Resection of renal tumors invading the vena cava.

Surgical resection of renal cell carcinoma remains the mainstay for the management of patients who suffer from this disease. Five percent to 10% of renal cell carcinomas develop a tumor thrombus that propagates into the renal vein or the inferior vena cava. Radical nephrectomy and inferior vena cava thrombectomy can provide longstanding survival rates comparable to those for tumors confined to the renal parenchyma.

Surgical management of large renal tumors.

In addition to an increased occurrence of small, localized, incidentally discovered renal cell carcinomas (RCCs), there has been an upward trend in the incidence of advanced renal tumors per unit of population and in disease mortality worldwide. As radical nephrectomy remains the standard of care in treating localized RCC, this manuscript focuses on surgical approaches. We defined 'large renal tumors' as those greater than 7 cm or those with venous involvement.

Prognostic significance of altered p120 ctn expression in bladder cancer.

Objective: To identify the frequency of change in the expression and localization of p120(ctn) in bladder tumours and its association with clinical outcomes, and to investigate the potential role of p120(ctn) in the migratory and invasive behaviour of bladder carcinoma cells.

Materials And Methods: In all, 425 superficial tumour specimens (Ta, Tis and T1) and 305 invasive (T2-T4) tumour specimens from 534 patients were assembled in 10 tissue microarrays. P120(ctn) immunostaining was scored for intensity and cellular localization and correlated with clinical variables and survival analysis.

Epidermal growth factor receptor status and the response of bladder carcinoma cells to erlotinib.

Purpose: We established the frequency of mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor in bladder cancer and determined whether the activation status of epidermal growth factor receptor confers sensitivity to erlotinib.

Materials And Methods: The identification of mutations in the kinase domain (exons 18-21) of epidermal growth factor receptor was performed using single strand conformation polymorphism. The action of erlotinib was established within a bladder carcinoma cell panel using clonogenic assays and Western blot analysis.

Identification and prognostic significance of an epithelial-mesenchymal transition expression profile in human bladder tumors.

Purpose: Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is reportedly an important transition in cancer progression in which the underlying cellular changes have been identified mainly using in vitro models. In this study, we examined the expression pattern of EMT markers in vivo and determined the occurrence and clinical significance of these events in a series of bladder carcinomas.

Experimental Design: Eight hundred and twenty-five tumor samples from 572 bladder cancer patients were assembled in 10 tissue microarrays.

Management of renal cell carcinoma with vena cava and atrial thrombus: minimal access vs median sternotomy with circulatory arrest.

Objective: To review our experience with approaches for managing renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with venous thrombi extension at and above the level of the hepatic veins, comparing surgery and peri-operative outcomes in patients with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) with deep hypothermic cardiac arrest (DHCA) either by minimal access (MA) or traditional median sternotomy (TMS).

Patients And Methods: From 1986 to 2005, 50 radical nephrectomies with inferior vena cava (IVC) thrombectomies were performed at our institution using TMS (22 patients) and MA (28) techniques. Patient demographics were compared using Student's t-, Fisher's exact and Pearson chi-square tests.