Posterior lumbar vein off the retrohepatic inferior vena cava: a novel anatomical variant with surgical implications.

Purpose: Resection of tumors involving the inferior vena cava requires vascular control of posteriorly draining lumbar veins to ensure a bloodless field. Surgical texts and atlases assert that lumbar veins do not insert into the inferior vena cava superior to the renal hilum. However, at our institution we have encountered patients undergoing inferior vena cava tumor thrombectomy who have a posterior lumbar vein cephalad to the renal veins.

Active sonic hedgehog signaling between androgen independent human prostate cancer cells and normal/benign but not cancer-associated prostate stromal cells.

Background: Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling plays a pivotal role in stromal-epithelial interaction during normal development but its role in tumor-stromal interaction during carcinogenic progression is less well defined. Since hormone refractory prostate cancer with bone metastasis is difficult to treat, it is crucial to investigate how androgen independent (AI) human prostate cancer cells communicate with their associated stroma.

Methods: Shh and its target transcription factor, Gli1 mRNA, were assessed by RT-PCR and/or quantitative RT-PCR in co-cultured cell recombinants comprised of AI C4-2 either with NPF (prostate fibroblasts from normal/benign prostate gland) or CPF (cancer-associated stromal fibroblasts) under Shh/cyclopamine (a hedgehog signaling inhibitor) treatment.

Human prostate cancer harbors the stem cell properties of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

Purpose: Prostate tumor cells frequently show the features of osteoblasts, which are differentiated from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. We examined human prostate cancer cell lines and clinical prostate cancer specimens for additional bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell properties.

Experimental Design: Prostate cancer cell lines were induced for osteoblastogenic and adipogenic differentiation, detected by standard staining methods and confirmed by lineage-specific marker expression.

Expression of C-reactive protein and cyclooxygenase enzyme-2 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma: correlation with pathological parameters in 110 patients.

C-reactive protein is produced in response to cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6. It is known that increased plasma IL-6 levels induce increased hepatic and intratumoral production of C-reactive protein. Cyclooxygenase enzyme-2 is induced by various stimuli, including inflammation and various growth factors.

Comparison of 12-core versus 8-core prostate biopsy: multivariate analysis of large series of US veterans.

Objectives: To investigate the impact of additional biopsy cores on prostate cancer diagnosis among US veterans. The reported rate of positive biopsy results varies from 20% to 40%.

Methods: We analyzed 1546 consecutive initial prostate biopsy procedures (8-core and 12-core biopsy protocols) at the Atlanta VA Medical Center.

Matched pairs of human prostate stromal cells display differential tropic effects on LNCaP prostate cancer cells.

Prostate stromal cells may play binary roles in the process of prostate cancer development. As the first to be encountered by infiltrating prostate cancer cells, prostate stromal cells form the first defense line against prostate cancer progression and metastasis. However, interaction between prostate cancer and stromal cells may facilitate the formation of a tumor microenvironment favoring cancer cell growth and survival.

XMRV infection in patients with prostate cancer: novel serologic assay and correlation with PCR and FISH.

Objectives: To develop a serum-based assay to detect neutralizing antibodies to the xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) retrovirus and to use this assay with polymerase chain reaction and fluorescence in situ hybridization to identify patients with prostate cancer previously exposed to XMRV infection and those who carry XMRV viral sequences in their prostate.

Methods: Patients who had undergone radical prostatectomy were enrolled, and biologic specimens were obtained at surgery. The patients were genotyped for the R462Q RNASEL variant using a TaqMan genotyping assay on DNA from the peripheral blood.

Impact of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair mesh on open radical retropubic prostatectomy.

Objectives: Open radical retropubic prostatectomies (RRP) have been abandoned after previous laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair (LIHR) with mesh, which can be a relative contraindication to open RRP. Radiation therapy and radical perineal prostatectomy are alternative treatment options for prostate cancer when faced with this dilemma. Our objective is to report our experience with open RRP after LIHR.

Phorbol ester phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate induces epithelial to mesenchymal transition in human prostate cancer ARCaPE cells.

Background: We have reported that human prostate cancer ARCaP(E) cells undertake epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) when stimulated by certain soluble factors, and that EMT is regulated by surface receptor-elicited signaling pathways through protein phosphorylation. It is known that phorbol ester phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), a potent antagonist to both conventional and novel protein kinase C (PKC) isoenzymes, induces cancer cell scattering.

Methods: To assess the effect of PMA on EMT, ARCaP(E) cells were treated with PMA and were assayed for EMT-related morphologic and behavioral changes.

Differential expression of the alpha2 chain of the interleukin-13 receptor in metastatic human prostate cancer ARCaPM cells.

Background: The alpha2 chain of the interleukin-13 receptor (IL13Ralpha2) is a high-affinity receptor and a candidate target for cytotoxic killing of cancer cells. Availability of a human prostate cancer cell line with high level of IL13Ralpha2 expression will facilitate the development of therapeutic modalities.

Methods: ARCaP(E) and ARCaP(M) human prostate cancer cell lines were subjected to comparative analyses of gene expression.

Vascular endothelial growth factor regulates myeloid cell leukemia-1 expression through neuropilin-1-dependent activation of c-MET signaling in human prostate cancer cells.

Background: Myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) is a member of the Bcl-2 family, which inhibits cell apoptosis by sequestering pro-apoptotic proteins Bim and Bid. Mcl-1 overexpression has been associated with progression in leukemia and some solid tumors including prostate cancer (PCa). However, the regulatory mechanism for Mcl-1 expression in PCa cells remains elusive.

Progressive epithelial to mesenchymal transitions in ARCaP E prostate cancer cells during xenograft tumor formation and metastasis.

Background: The mechanism of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) could be adopted by tumor cells for migration and invasion. We have reported that ARCaP(E) human prostate cancer cells undergo EMT-like changes during xenograft growth in athymic mice.

Methods: In this report, we assessed the extent of EMT by tracking changes in cloned ARCaP(E) cells expressing red fluorescence protein during successive orthotopic prostate tumor formation.

The utilization of Gleason grade as the primary criterion for ordering nuclear bone scan in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients.

Utilization of nuclear bone scans for staging newly diagnosed prostate cancer has decreased dramatically due to PSA-driven stage migration. The current criteria for performing bone scans are based on limited historical data. This study evaluates serum PSA and Gleason grade in predicting positive scans in a contemporary large series of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients.

Increased low density lipoprotein and increased likelihood of positive prostate biopsy in black americans.

Purpose: Differences in prostate cancer incidence, grade and stage at diagnosis, and survival in black vs nonblack men are well documented. Recent studies indicate that lipids may have a role in oncogenesis, including that of prostate cancer. We investigated the relationship between circulating lipids in black and nonblack patients, and newly diagnosed prostate cancer.

Human prostate fibroblasts induce growth and confer castration resistance and metastatic potential in LNCaP Cells.

Background: The tumor microenvironment is important for progressive and metastatic disease.

Objective: To study the hypothesis that prostate fibroblasts have differential ability to induce castration-resistant prostate cancer (PCa) and metastatic progression and whether this effect might vary depending on the zonal origin of the fibroblast.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Human prostate fibroblasts from the peripheral (PZ), transition (TZ) and central (CZ) zones of radical prostatectomy specimens (n=13) were isolated and compared for their ability to promote androgen independence and metastatic progression in androgen-responsive PCa lymph node carcinoma of the prostate (LNCaP) cells in vivo.

Transcription variants of the prostate-specific PrLZ gene and their interaction with 14-3-3 proteins.

We have reported isolation and characterization of the prostate-specific and androgen-regulated PrLZ gene abnormally expressed in prostate cancer. PrLZ is a potential biomarker for prostate cancer and a candidate oncogene promoting cell proliferation and survival in prostate cancer cells. A full delineation of the PrLZ gene and its gene products may provide clues to the mechanisms regulating its expression and function.

Soluble factors derived from stroma activated androgen receptor phosphorylation in human prostate LNCaP cells: roles of ERK/MAP kinase.

Background: Accumulated evidence suggests stromal-epithelial interactions are critical to the progression of prostate cancer. In this study, we characterized AR phosphorylation in LNCaP cells co-cultured with the conditioned medium (CM) from human prostate stromal fibroblasts.

Methods: CM harvested from prostate stromal fibroblasts was added to LNCaP cells, and both anchorage-dependent and -independent growth was determined.

Coevolution of prostate cancer and bone stroma in three-dimensional coculture: implications for cancer growth and metastasis.

Human bone stromal cells, after three-dimensional coculture with human prostate cancer (PCa) cells in vitro, underwent permanent cytogenetic and gene expression changes with reactive oxygen species serving as mediators. The evolved stromal cells are highly inductive of human PCa growth in mice, and expressed increased levels of extracellular matrix (versican and tenascin) and chemokine (BDFN, CCL5, CXCL5, and CXCL16) genes. These genes were validated in clinical tissue and/or serum specimens and could be the predictors for invasive and bone metastatic PCa.

Receptor activator of NF-kappaB Ligand (RANKL) expression is associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition in human prostate cancer cells.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancer describes the phenotypic and behavioral changes of cancer cells from indolent to virulent forms with increased migratory, invasive and metastatic potential. EMT can be induced by soluble proteins like transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFbeta1) and transcription factors including Snail and Slug. We utilized the ARCaP(E)/ARCaP(M) prostate cancer progression model and LNCaP clones stably overexpressing Snail to identify novel markers associated with EMT.

Quantum dots: emerging applications in urologic oncology.

Quantum dots (QDs), nanometer-sized fluorescent probes with unique optical and electronic properties, offer a promising and powerful tool for cancer imaging and diagnostics. For the past few years, QDs were actively developed for biomolecular profiling of cancer biomarkers, in vivo tumor imaging, and even targeted drug delivery. These emerging applications are currently being improved and integrated into clinical practice.