Nuclear p53 Overexpression in Bladder, Prostate, and Renal Carcinomas

Background :
The aim of this study was to examine nuclear p53 overexpression in transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, adenocarcinoma of the prostate, and renal cell carcinoma.
Methods :
Forty-four pathologic specimens from 39 bladder cancer patients, 41 prostatic adenocarcinoma, and 39 renal cell carcinoma specimens were analyzed immunohistochemically with D07 monoclonal antibody to detect the expression of the mutant p53 gene. Overexpression was said to occur when the number of positively-stained tumor nuclei were≥ 10% in each specimen. p53 overexpression was correlated with the clinical and histopathological features of these cancers.
Results :
Nuclear p53 overexpression occurred in 18.2% of transitional cell bladder cancer specimens, 12.2% of prostate cancer specimens, and 17.9% of renal cell cancer specimens. Statistical analyses showed that grade, vascular invasion, and necrosis in bladder cancer, a high Gleason score in prostate cancer, and the 1-year mortality rate in renal cancer were significantly related with p53 nuclear overexpression (P<0.05).
Conclusion :
Using the D07 monoclonal antibody, nuclear p53 overexpression is relatively uncommon in urologic malignancies, and moderately correlates with several histopathological and clinical features of urologic malignancies.     

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy for Acute Cholecystitis: Prospective Trial

p < 0.00001) and for hydrops (28.5%) and empyema of the gallbladder (28.5%) ( p = 0.004). The difference in conversion between the group with acute necrotizing (gangrenous) cholecystitis and the two groups with hydrops and empyema of the gallbladder was not statistically significant ( p = 0.07). The complication rates of acute cholecystitis, hydrops, empyema of the gallbladder, and gangrenous cholecystitis were 9.0%, 9.5%, 14.0%, and 20.0%, respectively ( p = NS). Patients with an operative delay of 96 hours or less from the onset of acute cholecystitis had a conversion rate of 23%, whereas a delay of more than 96 hours was associated with a conversion rate of 47% ( p = 0.022). The complication rate was 8.5% in the laparoscopic group and 27% in the converted group ( p = 0.013). Patients over 65 years of age, with a history of biliary disease, a nonpalpable gallbladder, WBC count over 13,000/cc, and acute gangrenous cholecystitis were independently associated with a high LC conversion rate; male patients, finding large bile stones, serum bilirubin over 0.8 mg/dl, and WBC count over 13,000/cc were independently associated with a high complication rate following laparoscopic surgery with or without conversion. Generally, LC can be performed safely for acute cholecystitis, with acceptably low conversion and complication rates. Different forms of cholecystitis carry various conversion and complication rates in selected cases. LC for acute cholecystitis should be performed within 96 hours of the onset of disease. Predictors of conversion and complications may be helpful when planning the laparoscopic approach to acute cholecystitis.      

The bacteriological prevalence of leptospiral infection in cattle and buffaloes in West Malaysia

A cross-sectional bacteriological survey of cattle in West Malaysia revealed 14.4% (32/222) had leptospiral infection. Isolates were obtained from all except one herd with prevalence of infection in herds ranging from 0-44.8%. A small number of buffalo urine samples were examined and all of them were found to be negative. A leptospiral isolate obtained from a bovine kidney proved to be a new serovar of Leptospira interrogans and the name unipertama was assigned to it. Six other leptospiral serovars were isolated, namely canicola, australis, javanica, ballum, pomona and hardjo. All six serovars were isolated for the first time in cattle in Malaysia. Cattle in Malaysia appear to be the maintenance host for serovar hardjo. The presence of the other serovars in cattle was probably due to contact with the maintenance hosts, pigs for serovar pomona and rodents for the other three serovars. It appears that the epidemiology of leptospiral infection in cattle in Malaysia is similar to that reported overseas.     

Carcinoma of the hepaticopancreatic ampullar region: role of US

Hepaticopancreatic ampullar tumors are so called because they are located at the confluence of the bile duct, pancreatic duct, and duodenum. Jaundice is an early sign of the disease and often leads to early diagnosis and favorable prognosis compared with other tumors that occur in this area. Of eight patients who underwent ultrasound (US) in the past 5 years, six (75%) were found to have tumor. The sizes of the tumors ranged from 1.6 to 2 cm. An intraluminal, polypoid mass in the distal part of the common bile duct was seen in four patients. In the other two patients, a sharply delineated mass gave rise to abrupt termination of the distal duct. Improved US resolution, more experience with this modality, and accurate diagnosis of these tumors with US will contribute to improved detection and prompt treatment.     

Brain abscess in Saudi Arabia

There are significant variations among countries in the incidence of brain abscess. We report here 26 cases of brain abscess treated at the Neurosurgery Department of King Faisal University and Dammam Central Hospital Saudi Arabia over a six year period (1982–1988). This is 2.3% of total admissions to the two neurosurgery departments serving a population of approximately 1.2 million in the same period.Young males were most often affected (M/F ratio 3.3:1; 31% were less than 15 years old, 46% aged between 15–39 years, and 23% older than 40 years). Streptococcus was found to be the most common microorganism (38.4%). Mixed infection was seen in 15.3%, and sterile abscesses were found in 11.5% of the patients after aerobic and anaerobic cultures of the pus. Chronic otitis media and paranasal sinusitis predisposed the patients to abscess formation in 57.6% of the cases. The temporo-parietal area was the commonest site. Epilepsy was a complication in 30.7% of our patients, and the mortality rate was 15.3%.     

Anthelmintic activity of some sudanese medicinal plants

The anthelmintic activity of aqueous extracts (0.25–50 mg/mL) from 14 plant species that represent seven families of the Sudanese flora was examined using the free living rhabditid nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans as a test organism. Extracts of Balanites aegyptiaca and Sesbania sesban were the most effective (LC₅₀, 0.8 and 8.0 mg/mL, respectively). Extracts of Albizzia anthelmintica, Cymbopogen narvatus, Abrus precatorius, Rhyncosia minima, Striga hermonthica and Anogeissus leiocarpa (LC₅₀, 9.5–84.6 mg/mL were less effective in this model test system. Extracts of six plant species, Albizzia malacophylla, Gardenia lutea, Physostigma mesoponticum, Salvadora persica, Xeromphis nilotica and Waltheria indica had no effect upon C. elegans survival.     

Differential immunoreactivity of her-2/neu oncoprotein in prostatic tissues.

To investigate HER-2/neu oncoprotein immunoreactivity, monoclonal antibody TA1 immunohistochemical examination of flash-frozen radical prostatectomy specimens was performed (n = 35). All prostatic specimens contained benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and/or prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), as well as prostatic carcinoma (CaP). HER-2/neu oncoprotein immunoreactivity in BPH tissues was not significantly different than that for the PIN basal cell layer (P = 0.10) or for the PIN luminal cells (P = 0.17). There was significantly more HER-2/neu oncoprotein immunoreactivity in BPH than in areas of CaP (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the amount of immunoreactivity present in PIN basal cells when compared to the PIN luminal cells (P = 0.49). Both the PIN basal cells and luminal cells stained for the HER-2/neu oncoprotein to a higher degree than cells in the CaP areas (P < 0.001 in both cases). HER-2/neu oncoprotein immunoreactivity is present at a significantly higher degree in BPH and PIN than in malignant prostatic epithelium.     

Detection of human papillomavirus in the prostate by polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization.

Human papillomavirus is associated with a variety of anogenital lesions, including genital warts, precancers and cancers. In male patients human papillomavirus has been identified in proliferative lesions ranging from penile and urethral warts to penile and prostatic cancers. We examined the association of human papillomavirus deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in 84 prostate tissue specimens. Specimens were selected from radical prostatectomy, transurethral resection or transrectal biopsy procedures. A total of 60 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues (24 prostate cancer specimens, 16 benign prostatic hyperplasia specimens and 20 normal specimens) was examined by polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization. Also, 24 gelatin-embedded frozen prostate cancer specimens were examined for human papillomavirus DNA by polymerase chain reaction. Of the specimens 69 were deemed adequate for polymerase chain reaction analysis, whereas all 60 paraffin-embedded tissues were sufficient for in situ hybridization. Human papillomavirus DNA was detected in 2 normal tissues and 6 prostate cancers using polymerase chain reaction. None of the benign prostatic hyperplasia specimens was positive for human papillomavirus. Human papillomavirus typing results indicated that virus type 16 was present in each of the 8 positive specimens. Confirmation of the presence of human papillomavirus was obtained for 1 of the prostate cancers by nonisotopic in situ hybridization with biotinylated human papillomavirus genomic probes. The low prevalence of human papillomavirus in this study population does not strongly support an etiological role for the virus in prostate cancer.