E. Cottini

Testosterone Levels in Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy and Prostate Cancer

Introduction: Although hormones play fundamental roles in prostate growth, their clinical significance is not completely clear. In the present study we assessed whether serum hormone levels are markers of prostate disease. Patients and Methods: In 128 patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy or prostate cancer, testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and prolactin levels were correlated with disease. In patients with prostate cancer, the hormone levels were also correlated with prognostic factors. Predictive values were assessed for prostate-specific antigen and testosterone levels only, using multiple logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves. Results: The testosterone concentrations were significantly lower in patients with prostate cancer than in those with benign prostatic hypertrophy and were also significantly lower in patients with advanced-stage disease than in patients with organ-confined disease. Testosterone appears to be an independent predictor of disease and enhances the predictive accuracy for benign prostatic hypertrophy and prostate cancer. Conclusions: This study supports experimental findings that prostate cancer is frequently associated with low testosterone concentrations. In the diagnostic workup for prostate cancer, associating prostate-specific antigen and testosterone levels may improve the predictive accuracy of prostate disease tests.

Diagnostic potential in prostate cancer of a panel of urinary molecular tumor markers

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a heterogeneous, multifactorial and multifocal disease. Therefore, the search for a combination of assays using a panel of tumor markers is fundamental for a more precise and reliable diagnosis. In the present study we investigated the diagnostic value of five different genes, associated with PCa carcinogenesis, encoding for prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), serine protease Hepsin, PCa antigen 3 (PCA3), UDP-N-acetyl-alpha-D-galatosamine transferase (GalNAC-T3) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Forty-four patients, with previously untreated, histologically verified PCa and forty-six patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were enrolled in this study. Absolute concentration of the transcript levels of each gene was calculated by quantitative Real-Time PCR analysis in urine sediments of men suffering from PCa or BPH after prostatic massage. The diagnostic value of a concomitant examination of these markers was evaluated by logistic regression analysis. We demonstrated that the diagnostic potential of the combined urinary PSA and PSMA level was significantly better than that of each singularly considered marker, including total serum PSA, the present gold standard test for PCa diagnosis.

Alteration of glyoxalases gene expression in response to testosterone in LNCaP and PC3 human prostate cancer cells

Glyoxalase system, a ubiquitous detoxification pathway protecting against cellular damage caused by potent cytotoxic metabolites, is involved in the regulation of cellular growth. Aberrations in the expression of glyoxalase genes in several human cancers have been reported. Recently, we described a possible regulatory effect by estrogens on glyoxalase genes in human breast cancer cell lines. This result, along with those ones regarding changes in glyoxalases activity and expression in other human hormone-regulated cancers, such as prostate cancer, has prompted us to investigate whether also androgens, whose functional role in prostate cancer pathogenesis is well known, could modulate glyoxalases gene expression. Therefore, we treated LNCaP androgen-responsive and PC3 androgen-independent human prostate cancer cell lines with testosterone at the concentrations of 1 nM and 100 nM. After a two days treatment, glyoxalases mRNA levels as well as cell proliferation were evaluated by real-time RT-PCR analysis and [3H]thymidine incorporation, respectively. Results pointed out that testosterone affects the expression of glyoxalase system genes and cell proliferation in a different manner in the two cell lines. The possibility that modulation of glyoxalase genes expression by testosterone is due to glyoxalases-mediated intracellular response mechanisms to the androgen-induced oxidative stress or to the presence of androgen response elements (ARE) in glyoxalase promoters are discussed. Knowledge regarding the regulation of glyoxalases by testosterone may provide insights into the importance of these enzymes in human prostate carcinomas in vivo.

Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy of thyroid cancer metastasis: case report and review of the literature

Background Follicular cell thyroid carcinoma is a quite aggressive form of thyroid cancer. About 10% of follicular thyroid carcinoma shows multiple metastases: lung and bone are the most common sites of metastasis. Renal involvement from thyroid primary cancer is very rare with incidence of 4.5%–5.9%. Purpose We report the first laparoscopic conservative treatment of renal metastasis from thyroid cancer. This is a new and useful approach in order to delay malignant disease progression and to reduce the surgical discomfort of the patient. Patients and methods We present the case of a 67-year-old woman, undergoing total thyroidectomy for follicular thyroid cancer with bone and lung metastasis. During adjuvant radiometabolic treatment, renal metastasis was diagnosed. Renal metastasis showed high metabolic activity, reducing the effectiveness of radioiodine therapy for secondary lesions. For this reason, we performed a laparoscopic simple enucleation of the single renal metastasis using extraperitoneal access and a clampless procedure. Results The excision of the renal lesion improved the effectiveness of adjuvant radioiodine therapy: two months after surgery, the patient underwent adjuvant radiometabolic treatment with iodine-131 (150 mCi) and the following whole body scan showed only a small uptaking area at the level of the vertebral metastasis. The lung micrometastases were not detectable. At 36 months follow-up, malignant disease was clinically stable and well controlled. Conclusion Minimally invasive renal surgery with preservation of renal function and rapid recovery contributed to the success of radioiodine therapy and delayed the progression of the disease.

Expression and biological-clinical significance of hTR , hTERT and CKS2 in washing fluids of patients with bladder cancer

Backgroundat present, pathogenesis of bladder cancer (BC) has not been fully elucidated. Aim of this study is to investigate the role of human telomerase RNA (hTR), human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and CDC28 protein kinase regulatory subunit 2 (CKS2) in bladder carcinogenesis and their possible clinical significance;Methodsthe transcript levels of hTR, hTERT and CKS2 were quantified by Real time reverse transcriptase chain reaction in exfoliated cells from bladder washings of 36 patients with BC and 58 controls. The statistical significance of differences between BC bearing patients and control groups, in the general as well as in the stratified analysis (superficial or invasive BC), was assessed by Students t test. Non parametric Receiver Operating Characteristics analysis (ROC) was performed to ascertain the accuracy of study variables to discriminate between BC and controls. The clinical value of concomitant examination of hTR, hTERT and CKS2 was evaluated by logistic regression analysis;Resultsa significant decrease in hTR and a significant increase in hTERT or CKS2 gene expression were found between BC bearing patients and controls, as well as in the subgroups analysis. The area under the curve (AUC) indicated an average discrimination power for the three genes, both in the general and subgroups analysis, when singularly considered. The ability to significantly discriminate between superficial and invasive BC was observed only for hTR transcript levels. A combined model including hTR and CKS2 was the best one in BC diagnosis;Conclusionsour results, obtained from a sample set particularly rich of exfoliated cells, provide further molecular evidence on the involvement of hTR, hTERT and CKS2 gene expression in BC carcinogenesis. In particular, while hTERT and CKS2 gene expression seems to have a major involvement in the early stages of the disease, hTR gene expression, seems to be more involved in progression. In addition, our findings suggest that the studied genes have a clinical role in discriminating between BC and controls in the general as well as in the stratified analysis, when singularly considered. A combined model improved over the single marker BC diagnosis.

Robot assisted laparoscopic excision of a paraganglioma: new therapeutic approach

The Paraganglioma is the most common extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma arising from neural crest (1) (It will better to write: The paraganglioma is an extra-adrenal pheocromocytoma arising from the neural crest. 10% of pheocromocytomas are extra-adrenal and can arise form chromaffin tissue derived from primitive neuroectoderm). Minimally invasive techniques allow surgeons to perform the procedure without wide exposure and mobilization of intra abdominal organs. To our knowledge we present the third case of robotic excision of a retroperitoneal paraganglioma.