Progression of Human Renal Cell Carcinoma via Inhibition of RhoA-ROCK Axis by PARG1.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most lethal urological malignancy with high risk of recurrence; thus, new prognostic biomarkers are needed. In this study, a new RCC antigen, PTPL1 associated RhoGAP1 (PARG1), was identified by using serological identification of recombinant cDNA expression cloning with sera from RCC patients. PARG1 protein was found to be differentially expressed in RCC cells among patients.

[The diagnostic value of pre-biopsy magnetic resonance imaging for precise detection of clinically localized prostate cancer compared to post-biopsy setting].

A total of 136 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy following histological diagnosis of prostate cancer by transrectal biopsy and 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were evaluated. MRI was performed on 26 patients before prostate biopsy (pre-biopsy group) and on 110 patients after prostate biopsy (post-biopsy group). We defined the largest tumor focus in a radical prostatectomy specimen as the index cancer.

[The efficacy of direct vision internal urethrotomy for male urethral stricture].

Objective: Direct vision internal urethrotomy (DVIU) has been considered to be a low invasive and widely used therapeutic modality for male urethral stricture. However, its efficacy is still controversial. We herein evaluated the efficacy of DVIU for male urethral stricture.

[Causes and salvage of failed urethroplasties for traumatic urethral injury].

Objectives: Salvage urethroplasty after failed repair of traumatic urethral injury is a urological challenge, and we herein describe our experience with it.

Methods: From October 2010 to January 2012, five patients underwent salvage repair of failed urethroplasties for traumatic urethral injuries: three bulbar straddle injuries and two pelvic fracture urethral injuries. One of the three failed urethroplasties for bulbar straddle injuries was a stricture excision and primary anastomosis, and its failure was due to periurethral abscess formation.

Increased expression of α-actinin-4 is associated with unfavorable pathological features and invasiveness of bladder cancer.

In the present study, the association between clinicopathological parameters and α-actinin-4 (ACTN4) expression in bladder cancer specimens was evaluated, and the functional role of ACTN4 in bladder cancer cells was investigated. Immunohistochemistry using anti-ACTN4 antibody was performed in bladder cancer specimens (53 superficial and 42 muscle-invasive cases) from 95 patients who underwent radical cystectomy (n=46) or transurethral resection (TUR) only (n=49). We divided the levels of ACTN4 expression into 2 groups (low or high) by comparing the staining intensity in each specimen with that of the vascular endothelial cells in the same specimen, and we evaluated the correlations between these levels and pathological parameters, recurrence and prognosis.

Impact of increased erythropoietin receptor expression and elevated serum erythropoietin levels on clinicopathological features and prognosis in renal cell carcinoma.

Erythropoietin (EPO) expression and EPO receptor (EpoR) expression have been demonstrated in various malignant tumors. EPO-EpoR signaling can activate several downstream signal transduction pathways that enhance tumor aggressiveness. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of overexpression of EpoR and elevated serum EPO (sEPO) levels on the clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Glucose-regulated protein 78 positivity as a predictor of poor survival in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Introduction: Glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), a chaperone for newly formed proteins during folding and glycosylation, is associated with resistance to apoptosis in some forms of cancer. We assessed GRP78 expression and its correlation with clinicopathological parameters and survival.

Patients And Methods: Immunohistochemistry was performed using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens: 128 primary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) specimens (120 conventional and 8 other cell types) and 9 metastatic specimens.

[Clinical experience of 52 patients undergoing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy].

Perioperative results and oncological and functional results were evaluated for 52 patients who underwent laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP). Median operative time was 341 minutes and median blood loss was 828 ml. The intraoperative complications were hemorrhage exceeding 3,000 ml (five cases), ureteral injury (two cases), and rectal injury (one case).

A case report of retroaortic left renal vein with tumor thrombus of renal cell carcinoma.

A 75-year-old woman was referred to our department for evaluation of a left renal tumor. Computed tomography and other imaging studies demonstrated a left renal mass and tumor extension into the left renal vein passing caudally behind the aorta. We clinically diagnosed the tumor as renal cell carcinoma (RCC) associated with a retroaortic left renal vein thrombus, and performed a radical nephrectomy.

[Spontaneous rupture of the ureter as the primary symptom of malignant lymphoma].

We report a rare case in which upper ureteral rupture was the primary symptom of malignant lymphoma. A 74-year-old female visited our hospital with left flank pain. Computed tomography showed urinoma around the left kidney and retrograde pyelography showed a diffuse filling defect in the left ureter and a rupture of the upper portion of that ureter.

[Clinical experience of treatment of liver metastasis of renal cell carcinoma treated with SMANCS/Lipiodol therapy].

The treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has changed dramatically after the beginning of molecular-targeted therapies. However,the treatment for liver metastasis is still difficult in patients with metastatic RCC. We treated liver metastases (8 target lesions) of RCC with stylene-maleic acid neocarzinostatin (SMANCS)/Lipiodol therapy.

[Case of primary amelanotic malignant melanoma of the female urethra].

We report a rare case of primary amelanotic malignant melanoma of the female urethra. A 58-year-old female with complaint of nodule on the external urethral meatus was referred to our hospital. Pathological diagnosis of the biopsy specimen from the nodule was malignant melanoma.

Severe polyuria after the resection of adrenal pheochromocytoma.

A 73-year-old male patient with hypertension and hyperglycemia was referred to our hospital because of a diagnosis regarding his left adrenal tumor. Because the levels of urinary metanephrine and normetanephrine were elevated, and (131) I-MIBG scintigraphy showed intense uptake in the adrenal tumor, the tumor was diagnosed as a pheochromocytoma. An adrenalectomy was carried out.

[Oral mucosa graft urethroplasty for complicated urethral strictures].

Objective: We evaluated the efficacy and outcome of one-stage oral mucosa graft urethroplasty, which is currently the procedure of choice for treating lengthy and complicated urethral strictures not amenable to excision and primary end-to-end anastomosis.

Patients And Methods: Seven patients 33 to 74 years old (mean age = 53.7) underwent one-stage oral mucosa graft urethroplasty for a stricture in either the bulbar urethra (four patients), penile urethra (two patients), or pan-anterior urethra (one patient).

Adrenomedullin increases renal nitric oxide production and ameliorates renal injury in mice with unilateral ureteral obstruction.

Purpose: We evaluated the effects of adrenomedullin (Peptide Institute, Minoh-shi, Osaka, Japan) on mediators, including nitric oxide and transforming growth factor-beta, and parameters of renal injury in a murine unilateral ureteral obstruction model.

Materials And Methods: Three study groups of control, adrenomedullin treated and adrenomedullin plus L-NAME treated BALB/C mice, respectively, underwent left unilateral ureteral obstruction. A 24-hour urine sample was collected to measure urinary NO(2)/NO(3) 1 day before unilateral ureteral obstruction and kidneys were harvested on postoperative day 14.

Bilateral adrenal leiomyosarcoma treated with multiple local therapies.

A 62-year-old woman presented with right flank pain, and computed tomography (CT) showed bilateral adrenal tumors (right, 8 cm; left, 4 cm). There were no abnormal findings on physical examination, and adrenal hormone levels in serum and urine were within normal limits. Radiological studies showed a right adrenal tumor with intratumoral hemorrhage, a cystic tumor in the left adrenal gland, and no sign of distant metastasis.

[Two cases of unilateral adrenalectomy for bilateral adrenal Cushing syndrome].

For treatment of bilateral adrenal Cushing syndrome (CS) unilateral adrenalectomy (UAdx) is less invasive than bilateral adrenalectomy and lifetime replacement of glucocorticoids can be avoided. Laparoscopic UAdxs was performed on 2 patients with bilateral adrenal CS. In both cases, symptoms associated with CS were improved after UAdx.

Clinical impact of the presence of the worst nucleolar grade in renal cell carcinoma specimens.

Objective: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with a high-nucleolar-grade component is considered to be an aggressive type of tumor. In the present study, we evaluated the impact of the presence of the worst-nucleolar-grade component and also tried to determine predictors for recurrence and prognosis in patients with the worst grade component.

Methods: We evaluated 314 patients with RCC.

[Case of pelvic retroperitoneal fibrosis].

A 66-year-old man visited his nearby clinic with a complaint of left lower abdominal pain. Abdominal CT scan showed left hydronephrosis due to lower ureteral involvement by infiltrative retroperitoneal mass located outside of the left posterior wall of the bladder and left seminal vesicle. He was referred to our hospital for further examination.

A potential novel combination therapy targeting survivin in renal cancer cells: Inhibition of survivin expression by topotecan and hexamethylene bisacetamide.

Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis and, as it is found in many tumors but not in most normal differentiated tissues, is an attractive target for cancer therapy. Survivin expression has been associated with cell proliferation in renal cancer. We previously demonstrated the possibility of treating renal cancer by suppressing survivin expression using the topoisomerase I inhibitor topotecan and survivin-specific siRNA.

[Severe hypoglycemia after resection of adrenal pheochromocytoma: a case report].

A 55-year-old female presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage and was admitted to the department of neurosurgery. Because she had severe hypertension, systemic evaluation was performed. Computed tomography showed a right adrenal tumor which was suspected to be a pheochromocytoma because catecholamine levels were very high in both serum and 24-hour urine.

Activated Akt prevents antitumor activity of gefitinib in renal cancer cells.

Objectives: To investigate the mechanism of gefitinib resistance in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cells. Although epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is frequently overexpressed in RCC, gefitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of EGFR, has only a limited antitumor effect on RCC.

Methods: The effects of gefitinib on the activation status of EGFR and kinases downstream in its signaling cascade were examined in three gefitinib-resistant RCC cell lines: SKRC-44, KU20-01, and 786-O.

Extraperitoneal bladder rupture with severe lacerations of the urogenital diaphragm: a case report.

Background: A 65-year woman injured by automobile had an open-book type pelvic fracture and extraperitoneal bladder rupture.

Case Presentation: Non-surgical management was selected because of suspected minor leakage. A follow-up CT cystography on day 21 showed a large urinoma.

A case of vesicocutaneous fistula to the thigh.

We report a case of vesicocutaneous fistula to the thigh that developed 7 years after an injury to the pelvis. A 34-year-old male patient was referred to our hospital because of a water-soluble yellow exudate from his left thigh. A urinary fistula was suggested by the results of an intravenous indigo carmine injection.

Fatty acid synthase over expression is an indicator of tumor aggressiveness and poor prognosis in renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: Fatty acid synthase is a key enzyme in the de novo biosynthesis of fatty acids. Increased fatty acid synthase expression and its association with tumor aggressiveness and poor prognosis have been demonstrated in various human malignant tumors. We investigated fatty acid synthase expression in patients with renal cell carcinoma and its impact on clinicopathological parameters.