Imaging evaluation of amyloidosis of the urinary tract and retroperitoneum.

Amyloidosis is a heterogeneous group of disorders and may be classified as systemic or localized on the basis of the distribution of amyloid deposition. Infrequently, the urinary tract and supporting retroperitoneum may be involved, and the imaging findings are nonspecific and diverse. Localized amyloidosis usually involves the bladder and often mimics malignancy.

Benign and malignant epididymal masses evaluated with scrotal sonography: clinical and pathologic review of 85 patients.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the clinical history and sonographic appearance of solid epididymal masses could aid in distinguishing benign and malignant disease.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all patients who had solid epididymal masses evaluated by scrotal sonography at our institution between 1996 and 2004. We evaluated multiple clinical and sonographic variables, including lesion size, location, echogenicity, color Doppler characteristics, and calcifications.

The in vitro and in vivo effects of re-expressing methylated von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor gene in clear cell renal carcinoma with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine.

Purpose: Clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC) is strongly associated with loss of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene. The VHL gene is functionally lost through hypermethylation in up to 19% of sporadic ccRCC cases. We theorized that re-expressing VHL silenced by methylation in ccRCC cells, using a hypo-methylating agent, may be an approach to treatment in patients with this type of cancer.