[Clear Cell Variant of Invasive Urothelial Carcinoma of the Renal Pelvis: A Case Report].

A 74-year-old woman with gross hematuria for 3 months was referred to our hospital. Contrast-enhanced computed tomographic scan showed a mass on the upper-right renal calyx, and retrograde pyelography showed stenoses from the renal pelvis to the renal calyx infundibulum. We performed an endoscopic biopsy, which led to a diagnosis of urothelial cancer. Therefore, she underwent total right nephroureterectomy, and pathological examination revealed a clear cell variant of invasive urothelial carcinoma. Irradiation was performed mainly on the renal arteriovenous stump 2 months postoperatively; subsequently, three courses of combination chemotherapy comprising gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GC) were administered. Port-site recurrence and pelvic recurrence were observed 22 months after the operation, and GC therapy and pembrolizumab were administered. However she died 36 months after the operation. The clear cell variant of invasive urothelial carcinoma of the upper urethra is rarely reported. Moreover, since this was a very rare case, we have included a literature review in our report.

[A Case of Ureteral Sciatic Hernia Improved by Indwelling a Ureteral Stent].

A 75-year-old woman visited our hospital with left lumber pain and fever. Symptoms, and computed tomography imaging revealed left pyelonephritis. Then she was admitted to our hospital for treatment. She improved with tazobactam and piperacillin PIPC infusion immediately and was discharged from the hospital. After that she visited our hospital twice with the same symptoms and was given hospital treatment. A second retrograde pyelography (RP) was performed urgently, and the diagnosis was left ureteral sciatic hernia. Then we placed a left ureteral stent. Three months later, we confirmed that the hydronephrosis was improved and removed the stent. Six months after stent removal, recurrence has not been observed.

[A Case of Pneumatosis Cystoides Intestinalis during Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Treatment].

A 65-year-old man received docetaxel for prostate cancer. Eight months later, we observed abdominal free air and pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis by computed tomography. Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis can be caused by various etiologies. However, in the present case, multiple factors could have contributed and we could not specify the exact cause. We reduced the dose of steroid hormone, stopped docetaxel, and followed the patient conservatively with oral antibiotics. The pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis and free air resolved promptly.

[A CASE REPORT: A PATIENT WITH METASTATIC ADRENOCORTICAL CARCINOMA EXCLUSIVELY TREATED WITH MITOTANE WITH LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP].

A 77-year-old man with a complaint of impaired consciousness was brought to our emergency department. The patient was referred to our department because of a huge retroperitoneal tumor and multiple pulmonary nodules detected on computed tomography. Owning to an abnormally high level of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, right adrenal cancer was suspected. Pathological examination of the retroperitoneal tumor by echo-guided pericutaneous biopsy revealed an adrenocortical carcinoma. Under the diagnosis of stage IV adrenocortical carcinoma, mitotane therapy was started in May 2013. We adjusted the mitotane dose on the basis of the clinical evidence and the adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol levels.The tumors had increased in size after 2 months of the mitotane therapy. However, 2 months later, the tumor had significantly decreased in size. The treatment was continued for 53 months until he could no longer take medications orally, because of his advanced age, worse condition, and disuse syndrome.

[A Case of Choroidal and Brain Metastases from Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer].

Choroidal and central nervous system metastases from prostate cancer are extremely rare. We report a case of choroidal and brain metastases from castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). A 75-year-old male patient with metastatic CRPC presented with a 1-week history of a decrease in visual acuity in his left eye. An ophthalmoscopic examination revealed a choroidal tumor, 4 disc diameters across with serious retinal detachment. He was diagnosed with metastatic choroidal tumor from examination and patient's background. The external beam radiation therapy of total 30 Gy was successful and his visual acuity was improved. Three courses of chemotherapy with docetaxel (55 mg/m2) were performed, but finally he was found to have multiple brain metastases 4 months later. His headache disappeared after palliative whole brain radiotherapy, but he died 3 months after diagnosis of brain metastases. Although choroidal and brain metastases from prostate cancer are very rare, it is important for urologists to listen to the patient's complaints and consider the possibility of these rare metastases in patients with advanced cancer.

[DISSEMINATED CARCINOMATOSIS OF THE BONE MARROW WITH UROTHELIAL CARCINOMA].

Disseminated carcinomatosis of the bone marrow with urothelial carcinoma in a 75-year-old man: A case study. A 75-year-old-man had first medical examination due to gross hematuria. The imaging study and cystoscopy revealed left ureteral and bladder tumor. The patient was referred for a laparoscopic assisted left nephroureterectomy and transurethral resection of a bladder tumor (TUR-Bt). Pathological findings included urothelial carcinoma, high grade, both a pT3 ureteral tumor and a pTa bladder tumor. The patient received 2 courses of gemcitabine and cisplatin and 1 course of methotrexate, epirubicin and nedaplatin as adjuvant chemotherapy. TUR-Bt was performed twice due to recurrence in the bladder and similar pathological findings. The patient received intravesical instillation of pirarubicin (THP 30 mg in 30 mL of saline) to prevent recurrence in the bladder, but discontinued in the 3rd time because of gross hematuria. The patient was then admitted to our hospital due to gross hematuria, general fatigue, and abnormal findings in the blood analysis. On admission, pancytopenia was detected and the serum ALP level had increased to 30,266 IU/L. A biopsy and bone marrow aspiration were performed because a super bone scan image was obtained using a bone scintigram. Diffuse bone marrow metastasis of the urothelial carcinoma was observed in the pathological evaluations. Therefore, our diagnosis was urothelial carcinoma with disseminated carcinomatosis of the bone marrow. Although treatment with zoledronic acid and blood transfusion were performed, the patient died 20 days after the admission. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of disseminated carcinomatosis of the bone marrow with urothelial carcinoma.

[Retrospective analysis of predicting biochemical recurrence after initial radical prostatectomy].

We evaluated clinical outcomes of radical prostatectomy in 244 patients who had undergone radical prostatectomy as initial treatment from January 2000 to December 2011, and were followed up for more than 6 months. Biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy was defined as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of at least 0. 2 ng/ml. We evaluated potential risk factors for significant associations with biochemical recurrence. Median follow-up period after prostatectomy was 49 months (range, 6-144). Of the total, 192, 31, and 20 patients were at pathological stage pT2, pT3a, and pT3b, respectively. In 83 patients with the positive surgical margin, apexes were mostly in the positive area. Of the 68 patients with PSA recurrence, PSA non-relapse rate was 66.6% for 5 years. Multivariate analysis was performed for seminal vesicle invasion, PSA nadir, surgical margins, and Gleason score. Thirty-two patients with PSA recurrence underwent salvage radiotherapy, and the biochemical recurrence rate at 5 years was 73.8%. The group in which the PSA level before salvage radiotherapy was ＜0.5 ng/ml had a low rate of biochemical recurrence. We must consider the recurrence of poorly differentiated or non-confined cancer after radical prostatectomy. These results suggest that early use of salvage radiotherapy is effective for patients with biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy.

[A case of pneumomediastinum during BEP (bleomycin, etoposide, cisplatin) chemotherapy for testicular cancer].

We report a case of drug-induced pneumomediastinum by bleomycin in testicular cancer, which is extremely rare ; to our knowledge, only 3 cases have been reported. A 28-year-old man presented with a left testicular mass. He underwent radical left inguinal orchiectomy that demonstrated a seminoma, pT3N0M0. Ten months after surgery, para-aortic lymph node metastasis appeared, and he received three cycles of bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin (BEP) chemotherapy. On day 13 of the fourth course of BEP, he complained of snowball crepitation of the neck and computed tomography revealed subcutaneous emphysema, extensive mediastinal air, and intraspinal air accumulation without pneumothorax. The pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema tended to deteriorate until 15 days after the onset of pneumomediastinum, but fortunately he had no signs or symptoms of infection. These findings resolved spontaneously after 1 month.

[A case of retroperitoneal angiosarcoma effectively treated with recombinant interleukin-2].

Angiosarcoma is rare and highly malignant vascular neoplasm, and primary retroperitoneal angiosarcoma is extremely rare. Preoperative diagnosis is very difficult because there are no specific imaging features, and definitively effective treatment has not yet been established. We recently treated a patient with primary retroperitoneal angiosarcoma in which a prompt and exact diagnosis was difficult to obtain. One month after surgery, local recurrence appeared, but salvage immunotherapy using recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) showed good efficacy, and the patient obtained complete response. Here we report this rare case of angiosarcoma. A 60-year-old woman with abdominal pain was diagnosed with a left retroperitoneal mass on CT scan. The tumor was about 9 cm in diameter and positioned above the left kidney. Further study using MRI, 131I-MIBG scintigraphy, and enhanced CT suggested chronic expanding hematoma and the patient underwent surgical resection. Histopathological diagnosis was primary retroperitoneal angiosarcoma based on positive staining for VIII factor, CD31, CD34, and p53. One month after surgery, FDG-PET revealed local recurrence adjacent to the psoas major. We initiated salvage immunotherapy using rIL-2. The patient was treated effectively and achieved complete response. She is alive and well 19 months after surgery and rIL-2 treatment.

[Low-dose docetaxel, estramustine and dexamethasone combination chemotherapy for hormone-refractory prostate cancer].

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low-dose docetaxel, estramustine and dexamethasone combination chemotherapy in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). Sixty-nine patients with HRPC were enrolled. Docetaxel was given at a dose of 25 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks, oral estramustine 280 mg twice daily on days 1 to 3 and 8 to 10, and oral dexamethasone 1 mg daily throughout the course. Cycles were repeated every 21 days. Treatment was continued until disease progression or excessive toxicity. Patients were evaluated for response and toxicity. Patients received a median of eleven cycles (range : 1-25). Prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) was decreased greater than 50% in 53 (77%) out of 69 patients and median duration of PSA response was 10.2 months. Median time to progression and overall survival 10.2 and 24 months, respectively. Grade 1-2 fatigue was the most common toxicity observed in 10 (15%) patients. Grade 3-4 toxicities were observed in five (7%) patients (2 thrombosis, 2 bilirubin elevation, and 1 aspartate transaminase/alanine transaminase elevation). Low-dose docetaxel, estramustine and dexamethasone combination chemotherapy is an effective and well tolerated treatment for Japanese HRPC patients.

[Segmental infarction of the testis presenting as acute scrotum: a case report].

We report a case of segmental testicular infarction that is a rare and usually idiopathic. The patient is a 36-year-old man who presented with acute right scrotal pain and swelling. Scrotal ultrasound demonstrated a round hypoechoic lesion and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings could not rule out intratesticular hemorrhage or necrotic tissue associated with malignant neoplasm. Therefore right high orchiectomy was performed. The histopathological examination revealed segmental infarction of the testis at the upper and middle pole with coagulation necrosis.

[Metanephric adenoma: report of two cases].

We report 2 cases of metanephric adenoma a rare form of adenoma. One case occurred in a 54-year-old male preoperatively diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma who underwent left partial nephrectomy for a tumor 2 cm in size. Histology revealed a tumor with papillotubular structures consisting of small, uniform tumor cells. In immunohistochemical staining, tumor cells were positive for CD57 and WT-1. Thus, the patient was diagnosed with metanephric adenoma. The other case occurred in a 40-year-old male who underwent left nephroureterectomy for carcinoma of the renal pelvis. Carcinoma of the left renal pelvis was diagnosed as pT3N0M0. Incidental micronodules 2 mm in size and consisting of immature tubular structures were noted in the renal cortex. In immunohistochemical staining, tumor cells were positive for CD57 and WT-1, and the patient was diagnosed with metanephric adenoma. The aforementioned tumors frequently occur in middle-aged women and are often well-defined tumors that project from the renal surface outwards. On angiography, they have a hypovascular pattern and resemble papillary renal carcinoma. Preoperative differentiation of renal cell carcinoma and nephroblastoma is difficult. Mistaking such tumors for malignant tumors and subjecting patients to unnecessary adjuvant therapy must be avoided.

[A case of hormone/docetaxel-refractory prostate cancer in which PSA level decreased after docetaxel+zoledronic acid treatment].

The patient was a 63-year-old man who had a recurrence and bone metastasis of prostate cancer after total prostatectomy. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer refractory to hormones. Subsequently, the PSA level decreased after docetaxel therapy, but then gradually increased. Thus, he was diagnosed with bone metastasis of prostate cancer refractory to therapy with hormones or docetaxel. The PSA level decreased after the start of therapy with docetaxel+ zoledronic acid. Zoledronic acid seems to be effective not only for the prevention but also for the treatment of skeletal related events(SRE)in patients with prostate cancer with bone metastases.

[Splenosis mimicking local recurrence after radical nephrectomy: a report of two cases].

Splenosis is autotransplantation of splenic tissue and usually follow traumatic or surgical rupture of the spleen. We report two cases of splenosis which presented as a local recurrence after radical nephrectomy for left renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The patients were a 65- and a 71-year-old male, who had been operated for RCC including splenectomy because of disrupture of the splenic capsule 8 and 9 years earlier respectively. In both cases, follow up computed tomographic scans showed small nodules under the left diaphragm. Although we initially suspected local recurrence, we considered the possibility of splenosis. Both patients underwent technetium-99m Sn colloid scans and were diagnosed with splenosis successfully. Therefore, we could avoid unnecessary surgical explorations.

[Clinical study of 38 cases of pheochromocytoma --correlation between the instability of intraoperative blood pressure and 24-hour urinary vanillylmandelic acid].

Pheochromocytoma is a rare tumor of chromaffin tissues most commonly arising from the adrenal medulla. We retrospectively reviewed the records of 38 patients with pheochromocytoma who underwent surgical treatment between 1977 and 2004 at our Yokohama City University Medical Center and Yokohama City University Hospital. Twenty two patients (57.9%) were females and 16 (42.1%) were males. The most frequent symptoms were headache (58%). One patient had bilateral adrenal tumors and pathological examination revealed malignant pheochromocytoma. Six patients had an extra-adrenal tumor and in 2 patients the tumor occurred in the urinary bladder. Twelve patients (31.6%) had sustained hypertension, 21 patients (55.3%) had paroxysmal hypertension and 5 patients (13.1%) remained normotensive. The 24-h urinary total metanephrines and vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) were the most sensitive biochemical tests for the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. The sensitivity of urinary total metanephrines was 92.0% for all the patients and was 92.3% for the patients without paroxysmal hypertension. Fifteen patients had intraoperative hypertensive reactions in the surgical manipulation or hypotension after tumor resection. This group had more urinary excretion of VMA before surgery, compared with that with stable intraoperative blood pressure (p < 0.005).

[Clinical significance of pelvic lymph-node dissection for the patients with locally invasive bladder cancer--correlation between the number of retrieved lymph nodes and prognosis].

The objective of this study was to know the effects of pelvic lymph node dissection on the survival of the patients who received radical cystectomy without neoadjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Between 1984 and 2000, 104 patients underwent operation at our institution for tumors clinically diagnosed as locally invasive bladder cancer (T2-4NxM0). Survival rates and 8 prognostic factors (age, sex, size, multiplicity, type, pT, N, pv) were analyzed by uni- and multivariate analysis. The significant factors were size, type, pT, N, pv by univariate analysis. Of these 5 factors, N factor was the most significant by multivariate analysis. Patients (N-) who had more than 20 lymph nodes retrieved showed better survival than the others.