Elevated Expression of Pyrimidine Nucleoside Phosphorylase (PyNPase) in Renal Cell Carcinoma Tissue

Background: Pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase (PyNPase) is an enzyme that converts 5\u27-deoxy-5-fluorouridine to 5- fluorouracil. PyNPase is identical to platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF), and has angiogenic activity. In the present study of PyNPase activity in renal cell carcinoma, we tested for correlation between PyNPase activity and tumor extension, tumor proliferation and clinical characteristics. Methods: Samples of tumor tissue and non-tumor tissue were obtained from 10 renal cell carcinoma patients who underwent radical nephrectomy. These samples were examined, and PyNPase activity of the tissues was assayed. Results: PyNPase activity was significantly higher in renal cancer tissue than in normal tissue (p<0.01), and in immunohistochemical assays PyNPase was strongly stained in the cytoplasm of renal cancer cells. However, there were no significant correlation between PyNPase activity and tumor extension, according to the results of histopathological examination and evaluation of vascularity of renal cancer tumor tissue. Conclusion: In this study, we did not observe correlation between PyNPase activity and renal cancer extension and proliferation. However, the present data suggest that pyrimidine-class drugs may be useful against renal cell carcinoma, because PyNPase activity is significantly higher in renal cancer tissue than in normal tissue

Upregulation of CA 19-9 in the Mouse Kidney Following Unilateral Ureteral Obstruction

High serum levels of carbohydrate antigen19-9 (CA19-9) have been detected in patients with pancreatic cancer and described in several recent case reports of patients with hydronephrosis. However, the mechanism of high serum levels of CA19-9 among hydronephrosis cases remains to be elucidated. In this study, we established a mouse unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model to investigate the expression of CA19-9 protein in renal tissue. To investigate the progression of hydronephrosis following UUO, MR urography and pathological analysis were performed. CA19-9 expression was examined by immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. MR urography revealed that the grade of pelvic dilatation increased in a time dependent manner. Pathologically, both interstitial cellular infiltration and fibrosis were detected from the second to the fourteenth day after surgery in UUO mice. CA19-9 was detected in the UUO kidney after the second day. The immunoblot analysis revealed that the elevated expression of CA19-9 was demonstrated at an early stage of obstructive nephropathy. Our study shows that the ureteral obstructed kidney is dominated by cell infiltration and induced fibrosis. The selective expression of CA19-9 was detected in renal fibrous tissue. Based on these findings, the level of CA19-9 might be a good indicator for onset of renal fibrosis induced by obstruction

Efficacy and safety of systemic chemotherapy and intra-arterial chemotherapy with/without radiotherapy for bladder preservation or as neo-adjuvant therapy in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer: A single-centre study of 163 patients

Introduction Patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) often undergo various preoperative treatments to improve survival; however, their efficacy and safety remain unclear. Materials and methods The anti-tumour effects and adverse events were evaluated in 163 MIBC patients who received systemic chemotherapy (SC, n = 34), intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC, n = 50), or combined IAC and radiotherapy (IAC + R, n = 79). Results Pathological complete responses were observed in 17.6%, 22.0%, and 43.0% of patients in the SC, IAC, and IAC + R groups, respectively, with respective 5-year overall survival rates of 42.0%, 46.7%, and 50.3%. Multivariate analysis showed that successful IAC + R protocol administration was a significant predictor for survival (hazard ratio = 0.16, p = 0.028). The incidence of severe adverse events was higher in the IAC + R group (36.7%) than in the SC (9.8%) and IAC groups (16.0%). Conclusions IAC + R was useful for patients with MIBC. Successful completion and optimal patient selection were important for this treatment strategy

Small Cell Carcinoma of the Ureter with Malignant Lymphoma: Case Report and Literature Review

A 78-year-old man was referred to our hospital for gross hematuria. Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance urography revealed tumor in the right lower ureter. Computed tomography revealed right cervical lymph node swelling and pathological diagnosis was diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Right nephroureterectomy was performed and pathologic examination revealed small cell carcinoma of the ureter with a small urothelial cell carcinoma component. As the patient had concomitant other malignancies, additional systemic chemotherapy was not performed. As of 3 months after operation, postoperative course has been uneventful. Only 11 cases of primary small cell carcinoma of the ureter have been described

Immunohistochemical Analysis of Connexin43 Expression in Infertile Human Testes

Connexin43 (Cx43) is abundantly expressed in mammalian testes and implicated in the regulation of cell-to-cell interaction between germ cells and Sertoli cells, which is essential to the normal process of spermatogenesis. In the present study, we investigated the relation between Cx43 expression and the degree of spermatogenesis in infertile human testes. Immunohistochemical analysis of Cx43 was performed on testicular biopsies from 29 patients with azoospermia (n=23) and severe oligospermia (n=6), who gave informed consent to this experiment. The degree of testicular spermatogenesis was evaluated by Johnsen score. In the interstitium, immunostaining for Cx43 was localized to some focal parts of plasma membrane between neighboring Leydig cells. In seminiferous tubules with normal spermatogenesis, Cx43 expression was found between Sertoli cells and germ cells. However, Cx43 expression in maturation arrest was decreased and located mainly in the basal compartment of seminiferous tubules. Finally, there was a significant positive correlation between histological score of spermatogenesis and intensity of Cx43 (p=0.0294). These data suggest that the alteration of Cx43 expression may be involved in spermatogenic impairment, and that the communication between Sertoli cells and germ cells through Cx43 may be important for maturation of spermatogenesis

Use of low-dose combined therapy with gemcitabine and paclitaxel for advanced urothelial cancer patients with resistance to cisplatin-containing therapy: a retrospective analysis

Purpose The prognosis of patients with advanced and recurrent urothelial cancer (UC) is poor. Although cisplatin (CDDP)-containing chemotherapy is the most effective regimen in these patients, there is no other established chemotherapeutic regimen. We administered combination therapy with low-dose gemcitabine (GEM) and paclitaxel (PTX), named low-dose gemcitabine-paclitaxel (LD-GP) therapy, as salvage therapy for these patients. The aim was to evaluate the anti-tumoral effects, relief of pain, and toxicity of LD-GP therapy in patients with resistance to CDDP-containing therapy. Patients and methods Thirty-five patients with advanced UC, previously treated with CDDP-containing regimens, were treated with LD-GP therapy (GEM, 700 mg/m 2 + PTX, 70 mg/m 2 on day 1 and 8, repeated every 28 days). Pain was measured on a visual analog scale before and after treatment. Pain relief and survival were compared between this and other treatment regimens. Results None of the patients had complete response to LD-GP therapy. Partial response and stable disease were seen in 25.7 and 62.9 % of patients, respectively. Kaplan- Meier curves showed better survival in patients with LDGP therapy than with others (p = 0.034). Twenty-eight patients (80.0 %) had adequate pain relief, and only two patients needed to increase their analgesics. Other regimens demonstrated pain relief in 30.4 % of patients. Common toxicities included leukopenia, with five patients requiring granular colony-stimulating factor therapy (14.3 %). The most common non-hematologic toxicity was fatigue (n = 7, 17.1 %). Conclusions LD-GP therapy is feasible and well tolerated as salvage therapy in patients with advanced UC with resistance to CDDP-containing therapy

表在性膀胱腫瘍におけるAngiogeninの発現

20名の表在性膀胱腫瘍患者の腫瘍組織内と正常組織内各々のangiogenin濃度をサンドウィッチELISA法を用い測定し, 膀胱組織内におけるangiogeninの局在を明らかにする目的で免疫染色を行った.腫瘍組織内のangiogenin濃度は正常組織内の濃度と比較して有意に低下し, angiogeninの発現は正常移行上皮に高く, 腫瘍組織内で明らかに低下していた.膀胱腫瘍患者の組織内でのangiogeninの発現は正常組織と比較すると腫瘍組織内で有意に低下していた.この結果は, 膀胱腫瘍の発育の過程ではangiogeninは他の血管新生因子とは異なる役割を担っている可能性が示唆されたThe concentration of angiogenin in the tumor tissues and corresponding normal tissues of 20 superficial bladder cancer patients was measured using a sandwich enzyme immunoassay (ELISA). In addition, immunohistochemical assays were performed in order to clarify the localization of angiogenin expression in bladder tissue. The mean concentration of angiogenin in the carcinoma tissues was significantly lower than that in the corresponding normal tissues (P < 0.001). Angiogenin expression was weak in the bladder cancer cells. The present results show that the expression of angiogenin is lower in superficial bladder cancer tissues than in corresponding normal tissues. The biological role of angiogenin in carcinogenesis of bladder cancer may be different from those of other angiogenic factors

精巣悪性リンパ腫の1例

A case of malignant lymphoma of the testis is presented. A 49-year-old male presented with swelling and dull pain of his left scrotal content. The initial clinical diagnosis was left testicular tumor. Left high orchiectomy was performed immediately after admission and histopathology showed malignant lymphoma, large cell type, B-cell type according to the Lymphoma Study Group (LSG) classification. Extensive investigations revealed clinical stage lE, with no evidence of metastasis. Chemotherapy was initiated with vincristine, prednisolone, adriamycin and methotrexate (VEPA-M). After therapy, the patient is doing well without any evidence of metastasis

ステロイドに著効を示した非特異的肉芽腫性前立腺炎の1例

A case of non-specific granulomatous prostatitis is reported. The patient, who had a history of sudden onset of high fever and acute urinary retention, had a hard prostate on digital rectal examination that gave us an impression of prostatic cancer. Since repeated biopsy specimens from the prostate showed granuloma formation with fibrinoid necrosis, the case was diagnosed as non-specific granulomatous prostatitis. Steroid therapy promptly resolved clinical symptoms along with marked histopathologic improvement