Prognostic significance of invasive cribriform gland size and percentage in Gleason score 7 prostate adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: Cribriform glands are linked to poorer outcomes in prostate adenocarcinoma. We aimed to assess the prognostic role of the percentage of cribriform glands and the size of the largest invasive cribriform gland in Gleason score 7 prostate adenocarcinomas. METHODS: The presence, percentage, and size of the invasive cribriform glands were investigated and their association with prognostic factors were assessed in 177 Grade Groups 2 and 3 prostate adenocarcinomas. RESULTS: Biochemical recurrence-free survival was statistically significantly lower in cases with a cribriform gland percentage greater than 10% (P < .001) and in cases where the largest invasive cribriform gland size was greater than 0.5 mm (P < .001). Mean largest cribriform gland size and percentage were statistically significant associated with more advanced pT status, lymph node metastasis, biochemical recurrence, and higher preoperative prostate-specific antigen values. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the presence of a cribriform pattern, increases in the percentage of such patterns, and increases in the size of the largest cribriform gland within a given tumor are associated with poor prognosis. We suggest that a more aggressive clinical approach may be needed in Grade Group 2 and 3 cases with invasive cribriform glands larger than 0.5 mm and a cribriform gland percentage greater than 10%, especially in prostate needle biopsy specimens.

Prognostic significance of tumor budding in muscle invasive urothelial carcinomas of the urinary bladder.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to analyze the prognostic significance of tumor budding in muscle-invasive urothelial carcinomas of the urinary bladder, and also to determine an optimal threshold value in evaluation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 108 patients diagnosed with muscleinvasive conventional urothelial carcinoma between 2010 and 2020. Tumor budding was evaluated on H&E-stained slides. The critical tumor budding number was determined with the "receiver operating characteristics (ROC)" curve. Cases with a tumor budding number of ≤6 were categorized as low, and cases with >6 as high tumor budding. RESULTS: The univariate Cox proportional hazards regression model for recurrence-free survival showed that lymphovascular invasion (P = 0.001), tumor budding (P = 0.012), pT stage (T4 vs. T2) (P = 0.005), and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.009) were significantly associated with recurrence-free survival. The multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model utilizing backward stepwise (wald) method revealed that only LVI (P = 0.001) was independent risk factor for recurrence-free survival. The univariate Cox analysis showed that lymphovascular invasion (P = 0.001), tumor budding (P = 0.004), pT stage (T4 vs. T2) (P = 0.003), and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.001) were significantly associated with overall survival. The multivariate Cox analysis (backward stepwise (wald) method) revealed that tumor focality (P = 0.018), pT stage (T4 vs. T2) (P = 0.015), and lymphovascular invasion (P = 0.002) were independent factors for overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggested that the evaluation of tumor budding may be a useful parameter for predicting outcome in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Identification of miRNA signatures and their therapeutic potentials in prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: Herein, we identified miRNA signatures that were able to differentiate malignant prostate cancer from benign prostate hyperplasia and revealed the therapeutic potential of these miRNAs against prostate cancer development. METHODS AND RESULTS: MicroRNA expressions were determined by qPCR. MTT was used for cell viability analysis and immunohistochemistry was performed for Bax/Bcl-2 staining. ELISA was used to measure MMP2/9 levels. Wound healing assay was used for the evaluation of cell migration. Notably, expression levels of miR-125b-5p, miR-145-5p and miR-221-3p were significantly reduced in prostate cancer patients as compared to BPH patients. Moreover, ectopic expression of miR-125b-5p, miR-145-5p and miR-221-3p resulted in significant inhibition of cell proliferation and altered cell morphology. Also, expression level of Bax protein was increased while Bcl-2 level was reduced in cells treated with miR-125b-5p, miR-145-5p and miR-221-3p mimics. Enhanced expression of miR-125b-5p, miR-145-5p and miR-221-3p was also significantly altered the expression of caspase 3 and 8 levels. In addition, MMP9 levels were significantly reduced in cells ectopically expressing miR-221-3p. All miRNA mimics significantly interfered with the migration of prostate cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS: Consequently, our findings point to an important role of these three miRNAs in prostate cancer and indicate that miR-125b-5p, miR-145-5p and miR-221-3p are potential therapeutic targets against prostate cancer.

The Role of CK7, S100A1, and CD82 (KAI1) Expression in the Differential Diagnosis of Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma and Renal Oncocytoma.

Renal oncocytoma is a benign renal tumor originated from intercalated cells of collecting ducts like chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The differential diagnosis of these 2 tumors is important because while they are histologically and cytologically similar, they show different biological behavior. For the differential diagnosis, several immunohistochemical markers have been investigated. But, differential diagnostic challenges remain and the identification of additional markers is needed. Cytokeratin 7 (CK7) is one of ductal-type keratins, which is expressed in tumors of breast, pancreas, lung, thyroid, ovary, endometrium, urinary bladder, and the kidney. S100A1 is the first defined member of the calcium-binding S100 protein family and it organizes several cellular functions including cell cycle progression and cell differentiation.CD82 is a tetraspanin membrane protein, which functions as a metastasis supressor. In this study, we immunohistochemically investigated the expressions of CK7, S100A1, and CD82 in 30 chromophobe RCC (23 classic and 7 eosinophilic variant) and 19 oncocytomas. When these markers were evaluated separately and together, their expressions in chromophobe RCC and renal oncocytoma show statistically significant difference (P<0.001). Similar statistically significant results were also seen between eosinophilic chromophobe RCC and oncocytoma (P<0.001). For both classic and eosinophilic-variant chromophobe RCCs, CK7+/S100A1-/CD82+ profile being the most common. In oncocytomas, the most frequently observed profile was CK7-/S100A1+/CD82-. Our results showed that the application of a panel consisting of CK7, S100A1, and CD82 may provide accurate categorization of the tumors in difficult cases.

Life quality change after inflatable penile prosthesis implantation.

PURPOSE: It was aimed to evaluate the changes in quality of life in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) after inflatable penile prosthesis implantation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty-one patients who underwent to an inflatable penile prosthesis implantation surgery due to ED were included in the study. The age of the patients, the indications for surgery, and the type of prosthesis implanted were recorded. All patients were implanted two-piece inflatable (AMS Ambicor™) or three-piece inflatable (AMS 700™) prostheses. A 36-item short form (SF-36) was used to assess the life quality of patients. The scores obtained from these forms were recorded and used to compare the preoperative and postoperative quality of life of the patients. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 59.9 (38-78) years. The mean follow-up was 25.1 (12-39) months. A three-piece inflatable penile prosthesis was implanted in 11 (26.8%) of the 41 patients and the others were implanted with a two-piece inflatable penile prosthesis. Average SF-36 scores were increased significantly after surgery in all groups. CONCLUSIONS: Inflatable penile prosthesis implantation is one of the most satisfactory treatment methods of ED and our study shows that with this treatment the patients can be provided a significant improvement in life quality.

Prognostic Significance of CD24 in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.

The role of cancer stem cells in the initiation and progression of cancer has become a well-studied area of emerging research, and stem cells with different surface markers have been identified in various types of cancer. CD24 is a membrane protein that acts as the ligand for P-selectin and has been defined as a stem cell marker of colonic cancer. The immunohistochemical expression of CD24 is associated with worse patient outcomes in small cell lung cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer, and colon cancer. In this study, we used immunohistochemistry to determine CD24 expression in clear cell, papillary and chromophobe renal cell carcinoma and investigated its relationship with other clinicopathological parameters and prognosis. A total of 108 cases of clear cell, 12 papillary and 13 choromophobe renal cell carcinoma were examined. Clinicopathological features including age, gender, vascular invasion, tumor necrosis, and T stage were recorded. Clinical stage and overall survival and disease-free survival times were recorded. The immunohistochemical expression of CD24 was classified as low or high based on the percentage and intensity of positive staining. CD24 expression was associated with both tumor grade and recurrence rates. The survival analysis revealed that patients with high CD24 expression exhibited significantly lower overall and disease-free survival. Increased expression of CD24 is related to the prognosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. This is the first study identifying a strong association between CD24 expression levels and survival. Thus, CD24 expression may aid in predicting prognosis in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Does skip metastasis or other lymph node parameters have additional effects on survival of patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer?

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of lymph node metastasis, skip metastasis, and other factors related to lymph node status on survival in patients who underwent radical cystectomy (RC) and extended lymph node dissection (eLND). MATERIALS AND METHODS: RC and eLND were performed in 85 patients with a diagnosis of bladder cancer. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were determined by using a Cox proportional hazards model that included the number of excised lymph nodes, the presence of pathological lymph node metastasis, the anatomical level of positive nodes, the number of positive lymph nodes, lymph node density, and the presence of skip metastasis. RESULTS: The mean number of lymph nodes removed per patient was 29.4±9.3. Lymph node positivity was detected in 85 patients (34.1%). The mean follow-up duration was 44.9±27.4 months (2-93 months). Five-year estimated OS and DFS for the 85 patients were 62.6% and 57%, respectively. Three of 29 lymph node-positive patients (10.3%) had skip metastasis. Only lymph node positivity had a significant effect on 5-year OS and DFS (p<0.001). No difference in OS and DFS was found between the three patients with skip metastasis and other lymph node-positive patients. Other factors related to lymph node status had no significant effect on 5-year OS and DFS. CONCLUSIONS: No factors related to lymph node status predict DFS and OS, except for lymph node positivity. OS and DFS were comparable between patients with skip metastasis and other lymph node-positive patients.

Significance of the interval between first and second transurethral resection on recurrence and progression rates in patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer treated with maintenance intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of the interval between the initial and second transurethral resection (TUR) on the outcome of patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) treated with maintenance intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed the data of patients from 10 centres treated for high-risk NMIBC between 2005 and 2012. Patients without a diagnosis of muscle-invasive cancer on second TUR performed ≤90 days after a complete first TUR, and received at least 1 year of maintenance BCG were included in this study. The interval between first and second TUR in addition to other parameters were recorded. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of recurrence and progression. RESULTS: In all, 242 patients were included. The mean (sd, range) follow-up was 29.4 (22.2, 12-96) months. The 3-year recurrence- and progression-free survival rates of patients who underwent second TUR between 14 and 42 days and 43-90 days were 73.6% vs 46.2% (P < 0.001) and 89.1% vs 79.1% (P = 0.006), respectively. On multivariate analysis, the interval to second TUR was found to be a predictor of both recurrence [odds ratio (OR) 3.598, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.885-8.137; P = 0.001] and progression (OR 2.144, 95% CI 1.447-5.137; P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The interval between first and second TUR should be ≤42 days in order to attain lower recurrence and progression rates. To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating the effect of the interval between first and second TUR on patient outcomes.

Investigation of key miRNAs and target genes in bladder cancer using miRNA profiling and bioinformatic tools.

Despite the association of several miRNAs with bladder cancer, little is known about the miRNAs' regulatory networks. In this study, we aimed to construct potential networks of bladder-cancer-related miRNAs and their known target genes using miRNA expression profiling and bioinformatics tools and to investigate potential key molecules that might play roles in bladder cancer regulatory networks. Global miRNA expression profiles were obtained using microarray followed by RT-qPCR validation using two randomly selected miRNAs. Known targets of deregulated miRNAs were utilized using DIANA-TarBase database v6.0. The incorporation of deregulated miRNAs and target genes into KEGG pathways were utilized using DIANA-mirPath software. To construct potential miRNA regulatory networks, the overlapping parts of three selected KEGG pathways were visualized by Cytoscape software. We finally gained 19 deregulated miRNAs, including 5 ups- and 14 down regulated in 27 bladder-cancer tissue samples and 8 normal urothelial tissue samples. The enrichment results of deregulated miRNAs and known target genes showed that most pathways were related to cancer or cell signaling pathways. We determined the hub CDK6, BCL2, E2F3, PTEN, MYC, RB, and ERBB3 target genes and hub hsa-let-7c, hsa-miR-195-5p, hsa-miR-141-3p, hsa-miR-26a-5p, hsa-miR-23b-3p, and hsa-miR-125b-5p miRNAs of the constructed networks. These findings provide new insights into the bladder cancer regulatory networks and give us a hypothesis that hsa-let-7c, hsa-miR-195-5p, and hsa-miR-125b-5p, along with CDK4 and CDK6 genes might exist in the same bladder cancer pathway. Particularly, hub miRNAs and genes might be potential biomarkers for bladder cancer clinics.

Prognostic impact of intratumoral C-reactive protein expression in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Elevated serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level has been demonstrated to predict poorer survival of both localized and metastatic renal cell carcinoma. However, the prognostic value of intratumoral CRP expression has not been sufficiently studied. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the present study, the expression of CRP was evaluated with immunohistochemical analysis in 127 patients who had undergone curative surgery for clear cell renal cell carcinoma. CRP staining was scored using the immunoreactivity score. An immunoreactivity score of 4 (median value) or lower was considered negative, a score higher than 4 was considered positive CRP expression. RESULTS: Univariate analysis revealed that Fuhrman grade, necrosis, vascular invasion, TNM stage and CRP expression were associated with tumor-specific survival. Multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards regression method revealed only TNM stage as an independent predictor of tumor-specific survival (p = 0.001). A trend towards significance (p = 0.066) was observed with CRP expression, but it did not reach significance. Patients with a positive CRP score were 3.46 times more likely to die than patients with a negative CRP score. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the assessment of intratumoral CRP expression may be a useful tool for predicting the prognosis in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Effects of rotenone on inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA levels detected by real-time PCR in a rat bladder ischemia/reperfusion model.

We aimed to determine whether rotenone treatment prevents induced ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) damage in rat bladders by detecting inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) levels by real-time PCR (RT-PCR). A total of 18 Sprague-Dawley albino rats were used in this experiment. The experimental groups each consisted of 6 rats and were treated as follows: group I, control; group II, I/R; group III, rotenone + I/R. In the control group, the rat bladders were removed by lower abdominal incision without any procedure. In the I/R group, 1 h prior to the ischemia 1 cc physiological serum was administered and the abdominal aortas were clamped for 1 h to achieve bladder ischemia. Following the ischemia, reperfusion was induced for 1 h and the bladders were removed. In the rotenone + I/R group, the rats were treated with 25 mg/kg rotenone intraperitoneally. The iNOS and COX-2 mRNA levels in each group were detected using RT-PCR. In the I/R group, the COX-2 levels in the bladder tissue were higher compared with the control group (P<0.05). The COX-2 levels in the rotenone-treated group were statistically lower compared with the I/R group (P<0.01). Vascularization and edema were markedly increased in the I/R group. Following rotenone treatment these were abrogated inversely to inflammation. Although iNOS levels were slightly higher in the I/R group compared with the control group, iNOS levels did not decrease and no significant difference was observed between the groups with regard to rotenone treatment (P>0.05). We suggest that rotenone may be used clinically to treat I/R damage due to its diminishing effect on COX-2 levels.

Extended pelvic lymph node dissection: before or after radical cystectomy? A multicenter study of the Turkish society of urooncology.

PURPOSE: We aimed to ascertain the effects of performing extended pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) on the duration of surgery, morbidity, and the number of lymph nodes removed when the dissection was performed before or after radical cystectomy (RC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used the database of our previous prospective multicenter study. A total of 118 patients underwent RC and extended PLND. Of the 118 patients, 48 (40.7%) underwent extended PLND before RC (group 1) and 70 (59.3%) underwent extended PLND after RC (group 2). The two groups were compared for extended PLND time, RC time, and total operation times, per operative morbidity, and the total numbers of lymph nodes removed. RESULTS: Clinical and pathologic characteristics were comparable in the two groups (p>0.05). The mean RC time and mean total operation times were significantly shorter in group 1 than in group 2 (p<0.001). The mean number of lymph nodes removed was 27.31±10.36 in group 1 and 30.87±8.3 in group 2 (p=0.041). Only at the presacral region was the mean number of lymph nodes removed significantly fewer in group 1 than in group 2 (p=0.001). Intraoperative and postoperative complications and drain withdrawal time were similar in both groups (p=0.058, p=0.391, p=0.613, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: When extended PLND was performed before RC, the duration of RC and consequently the total duration of the operation were significantly shorter than when extended PLND was performed after RC. Practitioners may consider performing extended PLND before RC and rechecking the presacral area for additional lymph nodes after RC, particularly in elderly patients with high co-morbidity for whom the duration of surgery matters.

Predictive value of maspin and Ki-67 expression in transurethral resection specimens in patients with T1 bladder cancer.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: To evaluate the clinical significance of maspin and Ki-67 expression in patients with newly diagnosed T1 bladder cancer. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Maspin and Ki-67 expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry from paraffin-embedded tissues of 68 patients undergoing transurethral resection for bladder cancer. Clinicopathological data were retrospectively reviewed from available charts and pathological reports. Maspin and Ki-67 expression levels were classified according to the staining percentage. Cases in which at least 5% of the tumor cells stained for maspin were scored as positive. Ki-67 labeling index was considered to be positive when samples demonstrated >10% reactivity. RESULTS: Maspin expression was found as an independent predictor of recurrence and progression (P <0.05). Patients with negative maspin expression were 2.191 times more likely to relapse than patients with positive maspin expression. Patients with negative maspin expression were 4.345 times more likely to progress than patients with positive maspin expression. Furthermore, the maspin-negative group was found to have shorter recurrence and progression-free survival (P <0.05). No significant association was found between maspin subcellular localization pattern and recurrence-free, progression-free or overall survival (P >0.05). There was no correlation between Ki-67 expression and tumor recurrence, progression or tumor-related death (P >0.05). Chi-square tests showed a significant relationship between Ki-67 expression and tumor size and tumor grade (P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggested that the evaluation of maspin expression in stage T1 bladder tumors is a useful prognostic marker for predicting the tumor behavior.

Radiologic findings of urachal mucinous cystadenocarcinoma causing pseudomyxoma peritonei.

Urachal mucinous cystadenocarcinoma causing pseudomyxoma peritonei is very rare. We report a case of a 59-year-old man with urachal mucinous adenocarcinoma associated with pseudomyxoma peritonei, and our radiologic findings. Ultrasonography revealed a well delineated, large cystic tumor adjacent to the anterior wall of the abdomen. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a tumor of which the left posterior wall was defective. A large amount of ascites was present in the peritoneal cavity. The ascites caused displacement of the intestinal structures toward the dorsal region. The tumor wall and septa in the ascites were well enhanced on contrast-enhanced images. Radiologically, pseudomyxoma peritonei due to rupture of urachal cystic tumor was considered. The pathologic diagnosis was mucinous adenocarcinoma and pseudomyxoma peritonei.

Early detection and gemcitabine/cisplatin combination positively effect survival in sarcomatoid carcinoma of the urinary bladder.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to present the clinicopathological characteristics and treatment of patients with bladder carcinoma with sarcomatoid differentiation at our institution. METHODS: Between 1995- 2009, 950 patients were followed-up for bladder carcinoma. Among them, 14 patients with sarcomatoid carcinoma were retrospectively reviewed, and their clinical, pathological features and treatment were recorded. RESULTS: Median age of the patients was 65 years (range: 41-86 years), 12 (86%) being male and 2 (14%) female. All the patients presented with hematuria and 11 (88%) had a history of smoking. The tumor growth pattern was solid in 10 patients, papillary in 2, and mixed in 2. In all, 5 of the patients had urothelial carcinoma with sarcomatoid differentiation and 9 were diagnosed with sarcomatoid carcinoma. Five patients underwent radical cystectomy with ileal conduit surgery, 2 patients refused cystectomy, and 8 patients underwent re-TUR. Following diagnosis ,12 of the patients died in mean 10.7 months (range: 1-48 months). CONCLUSION: Urothelial carcinomas with sarcomatoid features are aggressive and are usually at advanced stage at the time of diagnosis. The outcomes of multimodal treatment are not satisfactory. Significant findings of the present study are that early diagnosis positively affect survival and that gemcitabine and cisplatin in combination can positively affect survival.

Verrucous carcinoma of the renal pelvis with a focus of conventional squamous cell carcinoma.

Verrucous carcinoma (VC) is a rare variant of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with an extremely well-differentiated microscopic appearance. It is able to show extensive local invasion, but practically never metastasizes. VCs mostly occur in the oral cavity, larynx, nasal cavity, esophagus, vulva, vagina, anorectal region, penis and skin. VCs sometimes coexist with conventional SCCs, and in these instances they are associated with a higher recurrence rate than pure VCs. The occurrence of VC in the renal pelvis is very rare and to date only 4 cases have been reported. We report here a case of VC with a focus of conventional SCC in the renal pelvis. The patient showed fistula formation by residual tumor in the follow-up period.

Is ureteral stenting really necessary after ureteroscopic lithotripsy with balloon dilatation of ureteral orifice? A multi-institutional randomized controlled study.

PURPOSE: Our aim was to evaluate the role of balloon dilatation of the ureteral orifice on the decision to stent after ureteroscopy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 505 patients from two clinics, undergoing ureteroscopy (URS) for urolithiasis. Patients having balloon dilatation of the ureteral orifice and uncomplicated ureteroscopy were randomized to be either stented (n = 144) or nonstented (n = 142). Ureteroscopy was done with a 9.8 rigid ureteroscope. For dilatation of ureteral orifice, 18Fr-4 cm balloons were used (Uromax™, Boston Scientific, USA). Holmium laser or pneumatic devices were used for lithotripsy. In the second postoperative week, patients were asked to assess: pain, dysuria, and urgency using a 10-cm visual analog score (VAS) and unplanned visits. In each visit, urinalysis, urine culture, plain X-ray, and ultrasound examinations were performed. Six months after URS, follow-up IVU was performed to evaluate ureteral narrowing. Results for the separate clinics were not revealed until the end of study. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding gender, age, preoperative serum creatinine levels, stone size, stone side and location, lithotripsy type, pain, infectious complications, unplanned visits, and ureteral narrowing. However, irritative symptoms were more common in the stented group. Success rates of 97.8 and 97.2% were similar in the unstented and stented groups. CONCLUSION: In uncomplicated URS, balloon dilatation of the ureteral orifice should not significantly affect the decision for or against stent placement. Avoiding stents lowers costs and gives fewer irritative symptoms.

Reliability of frozen section examination of obturator lymph nodes and impact on lymph node dissection borders during radical cystectomy: results of a prospective multicentre study by the Turkish Society of Urooncology.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of frozen section examination (FSE) for detecting lymph node (LN) metastases and whether we can use this information to decide the extent of LN dissection during cystectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From August 2005 to August 2009 FSE of obturator LNs was performed in 118 patients with bladder cancer, who were undergoing radical cystectomy with extended LN dissection. Removed tissues from 12 well defined LN regions were sent separately for pathologic evaluation. The FSE results of obturator regions were compared with the final histopathologic results of these node regions. RESULTS: The mean number of removed nodes per patient was 29.4 ± 9.3 (median 28, range 12 to 51). The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of FSE for the 118 right obturator LN regions were 94.7%, 100%, 100% and 99%, respectively. The same values for the 118 left obturator LN regions were 86.7%, 100%, 100% and 98.1%, respectively. At final pathologic examination 28 of 118 (23.7%) patients had LN metastasis at obturator regions. Skipped metastasis was found in 15/90 patients (16.7%). Clinical and pathological stage of the primary tumour were found to be significant parameters for skipped metastasis (P = 0.008 and P < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Performing FSE of the obturator LNs seems to be a reliable procedure for their evaluation with acceptable negative and positive predictive values. The information obtained with FSE of obturator LNs can be used to determine intraoperatively the extent of LN dissection, especially in patients with significant comorbidity. Our study also showed that if the clinical stage of the primary tumour is < cT2, the possibility of skipped metastasis is zero.

Protective effects of leptin on ischemia/reperfusion injury in rat bladder.

The aim of the study was to evaluate protective effects of exogenous leptin on ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced injuries to the urinary bladder tissue and to investigate the effect on tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) levels and apoptotic cells during I/R injury. Bladder I/R injury was induced by abdominal aorta occlusion by ischemia for 45 min, followed by 60 min of reperfusion in rats. The rats were divided into three groups: control (n = 8 + 8), I/R (n = 8 + 8) and I/R+leptin group (n = 8 + 8). The rats in the I/R+leptin group were treated intraperitoneally with leptin (10 microg/kg) 60 min prior to ischemia induction. At the end of the reperfusion period, urinary bladders of the first eight rats from each group were removed for TUNEL staining processing while the others were removed for biochemical analyses for MDA and TNF-alpha levels. In the I/R group, the ratios of TUNEL-positive nuclei were higher than the control and the I/R+leptin groups. The MDA and TNF-alpha levels of the bladder tissue in the I/R group were higher than the control and leptin-treated groups. TUNEL-staining and biochemical studies revealed that leptin has a protective effect on urinary bladder I/R injury.