[Local recurrence of pheochromocytoma associated with von Hippel-Lindau disease 26 years after bilateral adrenalectomy : a case report].

A 60-year-old man who had undergone left adrenalectomy and right partial adrenalectomy for bilateral pheochromocytoma 26 years ago was found to have an elevated serum noradrenaline (NA) and dopamine (DA) during a long-term follow-up. At the time of right partial adrenalectomy, the normal part of the right adrenal gland was preserved. His cousin and second cousin had pheochromocytoma associated with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease.

[Successful control of hyper-cortisolemia due to ACTH-producing thyroid carcinoid by laparoscopic bilateral adrenalectomy : a case report].

A 22-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of facial edema and increasing body weight. Under the diagnosis of Cushing syndrome due to an adrenocorticotropic (ACTH)-producing thyroid tumor, thyroidectomy with regional lymph node dissection was performed. Histopathological diagnosis was thyroid carcinoid.

[Testicular tumor arising in intra-abdominal testis which was not detected at prior orchidopexy : a case report].

A 35-year-old man with an intra-abdominal testicular tumor arising from the right unresolved intraabdominal testis is reported. At 10 years old, left orchidopexy was successfully performed for bilateral undescended testes. However, the right testis was not detected during the operation, and it was diagnosed as vanishing testis.

Blood group antigen-targeting peptide suppresses anti-blood group antibody binding to antigen in renal glomerular capillaries after ABO-incompatible blood reperfusion.

Background: Antibody-mediated rejection after ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation (ABO-I KTx) is a major barrier to transplantation success. The advent of immunosuppressive therapy has markedly improved graft survival in ABO-I KTx. However, compared with normal KTx, clinical conditions during ABO-I KTx are difficult to control because of overimmunosuppression.

[Metastatic renal tumor from oral floor cancer: a case report].

A 61-year-old man with oral floor cancer (adenoid cystic carcinoma, T2N0M1) was treated with systemicc hemotherapy and radiation therapy at the department of dentistry and oral surgery in our hospital. He had three lung metastases and renal tumors detected by screening computed tomography. The oral floor cancer responded to the treatment to achieve partial response.

Efficacies and safety of neoadjuvant gemcitabine plus carboplatin followed by immediate cystectomy in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, including those unfit for cisplatin: a prospective single-arm study.

Background: Neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (BC) has better survival benefit than radical cystectomy (RC) alone. However, optimal dosing schedule, including drug selection, number of cycles, and interval between chemotherapy and cystectomy, as well as acceptable regimens remain to be established. We conducted a single-arm prospective study to evaluate efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant gemcitabine plus carboplatin (GCarbo) chemotherapy followed by immediate RC in patients with muscle-invasive BC, including cisplatin-unfit patients.

Sarcoidosis of the ureter.

We report a rare case of sarcoidosis of the ureter in a 65-year-old Japanese man. Left nephroureterectomy and regional lymph node dissection were performed under the clinical diagnosis of transitional cell carcinoma of the left ureter with lymph node metastasis. Microscopically, noncaseous epithelioid granuloma with large Langerhans cells was noted in the ureter and dissected lymph nodes.

[Adrenal pheochromocytoma with multiple neurofibromatosis on the trunk].

We report a case of adrenal pheochromocytoma in a patient with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). A 65-year-old female patient was admitted to our hospital for examination of a right adrenal mass. The adrenal tumor was incidentally discovered by abdominal computed tomography during examination for hypertension in another hospital.

Carboplatin-gemcitabine combination chemotherapy upregulates AKR1B10 expression in bladder cancer.

Background: AKR1B10 is considered to contribute to cell proliferation and chemoresistance. In the present study, we examined whether AKR1B10 expression is associated with disease-free survival in bladder cancer patients.

Methods: We obtained bladder cancer specimens from 10 patients before and after chemotherapy and measured AKR1B10 mRNA levels using real-time PCR.

Efficacy of SMART Stent Placement for Salvage Angioplasty in Hemodialysis Patients with Recurrent Vascular Access Stenosis.

Vascular access stenosis is a major complication in hemodialysis patients. We prospectively observed 50 patients in whom 50 nitinol shape-memory alloy-recoverable technology (SMART) stents were used as salvage therapy for recurrent peripheral venous stenosis. Twenty-five stents each were deployed in native arteriovenous fistula (AVF) and synthetic arteriovenous polyurethane graft (AVG) cases.

[Additional effect of propiverine for naftopidil-resistant nocturia in the patient with benign prostate hypertrophy].

The efficacy and safety of additional administration of propiverine were prospectively studied for naftopidil-resistant nocturia in patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Patients of 50 years and over with BPH who experienced nocturia twice a night or more and an overall International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) of 8 or more were first administered naftopidil (50 or 75 mg/day) for 4 weeks. Thirty subjects who did not show improvement in nocturia and requested further treatment were enrolled in the present study.

Surgical treatment of a giant liposarcoma in a Japanese man.

We report a case of a rapidly progressing giant retroperitoneal liposarcoma weighing 22 kg in a 41-year-old Japanese man, successfully treated with surgical excision. To our knowledge, this is the largest liposarcoma in the Japanese population reported in the literature.

[Ganglioneuroma with calcification mimicking adrenal tumor: a case report].

A 28-year-old woman was referred to our hospital complaining of upper abdominal discomfort. The patient had been receiving medical treatment for hypertension. Computed tomography revealed a 30 mm solid tumor with calcification in the left adrenal gland and a 8 mm nodule in the right adrenal gland.

[The giant schwannoma in the pelvic cavity: a case report].

A 62-year-old man presented with a giant tumor in the pelvic cavity that was incidentally revealed by abdominal ultrasonography. Abdominal magnetic resonance imaging showed the heterogenous tumor in the pelvis with cystic components. The tumor was 10.

[Significance of a simple assay of urine telomerase activity for the detection of bladder cancer].

We developed a simple urine telomerase activity assay by a modification of the TeloTAGGG telomerase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. We conjugated digoxygenin (DIG) with the CX primer of omitting hybridization of PCR products and DIG-labeled probe. The sensitivity and specificity of bladder cancer diagnosis on 100 patients with bladder cancer and 25 healthy volunteers using the simple urine telomerase activity measurement were 81% and 92%, respectively.

Cauda equina symptoms are closely related to male lower urinary tract symptoms.

Introduction: To determine the impact of cauda equina symptoms on male lower urinary tract function, we investigated the related risk factors in healthy Japanese men.

Methods: Subjects included 345 healthy males (average age 56 years; range 26-83) who participated in the Iwaki Health Promotion Project in 2006. They were residents of Iwaki district, Hirosaki City, northern Japan.

[Relationship between tumor volume and PSA recurrence after radical prostatectomy].

We examined whether the tumor volume (TV) is a good predictor of PSA recurrence after radical prostatectomy. Data were collected for 158 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy without neoadjuvant hormonal therapy in our hospital since April 2005 to September 2007. Along with the routine pathological assessment, TV was assessed in all prostatectomy specimens.

Uterus-, fallopian tube-, ovary-, and vagina-sparing cystectomy followed by U-shaped ileal neobladder construction for female bladder cancer patients: oncological and functional outcomes.

Objectives: To evaluate oncological outcomes and voiding functions after orthotopic neobladder reconstruction with preservation of gynecologic organs in female bladder cancer patients.

Methods: A total of 30 consecutive female patients who underwent radical cystectomy and U-shaped ileal neobladder (constructed using 40 cm of a double-folded ileal loop) substitution were retrospectively analyzed. Of the 30 patients, 29 had urothelial carcinoma and 1 had leiomyosarcoma.

[Solitary fibrous tumor of the kidney: a case report].

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) of the kidney is rare. A 76-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with a complaint of an incidentaloma of the right kidney. Computed tomography revealed an ovoid, hypervascular tumor in the right kidney.

Risk factors for erectile dysfunction in healthy Japanese men.

The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for erectile dysfunction (ED) in healthy men. A comprehensive risk factor investigation was carried out in a Japanese community. The subjects were 280 healthy male volunteers with an average age of 56 years (range: 20-83 years) who participated in the Iwaki Health Promotion Project in 2006.