TRAIL and osteoprotegerin (OPG) expression in bladder urothelial carcinoma: correlation with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis.

Aims: To investigate the expression of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in bladder urothelial carcinomas (UCs) and assess possible interrelations with other regulators of TRAIL induced apoptosis (p65/NF-κB, p-ERK1/2, p-AKT) and FGFR3, as well as to elucidate their potential involvement in bladder tumourigenesis and determine their potential prognostic utility.

Methods: Paraffin embedded transurethral resection tissue from 128 patients with UC was immunostained for TRAIL and OPG as well as for p65/NF-κB, p-ERK1/2, p-AKT and FGFR3.

Results: TRAIL and OPG were coexpressed in 96.

A comprehensive immunohistochemical and molecular approach to the PI3K/AKT/mTOR (phosphoinositide 3-kinase/v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene/mammalian target of rapamycin) pathway in bladder urothelial carcinoma.

Unlabelled: What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? A few published studies investigating single or various PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling components have produced inconsistent results. Moreover, PI3K regulatory subunit p85a and activated p70S6K expression levels have not been previously examined in urothelial carcinoma (UC). The present study addresses simultaneously all key members of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling cascade supporting a differential implication of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway components in urothelial tumorigenesis.

Prognostic significance of replication protein A (RPA) expression levels in bladder urothelial carcinoma.

Objective: To elucidate the role of replication protein A (RPA) in both superficial (Ta-T1) and muscle-invasive (T2-T4) urothelial carcinomas (UCs), investigating its potential prognostic usefulness.

Patients And Methods: Paraffin-embedded tissue from 156 patients with bladder UC was immunostained for RPA1 and RPA2.

Results: RPA1 and RPA2 labelling indexes (LIs) decreased with increasing histological grade (both P < 0.

D-type cyclins in superficial and muscle-invasive bladder urothelial carcinoma: correlation with clinicopathological data and prognostic significance.

Purpose: To elucidate the role of D-type cyclins in both superficial (Ta-T1) and muscle-invasive (T2-T4) urothelial carcinomas (UCs), investigating their potential prognostic usefulness.

Methods: Paraffin-embedded tissues from 157 patients with bladder UC were immunostained for cyclins D1, D2 and D3.

Results: Cyclin D1 expression positively correlated with D2 and negatively with D3.

Activation of extracellular regulated kinases (ERK1/2) predicts poor prognosis in urothelial bladder carcinoma and is not associated with B-Raf gene mutations.

Aim: The analysis of the presence of B-Raf gene mutations in relation to ERK1/2 activation in bladder urothelial carcinoma (UC), in order to determine their potential role in tumour aggressiveness and patients' survival.

Methods: Polymerase chain reaction-single strand confirmation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and sequencing analysis were used for B-Raf gene mutation detection. pERK1/2 and FGFR3 expression were examined by immunohistochemistry in 152 and 116 primary UCs, respectively.

Vascular fractal dimension and total vascular area in the study of oral cancer.

Background: Microvessel quantification has been studied extensively as a factor reflecting angiogenesis in various malignant tumors. The aim of our study was to evaluate the vascular fractal dimension and the immunohistochemically positive total vascular area in oral cavity carcinomas in order to assess their potential value as factors reflecting angiogenesis.

Methods: Histologic sections from 48 carcinomas and 17 nonmalignant mucosa specimens were evaluated by image analysis using fractal analysis software.

Clinical significance of nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB levels in urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder.

Nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB has been reported to be constitutively activated in various human neoplasms. However, its clinical significance in bladder urothelial carcinoma (UC) remains an unresolved issue. We conducted this study trying to elucidate the role of NFkappaB in bladder UC and its potential prognostic significance, by quantifying immunohistochemically the levels of p65/RelA expression in paraffin-embedded tissue from 116 patients.

Segmentation of transitional cell carcinoma nuclei by nonsupervised thresholding in different color spaces.

Objective: To develop a method for nonsupervised thresholding of transitional cell carcinoma nuclei of hematoxylin-eosin-stained histologic sections.

Study Design: For grayscale, RGB, HSL and L*a*b* thresholding we used an extension of a clustering method, based on a between-class/within-class criterion, applying optimal gray-level thresholding to distributions of R, G, B, or H and S or L* color domains. Algorithms were tested on 20 hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections of bladder carcinomas.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor of the urinary bladder in von Recklinghausen disease.

A case of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor of the bladder in a 57-year-old man with multiple neurofibromatosis type 1 is presented. The patient had a recent history of a transurethrally resected bladder ganglioneuroma. A probable histogenetic association between these two extremely rare neoplasms is proposed.