Pentaethylene-terephthalate (PET) bottles: a new device for autoerotic strangulation of the penis causing serious injury.

Strangulation of the penis by application of constricting devices may present a challenge for the treating physician. Depending on the type of constricting material, special equipment is essential for successful removal of the foreign bodies. We report a new form of constricting device, the neck of a Coca Cola bottle made of Pentaethylene-terephthalate (PET).

Anemia under androgen deprivation: influence of flutamide, cyproteroneacetate and orchiectomy on the erythropoietin system.

Objective: There is a high incidence of anemia in patients with advanced prostate cancer (PC) under androgen deprivation. Pathophysiology of this anemia remains unclear. Erythropoietin (EPO) is the main growth factor inducing erythropoesis in response to hypoxia.

Expression of glucose transporter 1 (Glut-1) in cell lines and clinical specimens from human prostate adenocarcinoma.

Background: Increased uptake and metabolism of glucose is a characteristic of malignant transformation. Overexpression of glucose transporters, especially Glut-1, is a common event in human malignancies. To date, little is known about the role of Glut-1 in human prostate cancer (PC).

Expression of bFGF, VEGF and c-met and their correlation with microvessel density and progression in prostate carcinoma.

Background: Previously, we found angiogenesis measured as microvessel density (MVD) to be associated with both pathological stage and clinical outcome after radical prostatectomy (RP). In addition, we have shown that Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) is one of the important inducers of angiogenesis in prostate cancer (PC). The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of additional angiogenic factors, namely basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (hFGF) and the c-met receptor of Hepatocyte Growth Factor/Scatter Factor (HGF/SF) in PC.

Changes of renal blood flow in nephroptosis: assessment by color Doppler imaging, isotope renography and correlation with clinical outcome after laparoscopic nephropexy.

Objective: Previously, we have detected changes in renal blood flow secondary to nephroptosis by assessing the renal resistive index (RI) using color Doppler imaging (CDI). The aim of the current study was to compare two diagnostic methods, CDI and isotope renography (IRG), for detection of renal blood flow impairment in patients with nephroptosis.

Methods: 26 patients with nephroptosis and flank pain underwent CDI and isotope renography (IRG) before and after laparoscopic nephropexy.

[Prevention of catheter dislodgment: modified nephrostomy with pigtail and balloon].

Insertion of a percutaneous nephrostomy for decompression of the collecting system in cases of obstruction should be easy and safe to perform. Early or delayed catheter dislodgment is a more frequent event. Even with optimal positioning of the puncture site, this complication cannot be prevented reliably.

Invasive potential of "noninvasive" human bladder carcinoma. An electron microscopy study.

In classification systems for bladder tumors, a clear distinction between superficial noninvasive and urothelial carcinoma invasive to the lamina propria is of prognostic and therapeutic significance. However, a subset of tumors classified as noninvasive is characterized by increased recurrence and progression rates. This study was done to look for ultrastructural characteristics in histopathologically noninvasive urothelial bladder carcinomas that might predict an unfavorable prognosis.

Primary adenocarcinoma of the seminal vesicles.

Purpose: We provide an overview of seminal vesicle carcinoma, a rare entity that is difficult to diagnose and traditionally has been associated with a poor prognosis.

Materials And Methods: A literature search for seminal vesicle carcinoma was performed, and current concepts related to the diagnosis and clinical management were reviewed. Two unpublished additional cases recently treated at our institution were added to the international experience.

Nerve fibers in tumors of the human urinary bladder.

Abstract. Exophytic tumors of the urinary bladder were examined by means of transmission electron microscopy for the presence of neural tissue because, as yet, there has been hardly any discussion of a neuronal component in the biology of neoplasms. In the stroma and rarely in the epithelium of bladder tumors, fine nerve strands were found to be irregularly distributed.

Cytogenetic analysis of 11 renal oncocytomas: further evidence of structural rearrangements of 11q13 as a characteristic chromosomal anomaly.

We carried out cytogenetic analysis on 11 renal oncotytomas by using G-banding and DAPI-banding techniques. Four of our tumors exhibited structural rearrangements affecting chromosome 11 at band q13. Together with another case previously described by us, our tumors constitute the largest series of renal oncocytomas displaying translocations involving 11q13.

FDG PET for detection and therapy control of metastatic germ cell tumor.

Unlabelled: We investigated the use of PET and 2[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) for detection and therapy control of metastatic germ cell cancer in comparison to CT.

Methods: Fifty-four PET studies were performed in addition to CT in 33 patients with histopathologically proven germ cell tumors (14 seminomas, 18 nonseminomas, 1 not classified). The scans were done either after initial diagnosis (Group 1; n = 12), within 2 wk after completion of chemotherapy (Group 2; n = 13) or 14-375 days after chemotherapy (Group 3; n = 29).

Increased discrimination between benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer through measurement of percentage free PSA.

Objective: The value of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) for the early detection of Prostate Cancer (CaP) is controversial due to an appreciable false positive rate causing unnecessary biopsies. As PSA exits in both free and bound forms the percentage of free PSA was found to be lower in CaP than in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). We investigated whether the percentage of free PSA offers better discrimination on the detection of CaP.

Direct invasion of the renal vein by metastatic testicular cancer.

We report a case of metastatic seminoma with direct invasion of the left renal vein. A tumor thrombus was found in the renal vein while the vena cava thrombosis proved to be a noncancerous blood clot developing as an extension of the tumor thrombus. Primary chemotherapy could not be completed because of thrombotic growth requiring surgical intervention.

DNA-aneuploidy as marker for neoplasia in G1-urothelial carcinomas.

Biopsies from 60 grade-1 urothelial carcinomas and 50 normal bladder mucosae have been investigated by DNA-image-cytometry after enzymatic cell separation to determine the diagnostic sensitivity of DNA-aneuploidy for the identification of low grade urothelial neoplasia. Two different modes to detect DNA-aneuploidy were compared: the conventional application of a threshold at 2.2c for the modal DNA value and the use of the Kolmogoroff-Smirnow (KS) test to compare GO/1 phase fractions of the cells under analysis and the internal reference cells.

[Laparoscopic lymphadenectomy in prostate carcinoma. Experiences with 120 patients].

Laparoscopic pelvic lymph node dissection was performed in 120 patients scheduled to undergo either radical perineal prostatectomy or radiation therapy. On average 13 lymph nodes were resected in each patient, and 21 patients were found to have metastatic disease in 1-9 lymph nodes. After an initial learning curve, mean operative time was reduced significantly, allowing laparoscopic lymph node dissection and radical prostatectomy to be performed as a one-stage procedure.

Free-to-total prostate-specific antigen serum concentrations in patients with prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Objective: To determine whether the proportion of total serum prostate-specific antigen (tPSA) which is unbound or free (free PSA) offers a better discriminant for the detection of patients with prostate cancer (CaP) and those with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) than does serum tPSA alone.

Patients And Methods: In a retrospective analysis, the proportion of free PSA was determined in the sera of 60 patients with histologically confirmed localized (n = 39; pT1-3NoMo) and metastatic (n = 21; T2-4NxM+) CaP and 45 patients with BPH. Forty patients with urolithiasis served as a control group.

Metabolic imaging of untreated prostate cancer by positron emission tomography with 18fluorine-labeled deoxyglucose.

Purpose: We evaluated positron emission tomograph (PET) with 18fluorine (18F)-labeled deoxyglucose for metabolic grading of untreated primary prostate cancer, and differentiation of benign and malignant prostatic disease.

Materials And Methods: A total of 48 patients with untreated prostate cancer of different stages and 16 with histologically confirmed benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) underwent static PET after intravenous injection of 150 to 300 MBq. 18F-deoxyglucose.

Clinical use of prostate-specific antigen and prostate-specific antigen density in the staging of patients with cancer of the prostate.

Objective: To examine the efficacy of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD) in staging patients undergoing radical prostatectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer (CaP).

Patients And Methods: Prostate gland volumes were estimated in patients with clinically localized CaP (n = 119) performing transrectal ultrasound and employing the prolate ellipse formula. PSA was determined using an enzyme immunoassay.

Current and future strategies to block tumor angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis.

Progression of malignancy involves a series of sequential steps that ultimately lead to cancer-cell dissemination. In addition to the loss of growth control, an imbalanced regulation of motility and proteolysis is a prerequisite for invasion and metastasis. These factors are also necessary for angiogenesis-an integral process occurring at both the primary and the metastatic sites.

Laparoscopic bilateral ureterolysis in Ormond's disease.

We report a case of retroperitoneal fibrosis with dilation of the upper urinary tract on both sides and impaired renal function in a 66-year-old female. The patient was successfully treated by laparoscopic ureterolysis and intraperitonealization of both ureters with subsequent immunosuppressive medication. Due to intraoperative subcutaneous emphysema, surgical therapy had to be performed as a two-step procedure but postoperative morbidity was minimal with quick recovery.

Evaluation of patients with diseases of the prostate using prostate-specific antigen density.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of two tests, prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) and the PSA/prostate volume ratio (PSAD), as diagnostic and staging markers to discriminate patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) from patients with cancer of the prostate (CaP).

Patients And Methods: Prostate gland volumes were estimated in 60 patients with BPH and 88 patients with clinically organ-confined CaP by performing transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) and using the prolate ellipse formula. Serum PSA concentration was determined using an enzyme immunoassay.

Theories on the metastatic process and possible therapeutic options.

A sequence of steps are prerequisite for cancer cells before metastases are established. Metastasis has been shown to be an inefficient process limited by both random and selective events. By differentiating invasion from metastasis, sequential steps in the metastatic cascade have been defined and studied separately.

Laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy.

We analyzed our first 41 patients with localized prostate cancer treated with laparoscopic pelvic lymph node dissection (LPLND) as staging procedure followed either by radical perineal prostatectomy or interstitial radiotherapy. 7/41 patients (17%) had pelvic lymph node metastases and received endocrine therapy. Overall complication rate was low (7.

Basic research in prostate cancer: molecular biology.

While a general appreciation for the importance of chromosomes in the development of cancer has existed for decades, molecular genetic analyses have gained considerable attention in recent years through identification of proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Several different chromosomal aberrations, alterations of proto-oncogenes and suppressor genes have been described in prostate cancer. Loss of genetic material has been found to occur most frequently on chromosomes 7, 8, 10 and 16.