Isolated soft tissue mass of the finger as the first presentation of oligometastatic renal cell carcinoma.

A man in his 70s was referred to plastic surgery with a suspected foreign body in the pulp of his right index finger. An excisional biopsy was performed for a presumed foreign body granuloma. Histology revealed metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).

MRI for clinically suspected prostate cancer-the disparity between private and public sectors.

Background: There is increasing evidence to implement multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) for biopsy-naive men with clinically suspected prostate cancer (PCa). This will reduce the number of unnecessary trans rectal ultrasound biopsies (TRUS-Bx) performed and reduce the number of indolent cancers diagnosed.

Aims: To assess current clinical practices for investigating clinically suspected prostate cancer in Ireland and determine if private health insurance providers are offering mpMRI scans in biopsy-naive men.

Current management of radiation cystitis: a review and practical guide to clinical management.

Introduction: Haemorrhage is a frequent complication of radiation cystitis leading to emergency presentations in patients with prior pelvic radiation therapy. Standard initial patient management strategies involve resuscitation, bladder washout with clot evacuation and continuous bladder irrigation. Beyond this, definitive surgical treatment is associated with significant morbidity and mortality.

The transobturator suburethral sling: a safe and effective option for all degrees of post prostatectomy urinary incontinence.

Introduction: Male stress urinary incontinence (SUI) after radical prostatectomy (RP) is common. The surgical standard of care traditionally has been placement of an artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) but since its introduction the transobturator male sling has been shown to have particular unique advantages. Our aim was to assess outcomes of a consecutive series of suburethral sling insertions in men presenting with all degrees of post RP SUI.

Digital rectal examination in primary care is important for early detection of prostate cancer: a retrospective cohort analysis study.

Background: Currently, there is no standardised screening for prostate cancer in Europe. Assessment of risk is opportunistically undertaken in consultation with the GP or urologist. Evaluation of the prostate gland consists of a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) serum level and a digital rectal examination (DRE) of the gland.

Exposure to low dose ionising radiation: Molecular and clinical consequences.

This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the experimental data detailing the incidence, mechanism and significance of low dose hyper-radiosensitivity (HRS). Important discoveries gained from past and present studies are mapped and highlighted to illustrate the pathway to our current understanding of HRS and the impact of HRS on the cellular response to radiation in mammalian cells. Particular attention is paid to the balance of evidence suggesting a role for DNA repair processes in the response, evidence suggesting a role for the cell cycle checkpoint processes, and evidence investigating the clinical implications/relevance of the effect.

Long noncoding RNAs and prostate carcinogenesis: the missing 'linc'?

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are rapidly becoming essential pieces in the cancer puzzle. Our understanding of their functional capabilities is in its infancy. One certain fact, however, is that their molecular interactions extend beyond chromatin complexes into diverse biological processes.

Isogenic radiation resistant cell lines: development and validation strategies.

Purpose: The comparison of cell lines with differing radiosensitivities and their molecular response to radiation exposure has been used in a number of human cancer models to study the molecular response to radiation. This review proposes to analyze and compare the protocols used by investigators for the development and validation of these isogenic models of radioresistance.

Conclusion: There is large variability in the strategies used to generate and validate isogenic models of radioresistance.

Exposure to low dose ionising radiation: molecular and clinical consequences.

This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the experimental data detailing the incidence, mechanism and significance of low dose hyper-radiosensitivity (HRS). Important discoveries gained from past and present studies are mapped and highlighted to illustrate the pathway to our current understanding of HRS and the impact of HRS on the cellular response to radiation in mammalian cells. Particular attention is paid to the balance of evidence suggesting a role for DNA repair processes in the response, evidence suggesting a role for the cell cycle checkpoint processes, and evidence investigating the clinical implications/relevance of the effect.

Vesicocutaneous fistula following adjuvant radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

Vesicocutaneous fistulas (VCF) are a rare complication of radical radiotherapy to the pelvis. Timely diagnosis and management are often difficult and complex. We report the unusual case of a 64-year-old gentleman who presented to the emergency department with worsening sepsis and profuse discharge from a cutaneous opening in the left groin.

Mixed collecting duct and renal cell carcinoma presenting with spinal cord compression.

Collecting duct carcinoma (CDC) is a rare renal malignancy thought to develop from the collecting duct epithelium of the kidney. CDC tends to have a more aggressive clinical course than conventional renal cell carcinoma (RCC), with early metastases. The occurrence of a mixed CDC and conventional RCC is infrequently reported in the literature.

DNA mismatch repair protein MSH2 dictates cellular survival in response to low dose radiation in endometrial carcinoma cells.

DNA repair and G2-phase cell cycle checkpoint responses are involved in the manifestation of hyper-radiosensitivity (HRS). The low-dose radioresponse of MSH2 isogenic endometrial carcinoma cell lines was examined. Defects in cell cycle checkpoint activation and the DNA damage response in irradiated cells (0.

Zero ischemia laparoscopic partial thulium laser nephrectomy.

Background And Purpose: Laser technology presents a promising alternative to achieve tumor excision and renal hemostasis with or without hilar occlusion, yet its use in partial nephrectomy has not been significantly evaluated. We prospectively evaluated the thulium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser in laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) in our institution over a 1-year period.

Patients And Methods: We used the thulium laser with a wavelength of 2013 nm in the infrared spectrum.

Gene expression analysis in prostate cancer: the importance of the endogenous control.

Background: Aberrant gene expression is a hallmark of cancer. Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) is the gold-standard for quantifying gene expression, and commonly employs a house-keeping gene (HKG) as an endogenous control to normalize results; the choice of which is critical for accurate data interpretation. Many factors, including sample type, pathological state, and oxygen levels influence gene expression including putative HKGs.

Standardization of assay methods reduces variability of total PSA measurements: an Irish study.

Unlabelled: What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Today, numerous assays for PSA detection are available from various manufacturers. However, these various assays do not detect PSA equally and several studies have demonstrated variability between them. In order to harmonise PSA results and reduce the discrepancies, reference materials are available for assay calibration.

MicroRNAs as putative mediators of treatment response in prostate cancer.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of noncoding RNAs that function to regulate post-transcriptional gene expression, predominantly by translational repression. In addition to their role in prostate cancer initiation and progression, recent evidence suggests that miRNAs might also participate in treatment response across a range of therapies including radiation treatment, chemotherapy and androgen suppression. The mechanism of this regulation is thought to be multifactorial and is currently poorly understood.

Discontinuation of anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy for transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsies: a single-center experience.

Purpose: Historically, it was thought that hemorrhagic complications were increased with transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsies (TRUS biopsy) of patients receiving anticoagulation/antiplatelet therapy. However, the current literature supports the continuation of anticoagulation/antiplatelet therapy without additional morbidity. We assessed our experience regarding the continuation of anticoagulation/antiplatelet therapy during TRUS biopsy.

Exposure to hypoxia following irradiation increases radioresistance in prostate cancer cells.

Background: Tumor hypoxia is a common feature of prostate tumors associated with the stabilization of hypoxia-inducible-factor 1alpha (HIF-1α) and poor prognosis following radiation therapy. Lack of oxygen at the time of irradiation is associated with radioresistance, but recent reports suggest radioresponse is also modulated by the dynamic nature of tumor hypoxia.

Objective: We proposed to evaluate the effect of post-irradiation hypoxic exposure on the radioresponse of 2 prostate cancer (CaP) cell lines (22Rv1, DU145) and to examine whether it correlates with modified cellular responses induced by hypoxia.

Clinical potential of gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy to improve radiation therapy in prostate cancer patients.

Despite the advances in prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment, current therapies are not curative in a significant proportion of patients. Gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT), when combined with radiation therapy, could improve the outcome of treatment for prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the western world. GDEPT involves the introduction of a therapeutic transgene, which can be targeted to the tumour cells.

Intravesical bacille Calmette-Guérin-induced multiorgan failure after treatment for transitional cell carcinoma.

Intravesical bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) has been safely used to treat stage Ta and T1 bladder carcinoma since 1976. This report presents the case of a 56-year-old man who presented with multiorgan failure after bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) treatment for stage T1 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. On admission the patient was jaundiced, had inflammatory infiltrates on chest radiography and required dialysis for renal failure.

Docetaxel maintains its cytotoxic activity under hypoxic conditions in prostate cancer cells.

Objective: The efficacy of docetaxel has recently been shown to be increased under hypoxic conditions through the down-regulation of hypoxia-inducible-factor 1α (HIF1A). Overexpression of the hypoxia-responsive gene class III β-tubulin (TUBB3) has been associated with docetaxel resistance in a number of cancer models. We propose that administration of docetaxel to prostate patients has the potential to reduce the hypoxic response through HIF1A down-regulation and that TUBB3 down-regulation participates in sensitivity to docetaxel.

Microtubule-targeting-compound PBOX-15 radiosensitizes cancer cells in vitro.

Background: We proposed to investigate the radiosensitizing properties of PBOX-15, a novel microtubule-disrupting agent, in a panel of cancer cell lines.

Results: PBOX-15 treatment was associated with significant cell kill and increased radiosensitivity in all three cell lines tested. The number of surviving cells in response to the combined treatment was significantly less than PBOX -15 alone in 22Rv1 cells.

Management of a persistent ileo-ureteric anastomotic leak with bilateral ureteric occlusion using angioplasty balloon catheters.

The ileal conduit continues to be the most common form of urinary diversion performed worldwide. As a result of improved surgical technique the perioperative mortality and morbidity for patients undergoing ileal conduit urinary diversion has reduced remarkably. However, one early complication that may occur is that of urinary leak at the ileo-ureteric anastomosis.