Safety Assessment of Ultrasound-Assisted Intravesical Chemotherapy in Normal Dogs: A Pilot Study.

Intravesical chemotherapy after transurethral resection is a treatment option in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. The efficacy of intravesical chemotherapy is determined by the cellular uptake of intravesical drugs. Therefore, drug delivery technologies in the urinary bladder are promising tools for enhancing the efficacy of intravesical chemotherapy.

Clinical characteristics in urolithiasis formation according to body mass index.

Although urolithiasis is considered to be strongly associated with lifestyle habits, there are numerous cases in which urolithiasis develops despite a non-obese body type or healthy lifestyle habits. However, in clinical practice, the diet therapy and lifestyle changes instructed for the prevention of recurrence of urolithiasis are almost identical in numerous cases. Therefore, the present study examined the effect of body mass index (BMI) on urolithiasis and its surrounding environment in patients, by analyzing the number of normal- and high-BMI (healthy and overweight) patients with urolithiasis.

Giant retroperitoneal schwannoma in a 52-year-old man.

Schwannoma in the retroperitoneal space is rare, and it is extremely rare in patients with no history of neurofibromatosis. We present a case of giant retroperitoneal schwannoma in a 52-year-old man who did not have neurofibromatosis. Because malignant transformation would be extremely rare in this circumstance, close imaging follow-up could avert the necessity for complete resection.

Molecular targeted therapies of renal cell carcinoma considering life stage of the patient: Two case reports.

Molecular targeted therapies have markedly improved the prognosis of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and patients are able to receive specific treatments depending on their condition. The cases of two patients who presented with large RCC with very different statuses were examined in the current study. One of the patients was elderly with numerous comorbidities, and the other was young and had Case 1 was an elderly female with various comorbidities including a history of cerebral infarction and impaired eyesight.

Incidental Presacral Myelolipoma Resembling the Liposarcoma: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Presacral myelolipomas are rare, benign, asymptomatic tumors composed of mature adipose tissue and hematopoietic elements, but fewer than 50 cases have been reported in the literature. They are usually discovered incidentally during imaging studies and are often misdiagnosed as liposarcoma, which have a malignant nature, because the imaging findings of myelolipoma can be similar to those of liposarcoma. It is challenging to distinguish presacral myelolipomas from other presacral fat-containing tumors without performing a histological examination.

Annular rectal constriction caused by infiltrating bladder cancer: A case report.

A 69-year-old man was referred to our hospital with chief complaints of urinary incontinence, pollakiuria, thin stools and edema of the left lower extremity. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed bilateral hydronephrosis, thickening of the rectal and posterolateral bladder walls, and enlargement of the left obturator lymph nodes, suggesting metastasis. The carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels were 5.

Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (Wegener's Granulomatosis) Accompanied by Dysuria.

A 65-year-old male visited us with complaints of retarded urination, dysuria, gross hematuria, and fever. Urinalysis showed pyuria. Prostatic tumor with lung metastasis was suspected from computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Development of pathological diagnostics of human kidney cancer by multiple staining using new fluorescent Fluolid dyes.

New fluorescent Fluolid dyes have advantages over others such as stability against heat, dryness, and excess light. Here, we performed simultaneous immunostaining of renal tumors, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC), papillary RCC, chromophobe RCC, acquired cystic disease-associated RCC (ACD-RCC), and renal angiomyolipoma (AML), with primary antibodies against Kank1, cytokeratin 7 (CK7), and CD10, which were detected with secondary antibodies labeled with Fluolid-Orange, Fluolid-Green, and Alexa Fluor 647, respectively. Kank1 was stained in normal renal tubules, papillary RCC, and ACD-RCC, and weakly or negatively in all other tumors.

Decrease rate of the renal diameter in chronic hemodialysis patients.

We here present the results of ultrasonographic (US) evaluations on the alteration of renal diameter of chronic HD patients. Of 109 outpatient HD patients who had neither severe acquired cystic disease of the kidney nor hereditary polycystic kidney disease, we performed US two or three times to measure their maximum renal diameter (mean of both kidneys), and the yearly alteration rate was calculated. The average interval of the two measurements was 35.

Preoperative prediction of malignant involvement of resected ureters in patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer.

Objective: To investigate preoperative predictors of ureteral involvement of bladder malignancy and to develop a novel preoperative model for the prediction of ureteral involvement in bladder cancer patients undergoing radical cystectomy.

Methods: This study included 197 consecutive bladder cancer patients treated with radical cystectomy. The correlations of preoperative factors with ureteral involvement were analyzed by univariate analysis with Pearson's χ(2-) test and multivariate logistic regression analysis with a stepwise selection procedure.

Application of Fluolid-Orange-labeled probes for DNA microarray and immunological assays.

The usefulness of Fluolid-Orange, a novel fluorescent dye, for DNA microarray and immunological assays has been examined. Fluolid-Orange-labeled probes (DNA and IgG) were stable as examined by laser-photo-bleaching and under heat and dry conditions. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the reproducibility of the microarray assay, while stage-specific immunostaining of marker proteins, Kank1 and calretinin, was performed for renal cancers, both giving satisfactory results.

Characterization and gene expression analysis of novel matched primary and metastatic renal cell carcinoma cell lines.

Despite recent advances in molecular biology that have clarified the mechanisms involved in the metastasis of several types of cancer, the molecular mechanism underlying the metastasis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains unclear. Two RCC cell lines were successfully established from the surgical specimens of a matched primary tumor and adrenal metastasis from the same RCC patient, and were designated as TMK-1P and TMK-1M, respectively. Extensive characterization was accomplished using various methods, including the Matrigel invasion assay, DNA microarray analysis and real-time reverse transcriptase (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Quantitative analysis of survivin mRNA expression in bladder transitional cell carcinomas.

We assessed the expression levels of survivin mRNA in bladder transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) to provide additional information regarding its malignant potential. The real-time PCR method was used to detect the survivin mRNA level for 21 bladder tumor specimens, and for urinary exfoliated cells from 12 newly diagnosed bladder tumor patients. All bladder tumor specimens and 7 of 12 voided urine specimens expressed survivin mRNA.

Transrectal high-intensity focused ultrasound in the treatment of localized prostate cancer: a multicenter study.

We report a multicenter trial with transrectal high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in the treatment of localized prostate cancer. A total of 72 consecutive patients with stage T1c-2NOM0 prostate cancer were treated using the Sonablate 500TM HIFU device (Focus Surgery, Indianapolis, USA). Biochemical recurrence was defined according to the criteria recommended by the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Consensus Panel.

Alternative splicing of the human Kank gene produces two types of Kank protein.

The human Kank gene encodes an ankyrin repeat domain-containing protein which regulates actin polymerization. There are at least two types of Kank protein depending on cell type, likely due to differences in transcription. Here, to examine the transcriptional initiation and genomic organization of the human Kank gene, we performed 5'-RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) using total RNA from normal kidney and a human kidney cancer cell line, VMRC-RCW cells.

Pathological characterization of Kank in renal cell carcinoma.

The Kank gene was found as a candidate tumor suppressor gene at 9p24 by loss-of-heterozygosity search in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and seems to have a role in controlling the formation of the cytoskeleton through the polymerization of actin. Here, we characterized the Kank protein in renal tubular cells as well as other glandular cells in the colon, stomach, prostate, testis, pancreas, thyroid, uterus, submandibular gland, adrenal, duodenum, and esophagus, and specific cells such as hepatic, alveolar myocardial, and glial cells by using a monoclonal antibody against Kank. Loss of expression of Kank in one RCC sample was detected by immunohistochemical and Western blot analyses while expression of CDKN2A (p16/Ink4A) was retained in the sample.

Short-term ureteral catheter stenting after uncomplicated transurethral uretero-lithotomy.

Short-term (1 or 2 post-operative days) ureteral catheter stenting after transurethral uretero-lithotomy (TUL) to avoid flank pain due to transient ureteral edema is described. Patients who underwent TUL for middle or distal ureteral stones with a rigid ureteroscope without complications during the procedures were the candidates for short-term ureteral stenting. An end-hole ureteral catheter, used to insert a guide wire during TUL, were used for stenting.

Metastatic malignant ameloblastoma of the kidneys.

Ameloblastoma is an uncommon disease in the urological field. The resulting tumors or cysts are of odontogenic epithelial origin, are usually benign in nature and rarely metastasize to distant organs. We describe a case of metastatic ameloblastic carcinoma in both kidneys of a 38-year-old Japanese man, who had a history of malignant ameloblastoma and was referred to us for evaluation because of gross hematuria and left flank pain.

Cadmium nephrotoxicity and evacuation from the body in a rat modeled subchronic intoxication.

Background: Cadmium (Cd) is an important industrial pollutant, although its mechanism of toxicity has not been completely clarified. We studied Cd-induced subchronic nephrotoxicity and the cadmium evacuation system in rats and cultured human renal tubular cells.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subcutaneously injected with 0.

Kidney autotransplantation in a patient with renal pelvic and bladder carcinomas.

A 66-year-old Japanese woman, whose left kidney was non-functioning, was referred to us with a diagnosis of invasive bladder carcinoma and right renal pelvic carcinoma. The latter tumor was clearly packed in the renal calyx and was considered to be of low-grade malignancy. Nephron preserving surgery of the right kidney was performed, followed by radical cystectomy and construction of an ileal conduit.

Cadmium-induced testicular damage in a rat model of subchronic intoxication.

Cadmium (Cd)-induced testicular damage in relation to spermatogenesis has not been well studied. We studied the mechanism of Cd-induced testicular damage in a rat model of subchronic intoxication. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subcutaneously injected with 0.

Arteriovenous graft featuring end-to-end anastomosis to a deep vein for hemodialysis.

We describe a new vascular access grafting technique featuring end-to-end anastomosis to a deep vein in the forearm, designed to create a functional arteriovenous fistula in the forearm of patients whose subcutaneous veins are not usable for this purpose because of occlusion or attenuation. This new technique offers a valuable option in this setting.

New method to create a vascular arteriovenous fistula in the arm with an endoscopic technique.

We describe a new technique in which the basilic vein is transposed subcutaneously with endoscopic surgery to create a vascular access in the arm. The vein was harvested with the Endoscopic Vascular Surgery System (Olympus Co, Tokyo, Japan). We could harvest a vessel about 25 cm long with endoscopy.

A novel ankyrin repeat-containing gene (Kank) located at 9p24 is a growth suppressor of renal cell carcinoma.

By a combination of genome subtraction and comprehensive analysis of loss of heterozygosity based on mapping hemizygous deletions for a potential tumor-related locus, a minimum overlapping region of deletions at 9p24 the size of 165 kb was identified and found to harbor a new potential tumor suppressor gene for renal cell carcinoma, the Kank gene. Kank (for kidney ankyrin repeat-containing protein) contains four ankyrin repeats at its C terminus. Expression of the gene was suppressed in 6 of 8 or 6 of 10 cancer tissues examined by reverse transcription-PCR or Western blotting, respectively, and in several kidney tumor cell lines due to methylation at CpG sites in the gene.