[False Elevation of Prostate-Specific Antigen Caused by Heterophilic Antibody Interference after Radical Prostatectomy : A Case Report].

We described a 63-year-old man who was diagnosed with clinical T1c prostate cancer, with a Gleason score of 6 (3＋3), and a preoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of 5. 27 ng/ml. Radical prostatectomy(RP) was performed and final pathologyshowed Gleason score 3＋4, pT2c with negative surgical margin. In spite of suggested surgical radicality, PSA was 3.32, 4.78, 5.93 ng/ml, at 1, 2, and 3 months after RP, respectively. However, radiological investigation revealed no metastasis. Because of this clinical discrepancy, we checked the PSA-α1-antichemotrypsin level and found it to be ≦0.1 ng/ml. From these results, false PSA elevation caused byinterference of positive heterophilic antibodies was suggested and demonstrated byseveral immunoassays.

[Multi-institute survey on actual conditions of urologic management for severe bladder dysfunction after hysterectomy].

We conducted a multi-institute survey on the conditions related to urologic management of severe voiding dysfunction after hysterectomy for uterine cancer with or without postoperative irradiation. Our first study population was a group of adult female patients currently managed by urologists, using clean intermittent catheterization (CIC). Of the 287 patients in this group, 99 (34%) had suffered from uterine cancer. Of these patients, 94 underwent hysterectomy for this disease; 44 and 30 were treated with or without postoperative radiation, respectively, while postoperative irradiation status was unknown for 20. Median follow-up after surgery was 21 (0.2-52) years and median interval from operation to the introduction of CIC was 4.0 (0-49) years. CIC tended to be introduced later for patients with postoperative radiation than those without it. Seventy-four patients, who required invasive urologic interventions other than CIC for voiding dysfunction after hysterectomy, are the second study population. Most of these (82%) had received postoperative irradiation. Continuous Foley catheter placement was the most frequent procedure. Long-term follow-up and urologic management for voiding dysfunction is required for patients undergoing hysterectomy.

[Assessment of clinical usefulness of Eviprostat for benign prostatic hyperplasia--comparison of Eviprostat tablet with a formulation containing two-times more active ingredients].

We compared the usefulness of Eviprostat tablet, a therapeutic agent for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and EVI-F tablet, a new formulation of Eviprostat containing two times more active ingredients (Chimaphila umbellata extract, Populus tremula extract, Pulsatilla pratensis extract, Equisetum arvense extract and purified wheat germ oil) and consequently designed to reduce the number of tablets per dose by half. In this study, patients with BPH were randomly assigned to either Eviprostat group (6 tabs/day) or EVI-F group (3 tabs/day) using the envelope method. The clinical efficacy of these two drugs were evaluated by the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and QOL score at the end of the treatment period, and their safety was evaluated by the incidence of side effects. Based on the clinical study guidelines for dysuria, the change in the IPSS total score and QOL score were comparable to the previously reported data for other treatment agents for BPH, and these indices showed gradual improvement with the treatment period. Both treatments were well tolerated. The clinical usefulness of the monotherapy with EVI-F tablet or Eviprostat tablet was reasonably demonstrated in this study. Furthermore, both treatments reduced nocturia, which has an impact on the QOL of patients with BPH.

Transurethral coil embolization for the management of ureteroarterial fistula: a case report.

A 71-year-old woman who had undergone a total abdominal hysterectomy and pelvic irradiation for cervical cancer and fecal diversion for adhesive ileus was referred to us for a "left" ureteral stone and intermittent gross hematuria. Bilateral ureteral stents had been indwelled because of lower ureteral strictures for a long time. Hematuria continued after the removal of the ureteral stone, and she once went into hypovolemic shock at the time of exchange of the right ureteral catheter. Selective arteriography revealed a "right" ueteroarterial fistula. Endovascular management alone failed to resolve the fistula, but a subsequent transurethral metal coil embolization was effective, and the hematuria was relieved. She is still free from disease at 7-month followup. As far as we know, there has been no previous report of a transurethrally managed ureteroarterial fistula.

Radical cystectomy for invasive bladder cancer: results of multi-institutional pooled analysis.

BACKGROUND: We report the outcome of radical cystectomy for patients with invasive bladder cancer, who did not have regional lymph node or distant metastases, at 21 hospitals. METHODS: Retrospective, non-randomized, multi-institutional pooled data were analyzed to evaluate outcomes of patients who received radical cystectomy. Between 1991 and 1995, 518 patients with invasive bladder cancer were treated with radical cystectomy at 21 hospitals. Of these, 250 patients (48.3%) received some type of neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant therapy depending on the treatment policy of each hospital. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 4.4 years, ranging from 0.1 to 11.4 years. The 5-year overall survival rate was 58% for all 518 patients. The 5-year overall survival rates for patients with clinical T2N0M0, T3N0M0 and T4N0M0 were 67%, 52% and 38%, respectively. The patients with pT1 or lower stage, pT2, pT3 and pT4 disease without lymph node metastasis had 5-year overall survivals of 81%, 74%, 47% and 38%, respectively. The patients who were node positive had the worst prognosis, with a 30% overall survival rate at 5 years. Neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy did not provide a significant survival advantage, although adjuvant chemotherapy improved the 5-year overall survival in patients with pathologically proven lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: The current retrospective study showed that radical cystectomy provided an overall survival equivalent to studies reported previously, but surgery alone had no more potential to prolong survival of patients with invasive cancer. Therefore, a large-scale randomized study on adjuvant treatment as well as development of new strategies will be needed to improve the outcome for patients with invasive bladder cancer.