The predictive value of purified protein derivative results on complications and prognosis in patients with bladder cancer treated with bacillus Calmette-Guerin.

Purpose: We investigate the correlation of purified protein derivative (PPD) results before intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) instillations with prognosis and complications of BCG.

Materials And Methods: A total of 57 men and 4 women with proven intermediate or high risk superficial bladder cancer received 6 courses of intravesical BCG instillations following complete resection of tumors. Skin reactivity to a PPD derivative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was tested before starting and 1 week after BCG.

Gynecomastia following chemotherapy for testicular cancer.

A 22-year-old man received 4 cycles of bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin combination chemotherapy for clinical stage IIA embryonal cell carcinoma of the right testis. The treatment resulted in complete remission. Five months following cessation of the chemotherapy first on the left and then 2 weeks later on the right side painful gynecomastia developed.

Evaluation of diagnostic parameters of Wilson's disease in childhood.

Background: Wilson's disease (WD) is an autosomal recessive disorder with variable clinical presentation. Its diagnosis depends on a combination of clinical and laboratory findings. We evaluated the sensitivity of various diagnostic tests in children with WD and high liver copper concentrations.

Local staging of prostate cancer with endorectal surface coil MR imaging in a mid-field magnetic system.

To investigate the accuracy of endorectal surface coil magnetic resonance imaging (ecMRI) in a 1.0-T magnetic field for the local staging of prostate cancer, 25 patients were studied. In 14 Stages T1 and T2 tumors, 11 were correctly identified and 3 were overstaged.

Daily variability of serum prostate-specific antigen in men over 50 years of age.

In order to investigate the variability of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels a total of 44 men 50 years or older with normal digital rectal examination were enrolled. Blood samples were obtained three times within a day, and, immediately before and 72 hours after hospitalisation. Alterations in serum PSA value during the day and after hospitalisation, which might affect clinical decision, occurred in 15% of the cases with borderline PSA values.

Changes in hepatitis B virus serology in bone marrow transplanted children.

Suppression of the immune system and reconstitution of the donor's immune system may affect the course of a chronic viral infection in the recipients. The aim of this study is to evaluate changes in hepatitis B virus (HBV) serology after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). HBV serology and hepatic function tests were examined in 45 children before and after BMT.

Microstaging of pT1 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. Does it really differentiate two populations with different prognoses? (pT1 subcategory).

Introduction: Our objective was to evaluate the feasibility and value of microstaging in pT1 transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder in a well-defined group of patients treated with transurethral resection (TUR) only.

Materials And Methods: The clinical records of 152 patients who underwent TUR for the treatment of primary superficial TCC of the bladder between 1983 and 1997 were reviewed. Patients with primary carcinoma in situ and who received adjuvant intravesical treatments were excluded from study.

Radical cystectomy versus alternative treatments for muscle-confined bladder cancer.

Of the 100 patients with muscle-confined transitional cell cancer of the bladder and ASA score < or = 3, 59 underwent radical cystectomy (RC) and 41 received non-cystectomy alternative treatments (AT). Median follow-up was 30.8 and 30.

Sensorineural hearing loss as an extra-intestinal manifestation of ulcerative colitis in an adolescent girl with pyoderma gangrenosum.

Unlabelled: Inflammatory bowel disease is becoming increasingly frequent in children of all ages. In addition to the usual gastrointestinal stigmata of weight loss, anaemia, and rectal bleeding, children may exhibit prominent extra-intestinal manifestations such as joint symptoms, skin signs and some other auto-immune manifestations. Here we present a 15-year-old girl with ulcerative colitis in whom pyoderma gangrenosum and acute sensorineural hearing loss developed.

Bladder cancer.

Bladder cancer is a common and chemotherapy-responsive tumor, related to tobacco smoking, environmental arsenic exposure, industrial dye exposure, and parasitic schistosomiasis exposure. Both reduction of carcinogen exposure and chemoprevention, possibly with cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors, should reduce the incidence. The search for the ideal screening and monitoring test continues with some promising new candidates, including survivin.

Determination of prognosis in patients with prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy: prognostic value of CD44v6 score.

Purpose: A third of the patients treated with radical prostatectomy experience progression even when tumors are confined pathologically to the prostate. CD44 may be a promising prognostic marker for determining malignant potential. However, there has not been a standard scoring system because of its heterogeneous staining pattern.

Surgical management of renal cell carcinoma with inferior vena cava tumor thrombus.

Background: The successful excision of a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) invading the inferior vena cava (IVC) remains a technical intraoperative challenge and requires a careful preoperative surgical management planning. Although a radical operation remains the mainstay of the therapy for RCC, the optimal management of the patients with RCC causing IVC tumor thrombus remains unresolved. In this study, we reviewed our experience in this group of patients and herein report the results.

P53 codon 72 polymorphism in bladder cancer--no evidence of association with increased risk or invasiveness.

We studied the effect of the p53 gene Arg72Pro polymorphism on bladder cancer susceptibility in a case control study of 121 bladder cancer patients and 114 age-sex matched controls to determine whether this polymorphism is a biomarker for the risk and how aggressive the disease is. Genomic DNA was obtained from venous blood samples for genotype determination by PCR and restriction digestion. The genotype frequencies in the patient group were Arg/Arg: 0.

Combined use of prostate-specific antigen derivatives decreases the number of unnecessary biopsies to detect prostate cancer.

The authors evaluated the prostate cancer detection rate in Turkish patients with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels of 4 ng/ml to 10 ng/ml and who had normal digital rectal examination (DRE) findings. They also aimed to evaluate the value of PSA density and percent free PSA in minimizing unnecessary prostate biopsies for these PSA ranges. This prospective study included 134 consecutive men referred for early prostate cancer detection or lower urinary tract symptoms.

False-positive results of the NMP22 test due to hematuria.

Purpose: The problem with available markers for bladder cancer is their low specificity and low positive predictive value due to false-positive results. False-positive results of the NMP22 nuclear matrix protein test (Matritech, Cambridge, Massachusetts) are usually observed in some clinical categories that are usually associated with hematuria and pyuria. This problem is especially serious in bladder cancer since 85% of patients present with hematuria.

Polymorphisms of glutathione S-transferase genes (GSTM1, GSTP1 and GSTT1) and bladder cancer susceptibility in the Turkish population.

We investigated the effect of the GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes, and GSTP1 313 A/G polymorphism on bladder cancer susceptibility in a case control study of 121 bladder cancer patients, and 121 age- and sex-matched controls of the Turkish population. The adjusted odds ratio for age, sex, and smoking status is 1.94 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.

Repeated transurethral resection and intravesical BCG for extensive superficial bladder tumors.

Purpose: We report our experience with repeat transurethral resection (TUR) in a group of patients with superficial bladder tumors in whom complete resection in one session was impossible because of the extensive tumor burden.

Patients And Methods: Only the patients with such extensive (>10 g of resected tissue) tumors that we were unable to perform complete TUR initially were included in the present study. The patients underwent repeat TUR(s) 4 weeks after the previous one until complete resection of the tumor was achieved.

Percutaneous nephrostomy in the management of malignant ureteral obstruction secondary to bladder cancer.

Background And Purpose: Malignant ureteral obstruction (MUO) is a common late manifestation of metastatic bladder cancer. We investigated the effectiveness of percutaneous nephrostomy (PN) in our patients with MUO associated with bladder cancer as judged by the serum creatinine concentration in the presence of unilateral or bilateral obstruction and in relation to the treatment results.

Patients And Methods: The records of 23 consecutive patients with a mean age of 55 years (21 men, 2 women) who underwent PN were retrospectively reviewed.