[Amyloidosis of the ureter arising secondarily to the systemic lupus erythematosus : a case report].

A 55-year-old man was referred to our department with the chief complaint of left flank pain. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a left hydronephroureter due to the ureteral stenosis with a mass. We considered the possibility of a malignant neoplasm, and performed laparoscopic left total nephroureterectomy.

Potential predictive factors of positive prostate biopsy in the Japanese population.

Introduction: There are numerous arguments for the predictive factors of positive prostate biopsies, differing according to race and region. This study aimed to determine predictive factors for a positive prostate biopsy in East Asian, especially Japanese men, using clinical, laboratory, and transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) findings.

Methods: Data were collected from 466 men who underwent a prostate biopsy for suspected prostate cancer.

New targets for therapy in prostate cancer: modulation of stromal-epithelial interactions.

Changes in genomic and phenotypic expression of progressing prostate tumors and their stroma occur in a dynamic fashion based on bidirectional signaling from stromal-epithelial interactions. These interactions may underlie the ability of prostate cancer cells to survive and proliferate in the prostate and bone. By investigating the phenotypic and genotypic changes of stromal cells adjacent to cancer cells and the reciprocal changes of cancer cells, novel molecular markers may be developed to diagnose cancer earlier before pathologic appearance of cancer cells at the primary site.

Phase I dose escalation clinical trial of adenovirus vector carrying osteocalcin promoter-driven herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase in localized and metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

Osteocalcin (OC), a major noncollagenous bone matrix protein, is expressed prevalently in prostate cancer epithelial cells, adjacent fibromuscular stromal cells, and osteoblasts in locally recurrent prostate cancer and prostate cancer bone metastasis [Matsubara, S., Wada, Y., Gardner, T.

[Gene therapy for prostate cancer].

The substantial advances made in recent years in the molecular biology of malignant urological tumors and the associated progressive analysis of these conditions at a molecular level have spurred research aimed at gene-based treatment. In the field of prostate cancer, while there have been many ground-breaking studies particularly in the United States, none has yet led to a revolutionary treatment for recurrent prostate cancer. Gene-based treatment is being applied seriously in clinical settings, especially in the United States, but so far without significant effect.

Estrogen levels influence beta-3-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation of the female rat detrusor muscle.

Objectives: To observe the expression of beta-3-adrenoceptor in the detrusor muscle in female rats and investigate the relaxant effect of beta-adrenoceptor agonists on detrusor muscle in ovariectomized rats with or without estrogen replacement therapy.

Methods: We first performed reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to demonstrate mRNA encoding the beta-3-adrenoceptor in the detrusor muscle from female rats. We then performed pharmacologic and physiologic studies to determine the effect of estrogen replacement therapy on the beta-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation of the detrusor muscle of the ovariectomized rats.