Pathological study of proximal tubule mitochondria in diclofenac-induced acute kidney injury model mice.

Diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, reportedly targets mitochondria and induces nephrotoxicity via reactive oxygen species. However, there are few detailed reports of pathological analyses of mitochondria and the factors that cause acute kidney injury (AKI) as a result of nephrotoxicity. In this study, we investigated mitochondrial damage in the proximal tubule in AKI mice at 6, 12, and 24 h after administration of diclofenac.

Squamous differentiation is a potential biomarker predicting tumor progression in patients treated with pembrolizumab for urothelial carcinoma.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) is widely used and highly effective for some cancer patients but may result in disease progression in others. Hyperprogressive disease in particular is characterized by an acceleration of tumor growth during ICI therapy and has been reported in patients including those with urothelial carcinoma. Biomarkers predicting treatment efficacy are crucial to avoid tumor progression and unnecessary adverse effects.

B7-H3 expression in upper tract urothelial carcinoma associates with adverse clinicopathological features and poor survival.

B7-H3, a member of the B7 superfamily, is an immune checkpoint molecule. An association between B7-H3 expression and poor survival has been reported in many types of cancer. However, its prognostic value in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) has not yet been reported.

The prognostic value of PD-L1 expression in upper tract urothelial carcinoma varies according to platelet count.

Programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) is a ligand for programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) that negatively regulates T-cell activation and plays a crucial role in suppressing anti-tumor host immunity. Although PD-L1 is a promising immunotherapy target in various cancers, including urothelial carcinoma (UC), the prognostic significance of PD-L1 in UC is unclear. As platelets help protect tumor cells from immune elimination in the circulatory system, we hypothesized that tumor PD-L1 and circulating platelets might synergistically promote tumor metastasis, and that the prognostic significance of PD-L1 might vary according to platelet count.

Diagnostic utility of Ki-67 immunohistochemistry in small endoscopic biopsies of the ureter and renal pelvis.

Diagnosis of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma in ureteroscopic biopsies is challenging. Therefore, an immunohistochemical marker that can differentiate between malignant and benign urothelium and predict final pathological features is necessary. In this study, we investigated Ki-67 expression in 26 ureteroscopic biopsies of the ureter and renal pelvis diagnosed with urothelial carcinoma (UC) and in 13 biopsies with non-neoplastic urothelium, using digital image analysis.

Computer analysis system of the physician-patient consultation process.

Purpose: Measurements of the quality of physician-patient communication are important in assessing patient outcomes, but the quality of communication is difficult to quantify. The aim of this paper is to develop a computer analysis system for the physician-patient consultation process (CASC), which will use a quantitative method to quantify and analyze communication exchanges between physicians and patients during the consultation process.

Design/methodology/approach: CASC is based on the concept of narrative-based medicine using a computer-mediated communication (CMC) technique from a cognitive dialog processing system.