[Successful treatment with rituximab for type III cryoglobulinemia].

A 71-year-old man with rheumatoid arthritis was referred to our hospital with complaints of face and leg edema and was admitted for management of acute renal failure. Type III cryoglobulinemia was diagnosed based on histopathological findings of a kidney biopsy which revealed cryoglobulinemic nephropathy. Immunofixation showed no serum M-proteins.

Preoperative erythrocyte sedimentation rate is an independent prognostic factor in Japanese patients with localized clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Introduction: Few studies have examined the prognostic significance of common laboratory variables in Japanese patients with localized clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC). We evaluate the prognostic significance of preoperative laboratory variables in Japanese patients with localized CCRCC.

Patients And Methods: The study included 110 Japanese patients who were pathologically confirmed as nonmetastatic CCRCC (pT1-3 N0M0) after radical nephrectomy at our institution.

Associations of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the vascular endothelial growth factor gene with the characteristics and prognosis of renal cell carcinomas.

Objectives: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is considered to play critical roles in tumor development and progression, especially in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) via von Hippel-Lindau gene inactivation. Although VEGF -2578CC, -1154GG, and -634CC genotypes are reportedly correlated with higher levels of VEGF production, no previous studies have reported on the associations of these polymorphisms with RCCs. This study was aimed to clarify the effects of these functional polymorphisms on RCC progression and prognosis.

Deletion mapping of 18q in conventional renal cell carcinoma.

Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) is frequently associated with the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. 18q LOH has been frequently reported in colorectal cancer and lung cancer; however, allelic loss on 18q has not been investigated in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We evaluated LOH on 18q using nine microsatellite markers in 126 with conventional RCC (cRCC).

Smoking may cause genetic alterations at 5q22.2 approximately q23.1 in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between allelic imbalance (AI) on chromosome 5q and clinico-pathologic parameters, including cigarette smoking. We examined the AI on chromosome 5q in 119 clear-cell renal cell carcinomas (CRCC) by a fluorescent polymerase chain reaction technique using nine microsatellite markers. AI of one or more loci was found in 43 cases (36.

Allelic loss of 3p25 associated with alterations of 5q22.3 approximately q23.2 may affect the prognosis of conventional renal cell carcinoma.

Little is known about the clinical significance at the frequent association of 3p loss with 5q gain/loss in conventional renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We analyzed the clinical significance of copy number gain and loss at 5q21 approximately q23 combined with allelic loss of 3p25 (including the VHL gene). Fifty RCCs were examined by dual-color fluorescence in situ hybridization with DNA probes for D3Z1 (3cen), cCI3-865 (3p25.

Association of the BCRP C421A polymorphism with nonpapillary renal cell carcinoma.

Breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), the second member of the ATP-binding cassette membrane transporter family, has a single nucleotide polymorphism, C421A (resulting in Q141K), that is of functional importance. Our aim was to explore the relationship between this polymorphism of the BCRP gene and the risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) development. For a case-control study, DNA samples from 200 nonpapillary RCC patients and 200 healthy control subjects were analyzed using the TaqMan technique.

Clinical significance of lymph node dissection in renal cell carcinoma.

Objective: To identify the role of lymph node dissection in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Material And Methods: A total of 100 patients (66 males, 34 females) were enrolled in the study. The mean age and tumor size were 61.