Development and evaluation of the MiCheck® Prostate test for clinically significant prostate cancer.

Background: There is a clinical need to identify patients with an elevated PSA who would benefit from prostate biopsy due to the presence of clinically significant prostate cancer (CSCaP). We have previously reported the development of the MiCheck® Test for clinically significant prostate cancer. Here, we report MiCheck's further development and incorporation of the Roche Cobas standard clinical chemistry analyzer.

Glypican-1 as a target for fluorescence molecular imaging of bladder cancer.

Objectives: To investigate whether anti-glypican-1 antibody Miltuximab conjugated with near-infrared dye IRDye800CW can be used for in vivo fluorescence imaging of urothelial carcinoma.

Methods: The conjugate, Miltuximab-IRDye800CW, was produced and characterized by size exclusion chromatography and flow cytometry with glypican-1-expressing cells. Balb/c nude mice bearing subcutaneous urothelial carcinoma xenografts were intravenously injected with Miltuximab-IRDye800CW or control IgG-IRDye800CW and imaged daily by fluorescence imaging.

The feasibility of Miltuximab®-IRDye700DX-mediated photoimmunotherapy of solid tumors.

Background: Photoimmunotherapy (PIT) is an emerging method of cancer treatment based on the use of a photosensitizer near-infrared dye IRDye700DX (IR700) conjugated to a monoclonal antibody. The antibody selectively delivers IR700 to cancer cells, which can then be killed after photoexcitation. Glypican-1 (GPC-1) is a novel target expressed specifically in malignant tumors.

Computer-assisted cystoscopy diagnosis of bladder cancer.

Objectives: One of the most reliable methods for diagnosing bladder cancer is cystoscopy. Depending on the findings, this may be followed by a referral to a more experienced urologist or a biopsy and histological analysis of suspicious lesion. In this work, we explore whether computer-assisted triage of cystoscopy findings can identify low-risk lesions and reduce the number of referrals or biopsies, associated complications, and costs, although reducing subjectivity of the procedure and indicating when the risk of a lesion being malignant is minimal.

Trends in operative caseload and mortality rates after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer in England for 1998-2010.

Background: The Improving Outcomes in Urological Cancers guidelines recommended centralisation of cystectomy services to improve outcomes for bladder cancer (BCa) patients.

Objective: To investigate trends in all-cause and cause-specific survival to see if there was an improvement in survival after centralisation was implemented. To analyse trends in the number of acute hospital trusts undertaking cystectomy.

The prevalence and natural history of urinary symptoms among recreational ketamine users.

Unlabelled: Study Type--Symptom prevalence (prospective cohort) Level of Evidence 1b. What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Case series have described lower urinary tract symptoms associated with ketamine use including severe pain, frequency, haematuria and dysuria. Little is known regarding the frequency of symptoms, relationship of symptoms with dose and frequency of use and natural history of symptoms once the ketamine user has stopped.

Introduction of an enhanced recovery protocol for radical cystectomy.

Objective: To describe and assess an enhanced recovery protocol (ERP) for the peri-operative management of patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC), which was started at our institution on 1 October 2005, as RC is associated with increased morbidity and longer inpatient stays than other major urological procedures.

Patients And Methods: An ERP was introduced in our institution that focused on reduced bowel preparation, and standardized feeding and analgesic regimens. In all, 112 consecutive patients were compared, i.

Hereditary urological cancer syndromes.

Hereditary urological cancer syndromes are rare, but it is important that they are recognized because they have important prognostic implications; prompt diagnosis can dramatically improve patient outcomes. The urologist or urological oncologist should, therefore, ascertain which tumors of the many seen in clinical practice warrant referral for the opinion of a clinical geneticist. Despite the aggressive natural history of most inherited urological cancer syndromes, organ-preserving treatments are desirable because these syndromes predispose affected patients to the formation of multifocal and metachronous tumors.

Differences and commonalities in the management of locally advanced prostate cancer: results from a survey of oncologists and urologists in the UK.

Objective: To determine the management practices used by UK oncologists and urologists for patients with locally advanced (non-metastatic) prostate cancer.

Methods: Using a postal questionnaire, 155 practising specialist oncologists and urologists were surveyed in the UK. Their views were sought on a multidisciplinary approach to the management of locally advanced prostate cancer and their current management practices.

VEGF165b, an inhibitory vascular endothelial growth factor splice variant: mechanism of action, in vivo effect on angiogenesis and endogenous protein expression.

Growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis), required for all tumor growth, is stimulated by the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGF is up-regulated in all known solid tumors but also in atherosclerosis, diabetic retinopathy, arthritis, and many other conditions. Conventional VEGF isoforms have been universally described as proangiogenic cytokines.

Differentiated human podocytes endogenously express an inhibitory isoform of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF165b) mRNA and protein.

Despite production by podocytes of the proangiogenic molecule vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF), the glomeruli are not sites of angiogenesis. We recently described mRNA expression of an inhibitory splice variant of VEGF (VEGF165b) in normal kidney (Bates DO, Cui TG, Doughty JM, Winkler M, Sugiono M, Shields JD, Peat D, Gillatt D, and Harper SJ. Cancer Res 62: 4123-4131, 2002).

Functional evidence that vascular endothelial growth factor may act as an autocrine factor on human podocytes.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is expressed by renal glomerular epithelial cells (podocytes) and is thought to be protective against nephrotoxic agents. VEGF has been shown to be an autocrine survival factor in neuropilin-1-positive, VEGF receptor-negative breast carcinoma cells. Normal human podocytes are also known to express neuropilin-1, VEGF, and are VEGF-R2 negative.

Beware the BCG failures: a review of one institution's results.

Objective: To review the outcome of all superficial transitional cell (TCC) bladder cancer treated with intravesical Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) at one institution and, in particular, the prognosis for those patients who gained little benefit from BCG therapy.

Patients And Methods: The notes of 122 patients treated with BCG over a nine-year period were reviewed. The following details were recorded: time of diagnosis; time of decision to treat with BCG; results of cystoscopies before and after BCG; duration of follow up; time of progression if occurred, mortality and cause of death.