A decade of amphibian studies (Animalia, Amphibia) at Sekayu lowland forest, Hulu Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia.

Amphibians of Sekayu lowland forest have been studied more than a decade, with discoveries of new records of species showing no sign of abating between the years 2003 to 2020, indicating the remarkably rich diversity of anurans in this forest. Despite ceaseless anthropogenic activities in this area, this study successfully recorded 52 species of amphibians from 32 genera in the lowland forest of Sekayu. The species composition consisted of a single species from the family Ichthyophiidae and 51 species of anurans of 31 genera and six families. The number of species recorded has steadily increased especially during more recent surveys from 2015 to 2020. This study augments the total number of amphibian species recorded from Hulu Terengganu by ten additional species, increasing the total to 70 species for the district.

Bilateral renal cell carcinoma in a child.

Renal cell carcinoma is a rare renal tumor in the pediatric population with an incidence of 0.1-0.3%. We report on the first case of bilateral renal clear cell carcinoma that was treated by partial nephrectomies. We performed a complete genetic evaluation to exclude a family inheritance and we looked at the deletions associated with the possible histologic subtypes of renal cell carcinoma. The patient had no evidence of recurrence after 80-month follow-up and her renal function remained normal.

Improved cancer specific-survival in patients with carcinoma invading bladder muscle expressing cyclo-oxygenase-2.

UNLABELLED: Study Type - Prognosis (case series). LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the expression of cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 has an influence on survival and on the response to chemotherapy in invasive bladder cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A population of 266 patients from a tertiary university centre with carcinoma invading bladder muscle without evidence of metastasis at time of cystectomy was analyzed retrospectively. COX-2 expression was evaluated immunohistochemically with a monoclonal anti-COX-2 antibody. All pertinent clinical and pathological parameters were reviewed and correlated with risk factors influencing outcome, including disease-specific and overall survival, as well as COX-2 expression. Immunoreactivity was categorized as positive if COX-2 staining was present in >5% tumour cells. RESULTS: The expression of COX-2 was not influenced by tumour stage, grade or nodal status, nor any other parameters. The risk factors that influenced disease-specific survival in carcinoma invading bladder muscle on multivariate analysis were lymph node status (hazards ratio, HR = 2.46 for N1, P = 0.001, HR = 2.90 for N2, P < 0.001, HR = 5.19 for N3, P = 0.012), use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (HR = 3.54; P= 0.004) or adjuvant chemotherapy (HR = 0.57, P = 0.014) and COX-2 expression (HR = 0.64 if >5% cells had positive expression; P = 0.025). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed an increased disease-specific survival (P = 0.0063), as well as longer recurrence-free survival (P = 0.003), in patients with muscle-invasive bladder tumours expressing COX-2 in >5% of the cells. A tendency was also observed in a subgroup with positive nodes treated with adjuvant chemotherapy (P = 0.093). CONCLUSIONS: The overexpression of COX-2 is associated with a better recurrence-free and disease-specific survival in a large cohort of 266 patients with carcinoma invading bladder muscle treated by cystectomy. A trend for increased disease-specific survival was also observed for patients with COX-2 overexpression and positive nodes who received adjuvant chemotherapy. Potential of COX-2 as a prognostic marker in bladder cancer should be considered.

Emphysematous cystitis and sepsis: a case report.

Emphysematous cystitis is a rare disease that is usually caused by aerobic bacteria. The clinical course can vary from asymptomatic cystitis to fulminant sepsis. We present a case of a 68-year-old man with emphysematous cystitis with sepsis where early diagnosis and conservative treatment led to a favorable outcome.