[Bladder preservation by chemoradiotherapy in combination with radical TUR-Bt in muscle invasive bladder cancer].

PURPOSE: To evaluate bladder preservation protocol by radical TUR-Bt and subsequent concurrent chemoradiotherapy in muscle invasive bladder cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-six patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer (T2-T4NOM0) were treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy after transurethral resection of the tumor as much as possible beyond muscle layers. Chemotherapy was consisted of systemic administration of methoterexete (30 mg/m2 day 1 and day 22) and intraarterial infusion of cisplatin (70 mg/m2, day 2 and day 23). The response was evaluated by TUR, urine cytology, CT and/or MRI 4 to 6 weeks after the treatment. RESULTS: Among 24 evaluable cases, pathological complete response was achieved in 13 cases (50%) and residual tumors were noted in 11 cases (pT1 in 9 and pT2 in 2). During follow-up period up to 69.8 months, invasive recurrence was observed in 2 cases, superficial recurrence was noted in 5 patients and distant metastasis without evidence of local recurrence was noted in 4 cases. Overall bladder preservation rate was 92%. CONCLUSIONS: The bladder preservation by radical TUR-Bt and chemoradiotherapy is a safe and effective treatment option for muscle invasive bladder cancer.

The efficiency of Sairei-to for retroperitoneal fibrosis: two case reports.

The conventional approach for management of retroperitoneal fibrosis (RF), an inflammatory process of retroperitoneal fibro-adipose tissue, leading to the compression and obstruction of the ureters and other adjacent organs is ureterolysis with omental wrapping, and an effective alternative to surgery is immunosupressive medication such as oral corticosteroids. Sairei-to (TJ-114) is a traditional herbal medicine used for the treatment of RF in Japan. It has both anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects. Here we report two cases of RF successfully treated with Sairei-to. One case was idiopathic and the other was caused by artificial graft-induced vasculitis. Both cases were treated with Sairei-to following the decompression of uremia by precutaneous nephrostomy or indwelling ureteral stents. There was hardly any ureteral obstruction three months after the administration of Sairei-to. They have been doing well for 12 and 26 months. Sairei-to rarely causes side effects such as immunodeficiency, gastro-duodenal ulcer and osteoporosis that often accompany long-term administration of corticosteroids. Sairei-to is a safe and effective medicine for the treatment of RF. We therefore recommend Sairei-to as an alternative for corticosteroid therapy.

TNP-470 combined with nicardipine suppresses in vivo growth of PC-3, a human prostate cancer cell line.

We examined effects of TNP-470 with or without nicardipine on in vivo or in vitro growth of a hormone-independent human prostate carcinoma cell line, PC-3. TNP-470 (30 mg/kg, daily) or nicardipine (25 microg/kg, daily) alone had little effects on in vivo growth of PC-3 cells in nude mice, whereas simultaneous administration of both agents significantly inhibited the growth of the xenografts. In vitro proliferation of PC-3 was not affected by TNP-470 and/or nicardipine. Combination of TNP-470 and nicardipine seems beneficial in the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer.