Occurrence, types, and therapies of malignant tumors in recipients of renal transplantation / 中国医学科学院学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the types and therapies of malignancies in renal allograft recipients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We retrospectively analyzed the occurrence, types, and therapies of malignancies in 498 renal allograft recipients who had received operations in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from May 1986 to October 2008.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among 498 renal allograft recipients, 18 patients (3.6% ) were diagnosed with malignancies, which included bladder cancer (n = 5), renal pyloric cancer or ureteric cancer (n = 4), leukemia or lymphoma (n = 3), hepatic cancer (n = 2), skin cancer, rectum carcinoma, pulmonary carcinoma and thymoma (n = 1 each). Surgical operations were performed in 10 cases, 6 of whom survived with normal renal function and had no rejection of transplanted kidneys. Three patients with bladder cancer and one patient with ureteric cancer experienced recurrences 7 to 15 months after operations; among them one bladder cancer patient died. One hepatic carcinoma patient died of pulmonary metastasis 8 months after operation. One non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patient died 11 months after chemotherapy. Five cases with advanced unresectable malignancies died 8 to 17 months after the diagnosis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The incidences of malignancies, especially urological epithelial carcinoma, are high in renal allograft recipients. Radical surgery of the solid malignancies is a preferred option.</p>

Analysis of protamine content in patients with asthenozoospermia / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the significance of the change of protamine content in the management of male infertility.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sperm nuclear proteins extracted from 199 infertile patients were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel-electrophoresis and scanning microdensitometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Forty-two (21%) cases of the total number had normal sperm nuclear proteins and 157 (79%) had aberrant ones, which mainly presented the interruption of HPRR and abnormality of P2 protamine. Thirty patients were selected at random from 157 abnormal cases for clinical treatment. After the treatment, the sperm nuclear proteins were extracted and analyzed and the results demonstrated that 11 cases (36.6%) improved markedly, 5 (16.6%) restored to normal and the other 16 (46.6%) remained unchanged.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>There is a reduced level or selective absence or even complete selective absence of protamines in infertile patients. Protamines may act as a parameter for evaluating the treatment effect of infertile males and protamine content can be influenced by a certain or several factors.</p>

The evaluation of the diagnosis and treatment of 32 cases with ectopic ACTH syndrome / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate and discuss the diagnosis and treatment of ectopic ACTH syndrome.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinical data of 32 cases of ectopic ACTH syndrome, recruited from January 1990 to April 2003 in our hospital, was analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All of the 32 cases presented with clinical and biochemical evidences of Cushing's syndrome. Ten cases were definitively diagnosed as ectopic ACTH syndrome by finding ectopic tumors; 4 cases were highly suspected as ectopic ACTH by blood sampling from femoral vein and infra-petrosal vein and 18 cases were suspected as ectopic ACTH by imaging examinations. Fifteen cases (47%), without identified source of ectopic hormone, were treated with bilateral or unilateral total adrenalectomy, with 1-year survival rate of 60%. Seven cases (22%), with possible source of ectopic hormone, underwent no intervention, with 1-year survival rate of 0. Ten cases underwent radical resection of tumor, 6 of which were bronchial carcinoids and 4 of which were thymic carcinoids, with 1-year survival rate of 60%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>It is very difficult to localize the tumor of ectopic ACTH syndrome patients. Bilateral adrenalectomy followed by hormonal replacement is effective for most of the patients without identifying source of ectopic hormone.</p>

Telomerase expression in various lesions of adrenal cortex / 中国医学科学院学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expression of telomerase in various lesions of adrenal cortex.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>By autoradiography-based telomeric repeat amplification protocol, telomerase expression was detected in 36 samples of adrenocortical lesions, including 29 cases adrenocortical adenoma (8 Cushing's syndrome, 17 aldosteronism and 4 nonfunctional adenomas), 5 cases of hyperplasia of adrenal cortex (presented with Chushing' syndrome), 2 cases adrenocortical carcinoma, and 4 samples of normal adrenal cortex.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Of the 40 samples, 2 cases of adrenocortical carcinomas had telomerase expression, and the others had no telomerase expression detected.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>No significant telomerase expression was found among different endocrine functional benign adrenocortical lesions. Telomerase expression may be used as an important marker of malignant adrenocortical tumor.</p>