Toshinobu Seguchi

Interleukin-6 Activity in Urine and Serum in Patients with Bladder Carcinoma

To investigate the correlation between interleukin-6 and urothelial neoplasms, interleukin-6 activities in blood and urine samples of patients with bladder carcinoma were measured with a proliferation assay using an interleukin-6 dependent murine hybridoma clone, MH60.BSF2. A total of 43 patients and 15 normal volunteers were entered into this study. All of the patients were examined preoperatively and 26 were reexamined more than 6 days postoperatively to eliminate the effect of surgical injury on interleukin-6 secretion. The interleukin-6 titers in urine and serum increased in accordance with the progression of the tumor stage, and tumor removal induced a remarkable decrease in the titer of urinary interleukin-6. Although the interleukin-6-producing site has not been elucidated yet, our study suggests that interleukin-6 activity in bladder carcinoma patients may reflect the immunoreaction against the tumor in local urothelium.

Comparison of Lumbar Flank Approach and Transperitoneal Approach for Radical Nephrectomy

A retrospective analysis based on Robsons tumor stage classification was performed on 56 patients with renal cell carcinoma who had undergone radical nephrectomy through a lumbar flank approach and 35 who had through a transperitoneal approach. The 5-year survival rates of patients with nephrectomy through the lumbar approach for Robsons stage 1, stage 2 and stage 3 were, respectively, 93.1, 70.4 and 60.0%. In comparison, the respective 5-year survival rates of patients with nephrectomy through the transperitoneal approach for Robsons stage 1, stage 2 and stage 3 were 90.5, 72.2 and 25.0%. As a result, there was no significant difference in survival rates between the two surgical procedures for any of the three Robsons stages. It is further suggested that the lumbar flank approach for radical nephrectomy does not result in poorer prognosis than does the transperitoneal approach, though transperitoneal and thoracoabdominal approaches have been generally recommended.

Secondary Acute Monocytic Leukemia Occurring during the Treatment of a Testicular Germ Cell Tumor

Secondary leukemia following chemotherapy or radiotherapy for mediastinal germ cell tumors is a well-described entity. It also may occur in patients with testicular germ cell tumors. We report a case of acute monocytic leukemia occurring in a 44-year-old man who received etoposide-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy for a recurrent, metastatic testicular germ cell tumor. The patient received 14 cycles of systemic chemotherapy for pulmonary and para-aortic lymph node metastases following his initial orchiectomy. The total amount of etoposide this patient received was 6,400 mg/m2. Leukemia occurred 11 years after orchiectomy. A literature review revealed 25 other reported cases of secondary leukemias after treatment for testicular carcinoma. It is not clear whether chemotherapy, radiotherapy or both are responsible for the secondary leukemias seen in these patients.

Concanavalin a-induced suppressor cell activity in patients with renal cell carcinoma

Concanavalin A (Con A)‐induced suppressor cell activity against the proliferative response of autologous lymphocytes to phytohemagglutinin was examined in peripheral blood lymphocytes derived from 12 normal control subjects and 25 patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The Con A‐induced suppressor cell activity in patients with RCC (23.4 ± 21.4%) was significantly higher than that in control subjects (9.7 ± 10.7%, P < 0.05). No significant difference between the degree of suppressor cell activity and stage of disease, grade of malignancy, or cell type was found, although the suppressor activity in patients with tumor microscopically infiltrated by lymphocytes was significantly higher than in patients without lymphocyte‐infiltration into the tumor (P < 0.05). Furthermore, compared with control subjects, Con A‐induced suppressor activity in patients with high stage and in those with lymphocyte infiltration into the tumor was significantly higher (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). In conclusion, because patients with RCC have high suppressor cell activity, abrogation of this activity may be necessary to treat the RCC. Cancer 68:2586–2590, 1991.

Cytogenetics of Tumor Cells from Patients with Nonfamilial Renal Cell Carcinomas

We analyzed cytogenetically 20 nonfamilial renal cell carcinomas, using a combined method of enzymatic technique and short-term culture with several passages. From 16 of the 20 patients, metaphase cells suitable for analysis were successfully obtained. Fourteen of the 16 patients demonstrated clonal chromosome aberrations which included missing Y chromosome in 8, gain of chromosome 7 in 7, an extra X chromosome in 4, translocation between chromosome 3 and other chromosomes in 4, deletion of the short arm of chromosome 3 in 2 and monosomy 3 in 2. Abnormalities of chromosome 7 and sex chromosomes were only numerical, and those are thought to be related to the neoplastic changes of various malignant tumors. Abnormalities of chromosome 3, however, were not only numerical but also structural, especially in the short arm, and those may be possibly associated with the genesis of renal cell carcinoma.