ABSTRACT
Although radiation and surgery are generally regarded as effective for treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) in majority of men, diagnosis and prognosis remains poor in patients with progressive disease. Disease –specific metabolites represent the effective end points with considerable ability to identify men at increased risk of disease progression. In the current study, serum levels of Sarcosine, free and total testosterone (fTesto and tTesto) were assayed to evaluate the tumorigenic properties of PCa in our locality. In this study, 150 prostate cancer, 200 benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) Patients diagnosed and 200 volunteer matched controls were evaluated. Serum sarcosine were 64.94±0.81 nmol/dl, 118.70±1.80 nmol/dl and 134.13±2.21 nmol/dl in PCa, BPH patients and controls respectively. Serum tTesto and fTesto levels were 5.09±0.15 ng/ml, 5.12±0.11 ng/ml and 13.42±0.26 pg/ml, 5.72±0.20 ng/ml, 13.93±0.24 ng/ml and 11.73±0.47 pg/ml in PCa, BPH patients and controls respectively. Values differ significantly (p˂0.05) between PCa, BPH patients and controls in all the analytes. Attempt was also made to define the reference ranges of these analytes in various age groups of the controls. We recommend the inclusion of Serum levels of Sarcosine, tTesto and fTesto into multiplex biomarker panel for PCa and BPH detection in our localities.
ABSTRACT
Background. The incidence of paediatric urolithiasis varies according to geographic areas. In Nigeria, there is paucity of literature on urinary stone diseases in childhood. Materials and Methods. In the period between January 1993 and December 2003, 67 Nigerian children with urinary stones were retrospectively reviewed. Results. There were 63 (94.0%) boys and 4 (6.0%) girls. The mean age at presentation was 6.9 years. Thirty one (46.3%) were in the age group less than 5 years. The commonest presenting symptoms were dysuria 42 (62.7%) and abdominal pain in 30 (44.8%). Pulling on the penis is characteristically present in 26 (38.8%) patients. The stones were located in the lower tract in 57 (85.1%) cases. Anatomic obstruction along the urinary tract was responsible for stone formation in 12 (17.9%) patients. Sixteen (23.9%) patients had associated urinary tract infection. All the stones analyzed were mixed and 75% contained urate. In 7 (10.4%) patients the stones were passed spontaneously. Open surgical technique was employed in the remaining 60 patients. There was no death recorded. Post-operative complications occurred in 15 (25.0%) of the operated patients. The commonest complications were wound infection 3 (5.0%) and vesicocutaneous fistula in 3 (5.0%) patients. The average duration of hospital stay was 16.0 days. Conclusion. In our practice lower tract stones are common and congenital urinary tract obstruction is the commonest identifiable cause for stones. The age and sex distribution and chemical composition are in keeping with historic and endemic stones. Early detection and treatment of urinary tract obstruction will further reduce the durden of stones disease