Use of the Prostate Health Index and Density in 3 Outpatient Centers to Avoid Unnecessary Prostate Biopsies.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the diagnostic efficacy of the prostate health index (PHI) and PHI density (PHID) to avoid unnecessary prostate biopsies in 3 urological practices. METHODS: In 122 patients, total prostate-specific antigen (PSA), free PSA (f-PSA), the quotient from total PSA and f-PSA (f-PSA%), and [-2]pro-PSA were measured in the serum; PHI, PHID, and PSA density (PSAD) were calculated prior to prostate biopsy. Tissue sampling via transrectal biopsy was indicated in case of suspicious PSA (progression and/or elevation of PSA) and/or suspicious digital rectal examination. PSAD, PHI, and PHID were not used for biopsy indication. The diagnostic efficacy was determined with receiver-operating characteristic (ROC)and decision curve analyses. RESULTS: Based on prostate biopsies, 38% (n = 46) of the cases had no prostate carcinoma (PCa), 21% (n = 26) no clinically significant (insignificant) PCa, and 41% (n = 50) had clinically significant PCa. ROC analyses of the PSA parameters showed higher diagnostic efficacy for PHI and PHID (AUC 0.722 and 0.739) than for f-PSA%, PSA, and PSAD (AUC 0.612, 0.595, and 0.698, respectively) regarding carcinoma diagnosis. With a combined use of PHI and PHID (cutoff >40 and >0.9, respectively), only 1 clinically significant PCa would have been missed (sensitivity 98%); in 24 (20%) patients, biopsy could have been avoided. CONCLUSION: The integration of PHI and PHID could improve the diagnostic efficacy of risk calculators to avoid unnecessary prostate biopsies. However, as a prerequisite, validation of cutoff values in prospective studies is urgently required.

TP53 gene mutations as an independent marker for urinary bladder cancer progression.

This study evaluates the influence of the TP53 genetic status on tumour recurrence and progression with a highly effective electrophoretic technique. DNA from tissue of 75 non-invasive urinary bladder cancers was PCR amplified in the TP53 exons 5-8 and run on horizontal polyacrylamide gels under defined temperature conditions to yield specific gel shifts. Kaplan-Meier and Cox-Regression analysis were performed with tumour progression. The overall tumour recurrence in our patient population was 76.0% (57/75). Tumour recurrence frequency was 69.4% (34/49) in patients with TP53 wild-type, and 88.5% (23/26) in patients with TP53 mutation. There was no statistically significant difference with regard to recurrence frequency and time to recurrence. The progression-free survival was significantly shorter in patients with TP53 mutations, and the frequency of tumour progression was significantly higher in mutated as compared to wild-type tumours. Cox-Regression analysis showed a significant and independent influence of TP53 mutation on tumour progression in comparison with tumour grade, stage and history of prior bladder cancer. If segregated by exons, mutations in the DNA binding region of exon 8 seem to have a particular high influence on tumour progression. We conclude that genetic analysis of TP53 can select patients at high risk of bladder tumour progression that should be followed closely and may benefit from early radical surgical procedures.

Histone deacetylase inhibitors upregulate expression of the coxsackie adenovirus receptor (CAR) preferentially in bladder cancer cells.

Studies on bladder cancer cell lines have shown that low adenoviral (Ad) infectivity is associated with low-level coxsackie adenovirus receptor (CAR) expression. Recently, we and others demonstrated a tumor stage- and grade-dependent downregulation of CAR expression in a large series of clinical bladder cancer specimens. Here, we demonstrate adenoviral gene transfer can be markedly enhanced in bladder cancer cells by upregulation of CAR through the use of certain differentiating agents, including the histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACI) trichostatin A and sodium phenylbutyrate. CAR upregulation to supraphysiologic levels was demonstrated by quantitative rt-PCR, Western blotting, flow cytometry and adenoviral gene transfer. Normal urothelial cells and CAR-positive papilloma cells (RT4) failed to demonstrate upregulation under the same conditions. Upregulation was cell cycle dependent, associated with increased adenoviral gene transfer and persisted for at least 7 days after a single treatment. Such upregulation, however, appears to be tumor cell specific, as other CAR-negative cell lines failed to demonstrate enhanced adenoviral gene transfer with the same treatments. These results provide a rational basis for combining HDACI therapy with gene therapy as a method of augmenting activity in bladder cancer, but this strategy may not be universally applicable to other cell types.

TP53 gene mutations in prostate cancer progression.

BACKGROUND: We assessed the predictive value of TP53 mutations and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for tumor progression in prostate cancer (PCa) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety tumor tissue samples of patients with PCa from radical prostatectomy were used. Tumor progression was estimated biochemically by the PSA level (> 0.2 microg/l) or by detection of metastases. Screening for TP53 mutations was performed by temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE) in exon-specific manner. Follow-up data were collected from medical protocols. Statistical analysis was performed by uni- and multivariate techniques. RESULTS: In 32 out of 90 patients (35.6%), TP53 mutations were detected. Thirteen out of 32 patients (40.6%) with TP53 mutations and nine out of 58 patients (15.5%) with TP53 wild-type showed tumor progression after 25 and 45 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: TP53 mutations in exon 7 and exon 8 are factors of tumor progression in PCa. Their contribution to tumor recurrence is more significant than tumor stage and pretherapeutic PSA level.

Identification and validation of suitable endogenous reference genes for gene expression studies of human bladder cancer.

PURPOSE: Housekeeping genes as endogenous references are generally used for the relative quantification of target genes in gene profiling studies. To date that issue has not been sufficiently investigated in bladder cancer. From a panel of 9 potential candidates we selected the most stable housekeeping genes for gene normalization in bladder cancer tissue. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Expression profiles of the 9 genes ACTB, ALAS1, G6PD, GAPD, HMBS, HPRT1, K-ALPHA-1, SDHA and TBP were established in matched malignant and nonmalignant tissue specimens from 14 patients with bladder cancer. Quality assessment of isolated RNA was performed with a 2100 Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, California) and real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was performed with LightCycler. The software geNorm and NormFinder (Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark) were used to identify the most suitable reference genes. RESULTS: RNA was isolated with high purity and integrity. Candidate reference genes showed a broad range of between 20 and 34 polymerase chain reaction cycles. Expression did not depend on patient sex or tumor stage. GAPD, G6PD and HMBS showed significant differences in expression between malignant and nonmalignant pairs (at least p <0.04). Expression of the remaining genes did not differ between the matched pairs. SDHA and TBP were the most stably expressed genes, covering higher and lower expression levels. CONCLUSIONS: For normalization purposes in gene profiling studies of bladder cancer the genes SDH and TBP are recommended as single reference genes depending on the expression level of the target gene or more favorably in combination.

Valproic acid, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, is an antagonist for oncolytic adenoviral gene therapy.

Oncolytic adenoviruses preferentially replicate in and lyse tumor cells. However, their application to cancer gene therapy has been complicated by the low levels of coxsackie and adenovirus receptor (CAR) expressed in many solid tumors. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) significantly up-regulate CAR expression in tumor cells and have additional antineoplastic activities. Therefore, there is a clear rationale for the combination of HDACIs and oncolytic adenoviral gene therapy. We present evidence that HDACI treatment significantly inhibits adenoviral replication, viral burst, and tumor cell kill. Valproic acid (VPA), a well-established HDACI, inhibits adenoviral replication late in the viral life cycle. We hypothesized that VPA induction of the cell-cycle-regulating protein p21(WAF1/CIP1) may be partly responsible for this activity. We demonstrate that p21(WAF1/CIP1) expression alone limits viral replication and decreases viral titers in different cancer cell models. We also demonstrate that VPA and replicating adenovirus mutually inhibit each other's ability to kill cells, independent of p21(WAF1/CIP1) expression. These results not only identify the importance of p21(WAF1/CIP1) in the biology of adenoviral replication, but also suggest that oncolytic adenoviral gene therapy will be inhibited rather than enhanced by VPA (HDACI) treatment.

Clinical value of vesical leukoplakia and evaluation of the neoplastic risk by mutation analyses of the tumor suppressor gene TP53.

AIM: Leukoplakia has been found to be precancerous in organs covered with squamous epithelium. The present study was conducted to determine whether leukoplakia described in the female bladder is also a premalignant lesion. METHODS: Between 1973 and 1996, 77 female patients were diagnosed with vesical leukoplakia by cystoscopy and cytology and were followed-up until 2004 (mean follow-up time: 8.3 years). A survey was conducted to analyze exposure to cocarcinogens. Additionally, DNA was isolated from 36 urine sediments and analyzed for TP53 mutations. The results were compared to the mutation frequency of TP53 in urine sediments from patients diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder and healthy controls. RESULTS: The whitish lesion was mostly located at the trigone and varied in size and location during the follow-up years. TP53 mutations were detected in 6 out of 36 urine samples in exons 5, 6 and 7 (mutation frequency: 16.7%). Among control patients with no leukoplakia or TCC of the bladder (n = 70), the spontaneous mutation frequency was similar (14.3%). In contrast, the mutation frequency in patients with TCC of the bladder (n = 148) revealed 39.9% in exons 5, 6, 7 and 8. The present study did not show any statistically significant correlations between chronic inflammations, TP53 mutations, exposure to carcinogens and vesical leukoplakia. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that vesical leukoplakia does not necessarily hold neoplastic potential and needs to be clearly distinguished from leukoplakia in other localizations. Therefore, we suggest that a biopsy can be omitted, if follow-up controls by cystoscopy are performed regularly.

Valproic acid inhibits invasiveness in bladder cancer but not in prostate cancer cells.

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) represent a promising new class of antineoplastic agents that affect proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis in both solid and hematologic malignancies. In addition, HDACIs can alter the expression of at least one cellular adhesion molecule, the coxsackie and adenovirus receptor, in bladder cancer. Because HDACIs can increase expression of a known cellular adhesion molecule, we hypothesized that migration and/or invasion may also be affected. We evaluated this hypothesis using valproic acid (VPA), a commonly prescribed anticonvulsant recently shown to have potent HDACI activity, in the bladder cancer cell lines T24 TCC-SUP, HT1376, and RT4. Analyses of cell migration and invasion were both qualitative (fluorescent microscopy) and quantitative (static and dynamic migration/invasion assays). Our results show that acute VPA treatment (72 h) causes a dose-dependent decrease in invasion for all bladder cancer cell lines, except RT4, a noninvasive papilloma. Migration, in contrast, was not affected by VPA treatment. The inhibitory effect of VPA may be cancer type-specific, because there was no difference in invasion between treated and untreated prostate cancer cell lines LNCaP, PC3, and DU145. Furthermore, when administered chronically (34 days), VPA significantly inhibits growth of T24t tumor xenografts. Our data suggest that VPA exerts some of its antineoplastic effects by inhibiting invasion as well as tumor growth, and thus it may represent a novel adjuvant strategy for patients at high risk of recurrence and/or progression of muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Phase II trial of weekly paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapy in patients with advanced transitional cell cancer.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the efficacy and toxicity of a first-line combination chemotherapy using weekly paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with metastatic transitional cell cancer (TCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-three patients with advanced measurable TCC of the urothelium were entered onto this trial. Patients were treated once weekly with a combination therapy of paclitaxel (100mg/m(2)) and carboplatin (AUC 2, according to the Calvert formula). Therapy courses were administered for six consecutive weeks. After two cycles, a re-staging was carried out to evaluate response. RESULTS: Objective response rate was 57.6% with 6 complete (18.2%) and 13 partial remissions (39.4%). Seven patients had stable disease (21.2%) and 7 patients had progressed at the first evaluation of response (21.2%). Median progression-free interval and median survival was 6.5 (1-35) and 12 (2.5-58) months, respectively. Toxicity was moderate and manageable with grade 3 and 4 neutropenia in 8 patients (24%), but no case of neutropenic fever. Other hematological grade 3 toxicities occurred in 9 patients (27%) and grade 3 peripheral neuropathy in 2 patients (6%). There was no treatment-related death. Dose reduction or short delay of treatment was necessary in 3 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Combination therapy using weekly paclitaxel and carboplatin was active in patients with advanced TCC and adverse prognostic features. The weekly dosing used in this trial warrants further investigation as an alternative first-line approach in patients with poor renal reserve and/or performance status or as a second-line management of advanced TCC.

Long-term benefit of 5-aminolevulinic acid fluorescence assisted transurethral resection of superficial bladder cancer: 5-year results of a prospective randomized study.

PURPOSE: As shown in various studies 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) induces fluorescence of malignant and dysplastic bladder tissue and increases tumor detection rates by about 20%. However, data on the long-term benefits are sparse. Thus, the 5-year outcome data of a prospective randomized trial comparing patients who initially underwent bladder tumor resection (TUR) under standard white light or with ALA induced fluorescence were evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 115 patients with suspected superficial bladder cancer were randomized to undergo standard or ALA assisted TUR. After the second look TUR at 6 weeks patients were followed for a median of 39 (standard) and 42 (ALA) months. RESULTS: Median time to first recurrence was 5 months in the standard and 12 months in the ALA group. Recurrence-free survival was 25% in the standard and 41% in the ALA group. The recurrence rate at 2, 12, 36 and 60 months after initial TUR was 41%, 61%, 73% and 75%, and 16%, 43%, 59% and 59% in the white light and ALA groups, respectively. The total number of recurrences was 82 in the standard and 61 in the ALA group. Tumor progression occurred in 9 patients in the standard and 4 in the ALA group. Cost analysis suggests a considerable economical advantage of ALA fluorescence assisted TUR compared to the standard procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The initial advantage of improved tumor detection and decreased recurrence rates by ALA fluorescence assisted TUR is maintained for years, and effectively reduces morbidity and costs in patients with superficial bladder tumors.

Integrin alpha(v) and coxsackie adenovirus receptor expression in clinical bladder cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the expression of the coxsackie and adenovirus receptor (CAR) and alpha(v) integrins in clinical specimens of bladder cancer to determine the susceptibility to adenoviral gene therapy. Efficient adenovirus-based gene therapy requires binding of the virus to CAR and involves the alpha(v) integrins. Studies on bladder cancer cell lines have shown that low adenoviral transduction rates were associated with low-level expression of CAR. Integrin alpha(v) expression increases in various tumors suggest its importance in differentiation, proliferation, and migration. CAR is structurally a member of the Ig-type superfamily of cell-cell adhesion molecules, suggesting that its expression may also be related to the state of tumor differentiation. METHODS: We performed immunohistochemistry for CAR and integrin alpha(v) expression in bladder cancer specimens in 50 paraffin-embedded tumor-normal pairs and confirmed the results by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of 11 separate bladder tumors and 4 separate normal bladder controls. RESULTS: Immunochemistry demonstrated a stage and grade-dependent decrease in CAR expression (90.0%, 83.3%, and 31.3% of normal urothelium and superficial and invasive transitional cell carcinoma [TCC] and 83.3% and 39.5% of low and high-grade TCC, respectively). Furthermore, we found a stage and grade-dependent increase in alpha(v) integrin expression (13.3%, 46.0%, and 56.3% of normal urothelium, superficial TCC, and invasive TCC and 25% and 52.6% of low and high-grade TCC, respectively). Quantitative RT-PCR analysis confirmed a downregulation at the CAR gene expression level. CONCLUSIONS: This down-regulation may have a major impact on developing adenoviral-based gene therapy modalities. In addition, we propose that loss of CAR expression decreases rigid cell adhesion, possibly increasing the migratory potential. Loss of CAR expression correlates with the invasive phenotype in our analysis of bladder cancer. Simultaneously, the finding of increased alpha(v) expression in invasive cancer suggests a pathogenesis that involves heterophilic adhesion and migration of these cells on various extracellular ligands.