[Mass screening for prostate cancer in Tokushima City: the results of 2001].

PURPOSE: Screening with prostate specific antigen (PSA) only to detect prostate cancer was started in Tokushima City from 2001 as one of health check lists. We evaluated the first year result. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-five years old or elder men living in Tokushima City who wants to measure serum PSA level to screen for prostate cancer were entered to screening program. The men whose PSA levels detected as over normal; range were recommended to visit to urologists for further examination to detect prostate cancer include prostate biopsy. The results of further examination were reported to Tokushima City and evaluated. RESULTS: The population of fifty-five or elder men in Tokushima City was 25,416 and 9,019 (35.5%) men were measured serum PSA levels. In 801 (8.9%) men, PSA levels were over normal range, and recommended further examination to detect prostate cancer. 451 (56.3%) men visited to urologists for further examination, and prostate biopsy was performed in 231 (51.2%) men. Finally, 121 men were diagnosed as prostate cancer, 52.1% of 231 men performed prostate biopsy, 26.7% of 451 men visited to urologist for further examination, 1.34% of 9,019 men measured serum PSA levels. Patient number for each clinical stages were 49 in B0, 16 in B1, 16 in B2, 29 in C, one in D1, and 10 in D2. Patients number in each age range were 3 in 55-59, 11 in 60-64, 22 in 65-69, 37 in 70-74, 33 in 75-79, 15 in 80 or elder. Patient number of Stage B and 74 years old or younger was 48 (39.7%). CONCLUSION: Prostate cancer was detected in 1.34% of 9,019 men who measured serum PSA levels, and early stage B was two thirds. PSA screening to detect prostate cancer as one of health check-lists in Tokushima City was useful to detect early prostate cancer.

Severe catabolic state after an overnight fast in patients with chronic renal failure.

OBJECTIVE: Starvation causes more rapid development of a catabolic state in patients with liver cirrhosis than in normal subjects. Because the kidneys have a gluconeogenic activity similar to that of the liver, we tested whether patients with chronic renal failure develop a catabolic state after an overnight fast. METHODS: The effect of an overnight fast on diurnal changes in respiratory quotient (RQ) was studied in 12 normal subjects and 12 patients with stable chronic renal failure. Changes in RQ in the early morning after an overnight fast were also studied in 27 patients with chronic renal failure not on dialysis. We also examined the effect on RQ of consuming a light snack in the evening before the measurements. RESULTS: The RQ before breakfast, but not at other times, was significantly lower in patients with renal failure than in normal subjects (0.824 ± 0.051 versus 0.868 ± 0.038, P < 0.05). This indicated that patients with renal failure had higher fat use and developed a catabolic state early in the morning. The RQ before breakfast showed significant inverse correlations with creatinine levels (r = -0.604, P < 0.001). Supplementation with a carbohydrate-rich snack in the evening resulted in a significant increase of 0.07 ± 0.04 (P < 0.05) in mean RQ in the early morning. This suggested that a late evening snack is useful for improving the catabolic state of patients with renal failure. CONCLUSION: Starvation involving an overnight fast facilitates catabolism of visceral and muscle proteins in renal failure. This suggests that nutritional management of renal failure should focus not only on the contents of a meal, but also on the timing of the meal.