Analysis of Cdc2 and Cyclin D1 expression in breast cancer by immunoblotting

Cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases may reflect the status of cell proliferation in cancer tissues. The authors sought to determine whether cdc2 and cyclin D1 are expressed in breast cancer and are useful as prognostic factors. Accumulation of cdc2 and cyclin D1 proteins was examined in 88 cases of breast cancer using immunoblotting techniques and correlations with clinicopathological factors and prognoses were investigated. Cdc2 and cyclin D1 proteins were observed in 27.3% and 75.0% of breast cancers studied, respectively. The incidence of lymph node metastasis was significantly high in cdc2/cyclin D1-double positive group and low in double negative group. On the other hand, the incidence of estrogen receptor (ER) negative cases was significantly higher in the cdc2-positive/cyclin D1-negative group. Relapse-free survival times of cdc2-positive cases were significantly shorter than those of cdc2-negative cases. The relapse-free survival times of cyclin D1-positive cases also tended to be poorer than those of cyclin D1-negative cases. Multivariate analyses revealed cdc2 as the second most significant of the prognostic variables, following lymph node status. The three-year relapse-free survival rate of cdc2/cyclin D1-double positive cases was 58.9%, whereas that of cdc2/cyclin D1-double negative cases was 100%. Cdc2 and cyclin D1 represent the status of cell proliferation in breast cancer, and may be useful in breast cancer assessment.     

Intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy for penile carcinoma with deep inguinal lymph node metastasis

From July 1994 to January 1999, three patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma with deep inguinal lymph node metastases without distant metastases were treated with multimodality treatment including intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy mainly with monthly courses of cisplatin, methotrexate and bleomycin. One patient achieved a complete response and 2 achieved a partial response. It appears to be reasonable to presume that intra-arterial chemotherapy has a beneficial effect in the management of penile cancer with fixed metastatic inguinal lymph nodes, but a larger number of patients and longer follow-up are required to confirm these results.     

Urinaryβ 2-microglobulin and renal functions in elderly people in an area with no known cadmium pollution (Japan)

Urinary ₂-microglobulin (MG) was determined in 99 elderly people above 50 years of age from an area with no known cadmium pollution. With advancing age, the urinary MG increased as well as the urinary protein, urinary retinol-binding protein (RBP), and plasma urea nitrogen. Nevertheless, age effects were not observed in renal functions such as creatinine clearance or tubular reabsorption of phosphorus. Analysis of the relationship between urinary MG and parameters of the renal functions suggested 2-step increases in urinary MG: a slight increase between 160 and 1600g/L and a remarkable increase above 1600g/L. The latter strong increase in urinary MG was closely related with depressed tubular reabsorption of MG, but was independent of tubular reabsorption of phosphorus. The screening level of urinary MG for renal tubular dysfunction is suggested at 1600g/L.     

Detection of chromosome 15 deletion in Prader-Willi syndrome using fluorescence in situ hybridization

Deletion of chromosome 15 was investigated in 6 patients with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) using chromosome and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. Although chromosome analysis using G-banding methods revealed the deletion of 15q11-q13 in only 3 cases, staining by FISH using D15S11 and/or small nuclear ribonucleoprotein polypeptide N (SNRPN) probes detected chromosome 15 deletion in all cases. It would appear that FISH analysis is an effective diagnostic test for the detection of chromosome 15 deletion in patients with PWS.     

Influence of sex hormones on prostate volume in men on hemodialysis

The relationship between sex hormones and prostate volume in 90 men on hemodialysis and 91 healthy men was investigated. In men on hemodialysis, serum levels of total and free testosterone were significantly reduced compared with the controls (P < .001), whereas the serum estradiol level was significantly elevated in men on hemodialysis (P < .001). However, prostate volumes were not different between the 2 groups. Serum estradiol level correlated with the prostate volume in controls (P < .001), whereas total and free testosterone levels did not correlate with the prostate volume. In men on hemodialysis, serum levels of total and free testosterone and estradiol did not correlate with the prostate volume. The present study suggests that sex hormones do not play important roles in the prostate growth in men on hemodialysis.     

Occurrence of saxitoxins as a major toxin in the ovary of a marine puffer Arothron firmamentum.

Eleven male and 14 female specimens of a marine puffer Arothron firmamentum were collected from Oita and Iwate Prefectures, Japan. The toxicity assay using mouse showed that only ovary and skin of the female specimens were toxic, the toxicity scores being 5-740 as paralytic shellfish poison and <5-30 MU/g as tetrodotoxin (TTX), respectively. The toxin extracts from the both tissues were then treated with cartridge columns, and subjected to high performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectral analyses. In the analyses, saxitoxin (STX) and decarbamoylSTX (dcSTX) were identified as the major toxins in the ovary, while the skin contained only TTX.     

Contrast‐enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasonography for differential diagnosis of localized gallbladder lesions

Background and Aim

Differential diagnosis of localized gallbladder lesions is challenging. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the utility of contrast‐enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasonography (CH‐EUS) for diagnosis of localized gallbladder lesions.

Methods

One hundred and twenty‐five patients with localized gallbladder lesions were evaluated by CH‐EUS between March 2007 and February 2014. This was a single‐center retrospective study. Utilities of fundamental B‐mode EUS (FB‐EUS) and CH‐EUS in the differentiation of gallbladder lesions and sludge plug were initially compared. Thereafter, these two examinations were compared with respect to their accuracy in the diagnosis of malignant lesions. Five reviewers blinded to the clinicopathological results evaluated microcirculation patterns in the vascular and perfusion images.

Results

In the differentiation between gallbladder lesions and sludge plug, FB‐EUS had a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 82%, 100%, and 95%, respectively, whereas CH‐EUS had a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 100%, 99%, and 99%, respectively. FB‐EUS‐based diagnosis of carcinomas based on tumor size and/or shape had a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 61–87%, 71–88%, and 74–86%, respectively. Additional information regarding irregular vessel patterns in the vascular image and/or heterogeneous enhancement in the perfusion image on CH‐EUS increased the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for the diagnosis of carcinomas to 90%, 98%, and 96%, respectively. There was a significant difference between FB‐EUS and CH‐EUS in terms of carcinoma diagnosis.

Conclusion

CH‐EUS was useful for the evaluation of localized gallbladder lesions.