[Renal epithelioid angiomyolipoma mimicking renal carcinoma]. / Angiomyolipome épithélioïde rénal mimant un carcinome rénal.

Epithelioid angiomyolipoma is a rare form of potentially malignant angiomyolipoma, recently considered separate entity by the World Health Organization classification of renal tumors. This lesion poses a problem in differential diagnosis with clear cell carcinomas. There are no clinical or radiological specific criteria that characterize this tumor. Immunohistochemistry revealing epithelioid cells with positive HMB45 marker is essential for diagnosis. Treatment should be discussed during the multidisciplinary consultation.

Cytokine profiling identifies an interaction of IL-6 and IL-1α to drive PSMA-PSA prostate clones.

BACKGROUND: Several PSMA-PSA prostate clones have been identified during prostate cancer progression; however, until now, their in situ inflammatory characteristics have remained unclear. AIM: We therefore investigated the interplay between proinflammatory cytokines and (PSMA,PSA) sub-groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 27 benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and 18 prostate cancers (PC) were enrolled in this study. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed. Serum levels of PSA were assayed by Immulite autoanalyser. RESULTS: In BPH and PC patients with elevated serum PSA levels, IL-1α was the most proinflammatory cytokine expressed in (PSMA+,PSA-) subgroup. However, most samples of (PSMA+,PSA+) subgroup had positive immunoreaction to IL-6. In samples of PC with PSA serum levels of 4-20ng/mL or >20ng/mL, immunoreaction to TNF-α was seen only in (PSMA+,PSA+) subgroup. Interestingly, several combinations of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1α and TNF-α) showed that coexpression of tissue PSMA and PSA was concomitant with high immunoreactions to (IL-6+,TNF-α-), (IL-6+,IL-1α+) and (IL-1α+,TNFα-) in BPH and PC patients. (PSMA,PSA) subgroup lacking tissue PSA expression showed a high immunoexpression of the profile (IL-6+,TNF-α-). The combinations of (IL-6-, TNF-α-) and (IL-6-, IL-1α-) were absent in (PSMA+,PSA-) and (PSMA+,PSA+) BPH sub-groups. CONCLUSION: Collectively, these findings underscore the importance of TNF-α and highlight the interaction between IL-6 and IL-1α to generate an inflammatory microenvironment in driving (PSMA,PSA) prostate clones.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines and prostate-specific antigen in hyperplasia and human prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to relate the expression, analyzed by Western blot and immunohistochemistry, of several pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-alpha, with serum levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in normal and pathologic (hyperplasia and cancer) prostate tissues to elucidate their possible role in tumor progression. We are also discussing the possible use of these cytokines as a potential therapeutic target. METHODS: The study was carried out in 5 normal, 25 benign prostatic hyperplastic (BPH) and 17 cancerous human prostates (PC). Immunohistochemical and Western blot analysis were performed. Serum levels of PSA were assayed by an immulite autoanalyzer. RESULTS: The most relevant results showed that in BPH, IL-1alpha, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were only expressed in patients with PSA serum levels of 0-4 or 4-20 ng/ml, but not in the group >20 ng/ml. In PC these cytokines were only expressed in patients with PSA serum levels >4 ng/ml. CONCLUSIONS: In PC there was an association between the high expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFalpha, IL-6, IL-1), elevated serum levels of PSA and cancer progression. A better understanding of the biologic mechanism of this association may provide new targets for therapy in these patients.