Case Report of Atypical Juxtaglomerular Cell Tumor

Juxtaglomerular cell tumor (JGCT) is a rare renal tumor, producing renin and behaving almost in a benign fashion. So far, only three cases have been reported as malignant. We report a rare case with atypical JGCT. A 74-year-old male was referred to our hospital due to hypertension, proteinuria, and hematuria. Abdominal CT revealed a mass measured in 9.7×7.0 cm in the lower portion of the right kidney. Right kidney was removed laparoscopically. Grossly, white to tan tumor with massive hemorrhage and necrosis occupied the lower portion of the right kidney. Microscopically, tumor grew in a solid fashion. Tumor cells were polygonal to ovoid cells with round nuclei and clear to eosinophilic cytoplasm. Mitosis was found in 5 per 10 HPF. Immunohistochemically, tumor cells were stained by vimentin and CD34. Some tumor cells were also positive for renin. Electron micrograph showed near rhomboid crystalline structure in the tumor cells. Because of massive necrosis and mitotic figures, diagnosis of atypical (potentially malignant) JGCT was rendered. Gene mutations for IDH1, PIK3CA, K-ras, N-ras, Braf, and EGFR were not found by MBP-QP system

Fucosylation in Urological Cancers

Fucosylation is an oligosaccharide modification that plays an important role in immune response and malignancy, and specific fucosyltransferases (FUTs) catalyze the three types of fucosylations: core-type, Lewis type, and H type. FUTs regulate cancer proliferation, invasiveness, and resistance to chemotherapy by modifying the glycosylation of signaling receptors. Oligosaccharides on PD-1/PD-L1 proteins are specifically fucosylated, leading to functional modifications. Expression of FUTs is upregulated in renal cell carcinoma, bladder cancer, and prostate cancer. Aberrant fucosylation in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) could be used as a novel biomarker for prostate cancer. Furthermore, elucidation of the biological function of fucosylation could result in the development of novel therapeutic targets. Further studies are needed in the field of fucosylation glycobiology in urological malignancies

自己学習型トピッククローラーの構築と評価

Web上の情報量は、個人が必要とする情報量をはるかに上回っている。利用者の情報収集を支援する、GoogleやYahoo等の汎用的な検索エンジンが開発されている。しかし汎用的な検索エンジンでは、特定の分野について網羅的に収集し、情報をまとめるといった要求には応えられない。著者らは、特定分野のWeb ページ収集を効率的に行なうトピッククローラーの研究開発を行なっている。トピッククローラーでは、トピックに関するページの判定精度も必要であるが、トピックページへ早く辿りつく速度も重要である。著者らは、One man & his dogシステムと呼ぶトピック判定とリンク選出戦略機能を連携させるシステムを試作した。また、２つのトピックについての収集実験を行い本論文の手法の効率性を調査した

自己学習型トピッククローラーの構築と評価

Web上の情報量は、個人が必要とする情報量をはるかに上回っている。利用者の情報収集を支援する、GoogleやYahoo等の汎用的な検索エンジンが開発されている。しかし汎用的な検索エンジンでは、特定の分野について網羅的に収集し、情報をまとめるといった要求には応えられない。著者らは、特定分野のWeb ページ収集を効率的に行なうトピッククローラーの研究開発を行なっている。トピッククローラーでは、トピックに関するページの判定精度も必要であるが、トピックページへ早く辿りつく速度も重要である。著者らは、One man & his dogシステムと呼ぶトピック判定とリンク選出戦略機能を連携させるシステムを試作した。また、２つのトピックについての収集実験を行い本論文の手法の効率性を調査した

The presence of lymph node metastases and time to castration resistance predict the therapeutic effect of enzalutamide for castration-resistant prostate cancer

Background: Enzalutamide is effective against castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). However, it is unclear which patients would benefit more from enzalutamide treatment. Here, we analyzed patients who received enzalutamide as first-line therapy for CRPC and evaluated the factors that predict treatment response and prognosis. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 101 patients treated with enzalutamide for CRPC at our institution. As primary endpoints we regarded the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response rate and PSA–progression-free survival (PSA–PFS) from the start of enzalutamide treatment. Laboratory and imaging data were analyzed to predict treatment efficacy. Results: PSA reductions of ≥ 50% and ≥ 90% were observed in 78 (77%) and 47 (47%) patients, respectively, compared with the baseline. During the follow-up period, 67 (66%) patients showed PSA progression, with a median PSA–PFS of 11 months. Moreover, 31 patients (31%) died, with a median overall survival of 64 months. On multivariate analysis, lymph node metastases at the start of enzalutamide treatment [odds ratio (OR) 0.0575, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.0105–0.316, p = 0.0010] and time to CRPC (OR 0.177, 95% CI 0.0428–0.731, p = 0.0167] were associated with ≥ 90% PSA response. Lymph node metastases (hazard ratio [HR] 3.00, 95% CI 1.48–6.09, p = 0.0023) and time to CRPC (HR 1.84, 95% CI 1.02–3.30, p = 0.0419) were also predictors of PSA–PFS on a multivariate model. Conclusions: Time to CRPC and lymph node metastasis were predictors of the PSA response rate and PSA–PFS.This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-022-02288-5

The presence of lymph node metastases and time to castration resistance predict the therapeutic effect of enzalutamide for castration-resistant prostate cancer

This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-022-02288-5.Background: Enzalutamide is effective against castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). However, it is unclear which patients would benefit more from enzalutamide treatment. Here, we analyzed patients who received enzalutamide as first-line therapy for CRPC and evaluated the factors that predict treatment response and prognosis. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 101 patients treated with enzalutamide for CRPC at our institution. As primary endpoints we regarded the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response rate and PSA–progression-free survival (PSA–PFS) from the start of enzalutamide treatment. Laboratory and imaging data were analyzed to predict treatment efficacy. Results: PSA reductions of ≥ 50% and ≥ 90% were observed in 78 (77%) and 47 (47%) patients, respectively, compared with the baseline. During the follow-up period, 67 (66%) patients showed PSA progression, with a median PSA–PFS of 11months. Moreover, 31 patients (31%) died, with a median overall survival of 64months. On multivariate analysis, lymph node metastases at the start of enzalutamide treatment [odds ratio (OR) 0.0575, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.0105–0.316, p = 0.0010] and time to CRPC (OR 0.177, 95% CI 0.0428–0.731, p = 0.0167] were associated with ≥ 90% PSA response. Lymph node metastases (hazard ratio [HR] 3.00, 95% CI 1.48–6.09, p = 0.0023) and time to CRPC (HR 1.84, 95% CI 1.02–3.30, p = 0.0419) were also predictors of PSA–PFS on a multivariate model. Conclusions: Time to CRPC and lymph node metastasis were predictors of the PSA response rate and PSA–PFS

TERT C228T mutation in non‐malignant bladder urothelium is associated with intravesical recurrence for patients with non‐muscle invasive bladder cancer

Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutations are frequently found in tumors or urine from patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC). TERT promoter mutations are also detected in urine from patients with no evidence of cancer but are associated with subsequent UC development. Mutations in the TERT promoter are thought to be present in nonmalignant urothelium (NMU) during early stages of tumor formation prior to pathological change, but this has not been proven directly. In this proof‐of‐concept study, we investigated the clinical utility of TERT promoter mutation analysis in NMU of patients with non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). This single‐institute study included 53 primary tumors and 428 systematic bladder biopsy specimens from 54 patients with NMIBC. All patients underwent systematic random biopsy and transurethral resection of the bladder tumor. Genomic DNA was analyzed for TERT C228T and C250T mutations using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). The association between TERT promoter mutation of NMU and bladder recurrence was examined by the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model. Of the 54 patients, 16 (29.6%) had a TERT C228T mutation and three (5.6%) had a TERT C250T mutation in NMU. Of 428 biopsy specimens, the TERT C228T mutation was detected in 9% (31/364) of normal urothelium, 27% (4/15) of urothelial dysplasia (UD), 50% (9/18) of UD suspicious for carcinoma in situ (CIS), and 58% (18/31) of CIS. During follow‐up (median: 3.7 years), 22 (40.7%) patients experienced bladder recurrence and five (9.3%) experienced disease progression. Cox proportional hazard analysis showed that TERT C228T mutation in NMU was significantly associated with bladder recurrence after adjustment for cofounding factors (P = 0.0128). Thus, TERT C228T mutation was detected in NMU, which was a reliable independent prognostic factor of bladder tumor recurrence