Combined robot assisted right partial nephrectomy and cholecystectomy with single docking.

ΑBSTRACT: We report the first case of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RARN) and Robot assisted cholecystectomy in a 66 years old female overweight patient with organ-confined right kidney tumor identified on the investigation of gastrointestinal symptoms with a single docking. A modified position of the patient and a slight altered placement of the trocars made feasible the concomitant performance of the two operations. Total blood loss was 80 ml, operation time was 253 min and console time 187 min. The drain was removed on second post-operative day and the patient was discharged at the 3rd post-operative day. Using a single docking of the da Vinci S system, intraoperative time and cost are minimized in patients with both organ-confined kidney tumors and gall bladder stones.

Role of coagulation factors in urological malignancy: A prospective, controlled study on prostate, renal and bladder cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To study the behavior of specific coagulation factors in different types of non-metastatic urological cancers, and to identify their possible role as diagnostic and prognostic markers. METHODS: This was a prospective controlled study, which included three cancer patient groups and a control group of healthy individuals. The cancer subgroups consisted of renal (n = 44), prostate (n = 56) and bladder cancer (n = 47). We excluded patients receiving anticoagulant therapy, or with significant comorbidity. In all patients, certain coagulation parameters were measured (prothrombin time, international normalized ratio, partial thromboplastin time, D-dimers, fibrinogen, F1 + 2, thrombin-antithrombin complex). Statistical analysis was carried out to explore the association of hemostasis markers with tumor-nodes-metastasis stage, Gleason score, transitional cell carcinoma grade, Fuhrman grade and prostate-specific antigen. RESULTS: Our final sample consisted in 58 control patients and 147 patients with urological cancer. We found specific patterns of increased coagulation factors in the different cancers that were statistically significant. Renal cancer showed increased levels of D-dimers, partial thromboplastin time and fibrinogen. D-dimers and fibrinogen were increased in prostate cancer; whereas in bladder cancer, only fibrinogen was elevated. Correlations were found between certain factors and tumor stage and grading, with D-dimers being independently associated with higher tumor grade. Thrombin-antithrombin complex was associated with Gleason score. Furthermore, D-dimers, fibrinogen and F1 + 2 were associated with higher tumor stages (II-IV). CONCLUSIONS: The coagulation pathway seems to be activated in urological malignancies. Specific panels of coagulation factors might play a role as screening or prognostic tools in earlier stages of renal, prostate and bladder cancer. Further research should also focus on their role in the association of cancer with thromboembolic events.

Idiopathic spontaneous perforation of the upper urinary tract. A presentation of 4 cases.

Spontaneous perforation of the collecting system constitutes a rare entity masked by the presentation of a typical renal colic. However, it should not be forgotten when managing patients with colic, since missed diagnoses may carry significant morbidity. We herein present a series of spontaneous perforation of the collecting system without an apparent obstruction site evident in helical CT urography. Four consecutive patients who presented with typical renal colic were initially subjected to KUB and renal ultrasound imaging and were ultimately diagnosed with perforation of the collecting system via contrast enhanced- helical CT urography. Despite thorough evaluation, the cause responsible obstructive was not discovered and an exclusion diagnosis of idiopathic collecting system perforation was assigned to all patients. Due to the rarity of a spontaneous perforation traditional retrograde urography was performed in an effort to identify the possible cause but was also unrevealing. All patients were successfully treated with endourological means. Perforation of the collecting system without an evident obstructive cause is a rare entity with obscure etiology. A reasonable but yet unconfirmed speculation is that of a transient obstruction capable of a significant increase of intraluminal pressures.

A Cough Deteriorating Gross Hematuria: A Clinical Sign of a Forthcoming Life-Threatening Rupture of an Intraparenchymal Aneurysm of Renal Artery (Wunderlich's Syndrome).

Macroscopic hematuria regards the 4% to 20% of all urological visits. Renal artery aneurysms (RAAs) are detected in approximately 0.01%-1% of the general population, while intraparenchymal renal artery aneurysms (IPRAAs) are even more rarely detected in less than 10% of patients with RAAs. We present a case of a 58-year-old woman that came into the emergency room (ER) complaining of a gross hematuria during the last four days. Although in the ER room the first urine sample was clear after a cough episode, a severe gross hematuria began which led to a hemodynamically unstable patient. Finally, a radical nephrectomy was performed, and an IPRAA was the final diagnosis. A cough deteriorating hematuria could be attributed to a ruptured intraparenchymal renal artery aneurysm, which even though constitutes a rare entity, it is a life-threatening medical emergency.

A rare case of a 39 year old male with a parasite called Dioctophyma renale mimicking renal cancer at the computed tomography of the right kidney. A case report.

We present a very rare case of a 39 year old patient with Dioctophyma renale depicted as a Bosniak cyst IV of the right kidney who was finally subjected to a robotic assisted radical nephrectomy.

Immunostimulatory CpG-DNA and PSA-peptide vaccination elicits profound cytotoxic T cell responses.

OBJECTIVE: Novel strategies for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer (CaP), including immunotherapy or gene therapy, are currently under evaluation with Sipuleucel-T as first FDA-approved immunotherapeutic. Here, we examine cytosine-phosphorothioate-guanine (CpG)-DNA oligonucleotides (ODN) to boost cytokine responses and costimulatory molecule expression on murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (mBMDC). Furthermore, we evaluate the potency of a PSA-peptide based vaccine in combination with CpG-DNA to elicit specific cytotoxic T cell (CTL) responses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: mBMDC were stimulated with CpG-DNA (1668: 5'-TCCATGACGTTCCTGATGCT-3') or non-stimulatory control-ODN (1720: 5'-TCCATGAGCTTCCTGATGCT-3'). Subsequently, expression of the costimulatory molecules CD40 and CD86 and induction of proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-12) were analyzed. For induction of PSA-peptide specific CTL, female C57BL/6 mice were immunized with PSA-peptide 65-73 (HCIRNKSVI) alone or in combination with 1668 or 1720-ODN. In vivo cytotoxicity assay determined PSA-peptide specific cytotoxicity 1 week after vaccination. RESULTS: Treatment of mBMDC with stimulatory CpG-DNA ODN resulted in pronounced up-regulation of costimulatory molecule expression on mBMDC in a dose-dependent manner. CpG-ODN significantly increased production of IL-6 and IL-12 in mBMDC (P < 0.001). Induction of PSA-peptide specific CTL responses in mice immunized with PSA-peptide and CpG-DNA were significantly greater than those of PSA-peptide and control-ODN immunized mice or PSA-peptide only vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: CpG-DNA acts as potent adjuvant for vaccination therapies and elicits profound PSA-peptide specific CTL responses in combination with an immunodominant PSA-peptide. CpG-ODN mediated immunotherapy represents a potentially inexpensive, safe, easy-to-produce, and easy-to-handle treatment alternative. Therefore, further evaluation of CpG-DNA in immunization therapies against CaP is warranted.