrepancy with pathology, suggests potential improvements in resolution