Resonance sensor measurements of stiffness variations in prostate tissue in vitro--a weighted tissue proportion model.

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men in Europe and the US. The methods to detect prostate cancer are still precarious and new techniques are needed. A piezoelectric transducer element in a feedback system is set to vibrate with its resonance frequency.

Prostate cancer detection with an improved resonance sensor system: parameter evaluation in a silicone model and on human prostate tissue in vitro.

The purpose of this study was to improve a resonance sensor system for prostate cancer detection and evaluate its performance on silicone with different hardness. Furthermore, to investigate if the instrument could distinguish between cancerous and normal prostate tissue in one in vitro prostate specimen. The system could measure the frequency shift, impression depth and the rise time of the force signal.

Expression of human chorionic gonadotropin beta-subunit type I genes predicts adverse outcome in renal cell carcinoma.

Expression of the free beta-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCGbeta) in malignant tumors is frequently associated with aggressive disease. The pretreatment serum concentration of hCGbeta is an independent prognostic variable in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The three so-called type II genes (hCGbeta 3/9, 5, and 8) have been shown to be up-regulated in relation to type I genes (hCGbeta 6/7) in some malignant tumors.

Prostate tissue stiffness as measured with a resonance sensor system: a study on silicone and human prostate tissue in vitro.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men in Europe and in the USA. Some prostate tumours are stiffer than the surrounding normal tissue, and it could therefore be of interest to measure prostate tissue stiffness. Resonance sensor technology based on piezoelectric resonance detects variations in tissue stiffness due to a change in the resonance frequency.

Different vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF-receptor 1 and -2 mRNA expression profiles between clear cell and papillary renal cell carcinoma.

Objectives: To examine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF-receptor-(R)1, and R2 mRNA levels in renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a tumour generally refractory to most medical therapy, but for which a potentially useful therapeutic alternative is inhibition of angiogenesis.

Patients And Methods: VEGF, VEGF-R1 and -R2 mRNA levels were analysed using the quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. RNA was extracted from 84 conventional (clear cell) RCCs (cRCC), 20 papillary (pRCC), six chromophobe (chRCC), and 27 corresponding kidney cortex tissues, obtained from 110 patients in whom high-quality RNA was available from the tumours (53 women and 57 men, mean age 64.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha expression in renal cell carcinoma analyzed by tissue microarray.

Objectives: Angiogenesis is important for tumour progression and metastatic spread. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1alpha) is a major factor regulating a number of other angiogenic factors. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a malignancy with a variable clinical course, partly attributable to specific genetic alterations of the different RCC types.

Different isoform patterns for vascular endothelial growth factor between clear cell and papillary renal cell carcinoma.

Objective: To investigate the protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) isoforms in relation to the clinical course in patients with different renal cell carcinoma (RCC) types, as angiogenesis is essential for tumour growth and metastasis.

Patients And Methods: Western blots were assayed of protein extracts from tumour and concomitant kidney cortex samples from 96 patients. The levels of VEGF189, VEGF165, and VEGF121 isoforms were correlated with clinicopathological characteristics and survival.

Post-thrombotic syndrome, recurrence, and death 10 years after the first episode of venous thromboembolism treated with warfarin for 6 weeks or 6 months.

Background: The influence of the duration of anticoagulant therapy after venous thromboembolism (VTE) on the long-term morbidity and mortality is unclear.

Aim: To investigate the long-term sequelae of VTE in patients randomized to different duration of secondary prophylaxis.

Methods: In a multicenter trial comparing secondary prophylaxis with vitamin K antagonists for 6 weeks or 6 months, we extended the originally planned 2 years follow-up to 10 years.

Endoglin (CD105) expression in human renal cell carcinoma.

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic potential of endoglin (CD105) expression in human renal cell carcinoma (RCC), as endoglin is a cell membrane glycoprotein expressed in tumour-associated vascular endothelium and a marker of angiogenesis; intratumoral microvessel density assessed by endoglin staining has prognostic significance in some neoplasms.

Patients And Methods: Tumour samples from 210 patients with RCC (168 conventional), diagnosed between 1982 and 1997, were assessed using the tissue microarray technique with immunohistochemical staining for endoglin. The expression of endoglin was related to clinical variables and survival.

Fruits and vegetables and renal cell carcinoma: findings from the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (EPIC).

We examined the association between fruits and vegetables and risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Dietary intake data and complete follow-up information on cancer incidence were available for 375,851 participants recruited in EPIC centers of 8 countries. During an average follow-up of 6.

Gene expression profiling predicts survival in conventional renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Conventional renal cell carcinoma (cRCC) accounts for most of the deaths due to kidney cancer. Tumor stage, grade, and patient performance status are used currently to predict survival after surgery. Our goal was to identify gene expression features, using comprehensive gene expression profiling, that correlate with survival.

Adrenal metastasis in renal cell carcinoma: a recommendation for adjustment of the TNM staging system.

Objectives: To study the incidence of adrenal metastasis in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) of all stages, its correlation with clinicopathological variables and its impact on survival. Furthermore, the need for adrenalectomy as part of the routine radical nephrectomy was assessed.

Material And Methods: The medical records of 321 patients with RCC of all stages who were operated on with the aim of performing adrenalectomy combined with radical nephrectomy between 1982 and 2000 were reviewed.

Body size and risk of renal cell carcinoma in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

Previous studies suggest that obesity is related to increased risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC); however, only a few studies report on measures of central vs. peripheral adiposity. We examined the association between anthropometric measures, including waist and hip circumference and RCC risk among 348,550 men and women free of cancer at baseline from 8 countries of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

Parathyroid hormone-related protein and serum calcium in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Objective: To evaluate serum parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) in relation to serum calcium and clinical outcome of patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Methods: Sera from 243 patients with renal cell carcinoma were collected prior to therapy. Serum PTHrP was analyzed using an immunoradiometric assay.

Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 is an independent predictor of prognosis in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Obesity is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, including renal cell carcinoma. A possible mediator of this risk is insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). The authors evaluated the prognostic information of IGF-1, IGFBP-3, leptin, and prealbumin in sera sampled at diagnosis from 256 consecutive patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Pro- and anti-inflammatory substances modulate expression of the leukotriene B4 receptor, BLT1, in human monocytes.

The high-affinity leukotriene B(4) (LTB(4)) receptor, BLT1, is a chemotactic receptor involved in inflammatory responses. In this study, we have explored the regulation of BLT1 expression in human monocytes by pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and dexamethasone. We found that proinflammatory mediators, such as interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and LPS, down-regulated expression, whereas the anti-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-10, and dexamethasone up-regulated BLT1 mRNA expression.

The expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha is a favorable independent prognostic factor in renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common malignancy of the kidney composed of specific tumor types. The sporadic conventional RCCs are, in contrast to the other RCC types, characterized by a high rate of von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) mutations and hypermethylation. The majority of these tumors lack functional VHL protein (pVHL) that leads to increased hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1alpha) expression.

ErbB4 is downregulated in renal cell carcinoma--a quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemical analysis of the epidermal growth factor receptor family.

In the present study the authors evaluated the expression of the EGFR family members ErbB2-4 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Thirty-one RCCs were examined for gene expression of ErbB2-4 mRNA by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. For eight of the patients samples of nonneoplastic kidney cortex were also evaluated.

Nephron-sparing surgery--strategies for partial nephrectomy in renal cell carcinoma.

The use of partial nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma has continuously changed in the clinical practice. Previously it was mostly used in imperative cases, in patients with a solitary kidney or in patients with a risk of renal failure. An increased number of incidentally detected renal cell carcinomas are diagnosed due to the advances of the radiological methods.

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor protein in human renal cell carcinoma.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF, one of the most important angiogenetic factors) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) by analysing many RCCs for the expression of immunohistochemical (IHC) VEGF-staining related to clinicopathological findings and survival.

Patients And Methods: VEGF immunostaining was examined with the tissue microarray (TMA) method on tumour samples from 229 patients and validated in 71 by ordinary tissue sections (TS). IHC VEGF expression was quantified by estimating the volume density and staining intensity on a three-grade scale.

Retinoblastoma protein in human renal cell carcinoma in relation to alterations in G1/S regulatory proteins.

The retinoblastoma gene product (pRb) is the main substrate for cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) during the G1/S transition. Aberrations in cell cycle regulatory proteins, which have been observed in many malignancies, can theoretically cause increased phosphorylation of pRb due to unbalanced CDK activities. The expression and phosphorylation of pRb and potential associations to cell cycle aberrations in renal cell carcinomas (RCC) has only partly been clarified.