Renal Transplant Recipients: The Factors Related to Immunosuppressive Medication Adherence Based on the Health Belief Model.

Background: Kidney transplant failures are caused primarily by lack of adherence to immunosuppressive medication regimens by patients after transplantation. A number of studies have indicated that health-related beliefs are an effective predictor of health-related behavior.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to understand the influence of the personal characteristics and health-related beliefs of patients on adherence to treatment with immunosuppressive medication based on the Health Belief Model.

Impact of androgen-deprivation therapy on the outcome of dose-escalation prostate cancer radiotherapy without elective pelvic irradiation.

The benefit of androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) in combination with dose-escalated radiotherapy (DERT) for localized prostate cancer has not been determined in randomized studies. In this study, the benefit of ADT was assessed in patients uniformly treated with dose-escalated intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to the prostate and seminal vesicles but not pelvis. In all, 419 patients with localized prostate adenocarcinoma underwent definitive IMRT (cumulative dose 78 Gy), with 32.

Dual-timing PSA as a biomarker for patients with salvage intensity modulated radiation therapy for biochemical failure after radical prostatectomy.

We investigated the outcomes and the associated clinical-pathological factors in patients with prostate cancer (PCa) undergoing salvage intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for post-radical-prostatectomy (RP) biochemical failure. We report clinical outcomes of post-RP salvage IMRT, and describe chronic toxicity in these patients.Fifty patients with PCa underwent post-RP salvage IMRT.

The outcome and prognostic factors for lymph node recurrence after node-sparing definitive external beam radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer.

Background: The prognostic factors for the recurrence of lymph node (LN) metastasis after dose-escalated radiotherapy (RT) in prostate cancer patients have not been well investigated. We report the prognostic factors and outcomes in patients receiving salvage treatment for LN recurrence after high-dose intensity-modulated RT (IMRT).

Methods: We studied a cohort of 419 patients with localized prostate adenocarcinoma undergoing definitive IMRT (78 Gy).

The impact of pain control on physical and psychiatric functions of cancer patients: a nation-wide survey in Taiwan.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of pain in cancer patients at different disease statuses, the impact of pain on physical and psychiatric functions of patients and the satisfaction of pain control of patients at outpatient clinic department in Taiwan.

Methods: Short form of the Brief Pain Inventory was used as the outcome questionnaire. Unselected patients of different cancers and different disease statuses at outpatient clinic department were included.

Does varicocele grade predict the postoperative changes of semen parameters following left inguinal micro-varicocelectomy?

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between preoperative grade and postoperative changes of semen parameters following left inguinal varicocelectomy.

Methods: This study included 44 patients undergoing left microsurgical inguinal varicocelectomy. Internal spermatic veins were classified as large (4 mm or more in diameter), medium (2-4 mm), or small (2 mm or less).

Increased upper and lower tract urothelial carcinoma in patients with end-stage renal disease: a nationwide cohort study in Taiwan during 1997-2008.

Background: Urothelial cancer (UC) is the leading cancer of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in Taiwan. The aims of this study were to explore the time trends of UC incidences and propose possible etiologic factors.

Methods: Abstracting from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), there were 90,477 newly diagnosed cases of ESRD between 1997 and 2008 covering the patients aged 40-85.

Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy monotherapy, a more aggressive yet less invasive option, is oncologically effective in selected men with high-risk prostate cancer having only one D'Amico risk factor: experience from an Asian tertiary referral center.

Purpose: To present oncologic results of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) monotherapy for men with high-risk, localized prostate cancer, and to find factors associated with a good prognosis via surgery alone.

Patients And Methods: Between 2002 and 2009, 241 men underwent LRP at an Asian tertiary referral center. Among them, we retrospectively identified 85 (35.

Microanatomy of the spermatic cords during microsurgical inguinal varicocelectomy: initial experience in Asian men.

The microanatomy of the inguinal spermatic cords has never been reported in Asia. The purpose of this study was to describe the number and relationship of the veins, arteries and lymphatics in the spermatic cord and to clarify the location of the vas deferens in Asian men. Fifty-one patients receiving 79 primary microsurgical varicocelectomies performed by a single surgeon from April 2011 to July 2012 were studied.

Down-regulation of PKCζ in renal cell carcinoma and its clinicopathological implications.

Background: Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is highly resistant to systemic chemotherapy. Unfortunately, nearly all patients die of the metastatic and chemoresistant RCC. Recent studies have shown the atypical PKCζ is an important regulator of tumorigenesis.

ΑB-crystallin in clear cell renal cell carcinoma: tumor progression and prognostic significance.

Objectives: AlphaB-crystallin (αB-crystallin), a small heat shock protein, has been reported to be involved in the growth, antiapoptosis, migration, and chemoresistance of human malignancies.

Materials And Methods: αB-crystallin expression in normal renal and clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) tissues was examined with two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis assays. Immunohistochemistry was conducted to determine the presence of αB-crystallin-positive tumor cells and staining intensity in 50 cases of ccRCC tissue samples.

Long-term oncologic outcomes of hand-assisted retroperitoneoscopic radical nephrectomy to treat clinically localized renal cell carcinoma.

Background/purpose: To evaluate the long-term oncological outcomes of hand-assisted retroperitoneoscopic radical nephrectomy (HARRN) for treating clinically localized renal cell carcinoma.

Methods: We retrospectively collected and analyzed the data and clinical outcomes of 46 patients who underwent HARRN and 50 patients who underwent conventional open radical nephrectomy (ORN) at our institution for clinical localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Results: The median follow-up period of the HARRN group was 56.

Oncologic outcomes of asian men with clinically localized prostate cancer after extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: a single-institution experience.

Purpose. To evaluate the midterm oncologic results of extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (EPLRP) for Asian men with localized prostate cancer. Methods.

Bladder migration of Hem-o-Lok clips after laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy and bladder cuff excision.

The Hem-o-Lok clips are widely used in various laparoscopic operations because of its easy application and secure clamping. The Hem-o-Lok clips were adopted to ligate bladder cuff during bladder cuff excision because of its advantages. We report 2 cases of bladder migration of Hem-o-Lok clips after laparoscopic nephroureterectomy and bladder cuff excision.

Novel inanimate training model for urethrovesical anastomosis in laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

Objective: We developed a novel ex vivo training model for advanced laparoscopic suturing techniques necessary in laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP).

Methods: An inanimate model was developed to approximate real-life conditions in laparoscopic urethrovesical anastomosis. A segment of porcine ovarian tube inserted through a hard piece of cardboard (urethral stump) in a small open box and a part of pig stomach with a 2-cm hole (bladder neck) were placed in a specially designed setup in a traditional pelvic trainer, while the trocars were arranged in the usual five-port style during an LRP.

Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase induces cellular invasion through activating matrix metalloproteinase-2 expression in clear cell renal cell carcinoma cells.

Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) was recently identified as one clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC)-associated gene by analyzing full-length complementary DNA-enriched libraries of ccRCC tissues. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential role of NNMT in cellular invasion. A strong NNMT expression is accompanied with a high invasive activity in ccRCC cell lines, and small interfering RNA-mediated NNMT knockdown effectively suppressed the invasive capacity of ccRCC cells, whereas NNMT overexpression markedly enhanced that of human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cells.

Cadmium burden and the risk and phenotype of prostate cancer.

Background: Studies on the association between prostate cancer and cadmium exposure have yielded conflicting results. This study explored cadmium burden on the risk and phenotype of prostate cancer in men with no evident environmental exposure.

Methods: Hospital-based 261 prostate cancer cases and 267 controls with benign diseases were recruited from four hospitals in Taiwan.

Repetitive hypoxic preconditioning attenuates renal ischemia/reperfusion induced oxidative injury via upregulating HIF-1 alpha-dependent bcl-2 signaling.

Background: In response to ischemic/hypoxic preconditioning, tissues/organs exhibit protective responses to subsequent and severe ischemic stress. We hypothesized that repetitive hypoxic preconditioning (RHP) may provide long-lasting protection than single preconditioning against ischemia/reperfusion injury in rat kidneys through hypoxia-induced factor (HIF)-1-dependent pathway.

Methods: For RHP induction, female Wistar rats were subjected to intermittent hypoxic exposure (380 Torr) 15 hr/day for 28 days.

Radical cystectomy in the treatment of bladder cancer: oncological outcome and survival predictors.

Background/purpose: To better understand the result of radical cystectomy in the treatment of bladder cancer, we analyzed our data and reported the oncological outcomes and survival predictors.

Methods: Patients underwent radical cystectomy for bladder transitional cell carcinoma between March 1995 and July 2007 were evaluated. The clinical course, pathological characteristics, and clinical outcomes were described and analyzed.

Using cone-beam computed tomography to evaluate the impact of bladder filling status on target position in prostate radiotherapy.

Purpose: To assess bladder filling status and its impact on target position during daily intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) in prostate cancer patients.

Patients And Methods: 23 patients with prostate cancer undergoing image-guided IMRT (78 Gy in 39 fractions) were included. On-board CBCT images were acquired daily and an endorectal balloon was placed daily.

Characterization of membranous and cytoplasmic EGFR expression in human normal renal cortex and renal cell carcinoma.

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is highly resistant to conventional systemic treatments, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal therapies. Previous studies have shown over-expression of EGFR is associated with high grade tumors and a worse prognosis. Recent studies suggest anticancer therapies targeting the EGFR pathway have shown promising results in clinical trials of RCC patients.

Intermediate-term oncological outcomes of hand-assisted laparoscopic versus open bilateral nephroureterectomy for dialysis and kidney transplant patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma.

Purpose: To compare the outcomes of hand-assisted laparoscopic bilateral nephroureterectomy (HALBNU) for dialysis and kidney transplant patients with clinically localized upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUT-UC) with those achieved by open bilateral nephroureterectomy (OBNU).

Materials And Methods: Between 1995 and 2006, 49 patients under dialysis or after kidney transplantation underwent simultaneous bilateral nephroureterectomy for clinically presumed localized UUT-UC at our institute. Of those, 33 underwent HALBNU and 16 received conventional open surgery.

Laparoscopic simultaneous bilateral partial and total adrenalectomy: a longer follow-up.

Objective: To examine the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic simultaneous bilateral adrenal surgery (LSBAS) and to compare the results between laparoscopic total adrenalectomy (TA) and partial adrenalectomy (PA).

Patients And Methods: Between 1999 and January 2008, 12 patients underwent LBAS in our institution, with TA used in four with Cushing's disease refractory to pituitary surgery or radiation, in one with occult ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) Cushing's syndrome, and one with bilateral adrenal macronodular hyperplasia. Six patients (five with primary aldosteronism and one with Cushing's syndrome) had bilateral functioning tumours had bilateral PAs.