Radical prostatectomy and adjuvant endocrine therapy for prostate cancer with or without preoperative androgen deprivation: Five-year results

BACKGROUND: The effects of preoperative androgen deprivation on the outcomes of prostate cancer patients who received radical prostatectomy and subsequent adjuvant endocrine therapy have not yet been fully evaluated. METHODS: Patients with stage A(2), B or C prostate cancers were randomized to one of two groups: group I (n = 90), who received androgen deprivation (leuprolide and chlormadinone acetate) for 3 months followed by radical prostatectomy and subsequent adjuvant endocrine therapy (leuprolide alone), and group II (n = 86), who underwent the surgery followed by 3-month androgen deprivation (leuprolide and chlormadinone acetate) and subsequent adjuvant endocrine therapy (leuprolide alone). The effects of preoperative androgen deprivation on survival, clinical relapse (serum prostate specific antigen, PSA, above the normal level, local recurrence, or distant metastases), and PSA relapse (PSA above the detectable level) were evaluated at 5 years or later after treatment. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in overall, cause-specific, clinical relapse-free, or PSA relapse-free survival rates between the two groups. In a subanalysis, no prostate cancer deaths or clinical relapses were noted in 29 patients with organ-confined disease (OCD: negativity of capsular invasion, seminal vesicle invasion, surgical margins or nodal involvement). The odds ratio for OCD depending on group assignment was 2.44 (95% confidence interval, CI 1.04-5.72), for group I, demonstrating a higher probability of having OCD. This ratio was increased to 4.00 (95% CI 1.06-15.16) if the analysis was conducted in a subpopulation with prostate specific antigen levels less than 35.6 ng/mL and with clinical stage B or C cancers. CONCLUSION: Preoperative androgen deprivation has no demonstrable benefit in 5-year outcomes for patients undergoing radical prostatectomy and adjuvant endocrine therapy. However, it did increase the probability of OCD, which was associated with no clinical relapse during the follow-up. A longer observation is needed to clarify the exact extent of the benefits in terms of survival.     

Detection of Monocyte Chemotactic and Activating Factor (MCAF) and Interleukin (IL)-6 in Human Seminal Plasma and Effect of Leukospermia on These Cytokine Levels

PROBLEM : To demonstrate whether monocyte chemotactic and activating factor (MCAF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are present in the seminal plasma, and whether these presence is modulated by leukospermia. METHODS : Semen samples from 53 men were obtained by masturbation and examined for the presence of MCAF and IL-6 by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Semen samples were obtained from 28 infertile men without leukospermia, 16 infertile men with leukospermia, and nine proven-fertile men. The correlation between the amount of MCAF in the seminal plasma with some spermiogram parameters and other cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-8 was statistically evaluated. RESULTS : Immunoreactive MCAF was detected in the seminal plasmas of all 53 subjects. The MCAF titer in the seminal plasma of patients with leukospermia (11.19 ± 2.75 μg/1) was significantly higher than that in the seminal plasma of the patients without leukospermia (3.24 ± 0.53 μg/1) and the fertile men (2.78 ± 0.35 μg/1) (P < 0.001). The IL-6 titer in the seminal plasma of the patients with leukospermia (21.05 ± 4.49 ng/1) was also significantly higher than that in the seminal plasma of the patients without leukospermia (8.77 ± 1.92 ng/1) and the fertile men (6.94 ± 1.27 ng/1) (P < 0.01). There was a high degree of correlation among the levels of MCAF, IL-6 and IL-8 in the seminal plasma. CONCLUSIONS : These findings demonstrated the presence of MCAF and IL-6 in the seminal plasma, and that the levels of these cytokines were elevated in the seminal plasma of the infertile patients with leukospermia.     

Long-Lasting Immune Response Induced by Recombinant Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) Secretion System

The recombinant bacillus Calmette–Guérin (rBCG) secretion system utilizing an extracellular α antigen of Mycobacterium kansasii (α-K) was characterized biochemically and immunologically. The human immunodeficiency virus type1 (HIV-1) p17 ^gag B cell epitope fused to α-K was secreted in extremely large amounts. At least three mice out of seven inoculated with rBCG generated high titres of antibody to the epitope. The long-lasting antibody production persisted more than 14 months.     

Alcohol effect on sleep electroencephalography by fast Fourier transformation

Abstract The influence of alcohol (ethanol) on sleep was investigated in 10 men. Polysomnography (PS) was recorded on a baseline night (BL-N) and an ethanol (0.8 g/kg) night (Et-N). On visual score rapid eye movement (REM) sleep was reduced, REM latency was prolonged on Et-N as compared to BL-N. Using the fast Fourier transformation method, electroencephalographic power density of REM sleep in δ frequencies band and in the 10–12 Hz range of non-REM sleep were enhanced. REM sleep and non-RJEM sleep changes were prominent in the second-half and first-half of the night, respectively.     

Effects of turpentine oil pretreatment on β-blocker pharmacokinetic parameters in rats

Abstract— Turpentine oil treatment (0·2 mL kg^?1, s.c.) was used to increase the plasma concentration of α₁-acid glycoprotein (0·13 mg mL^?1 in control rats) to 1·72 mg mL^?1 after 2 days, and allow assessment of its effects on the pharmacokinetics and stereoselective binding of three β-blockers. Racemates (5 mg kg^?1) were administered intravenously to control and turpentine oil-pretreated rats and the plasma concentrations were determined up to 90 min. Stereoselective analysis showed the apparent distribution volume and the area under plasma concentration-time curves (AUC) of R-(+)-propranolol to be, respectively, one-quarter and twice those of the S-(–)-enantiomer and differences in pharmacokinetic parameters between the two were magnified by turpentine oil pretreatment. Pharmacokinetic parameters of oxprenolol enantiomers were essentially similar for the controls but after turpentine oil pretreatment, a higher affinity of the R-(+)-enantiomer for plasma was observed. Acebutolol enantiomers behaved non-stereospecifically throughout. These results were consistent with predictions from the in-vitro stereospecific binding properties of these agents to purified rat α₁-acid glycoprotein.     

Long-term sequential changes of antibody to p40tax in HTLV-I carrier mothers and children

Antibody to p40^tax (anti-p40^tax) in serum specimens obtained sequentially from a human T cell lymphotropic virus type I carrier population of mothers and children were assayed. The prevalences of anti-p40^tax at the initial sampling were 88% (7/8) in children and 55% (16/29) in mothers. Two of the seven positive children lost their anti-p40^tax during the investigation period, resulting in a final prevalence of 63% (5/8) in children. However, anti-p40^tax status was constant in all the 22 mothers with multiple serum samples (15 remained positive and seven remained negative). A decline in the absorbance value of EIA for anti-p40^tax was observed in seven of the 15 anti-p40^tax positive mothers. This decline may result in the disappearance of anti-p40^tax in some of them.