Therapeutic options for different metastatic sites arising from renal cell carcinoma: A review.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) stands among the top 10 malignant neoplasms with the highest fatality rates. It exhibits pronounced heterogeneity and robust metastatic behavior. Patients with RCC may present with solitary or multiple metastatic lesions at various anatomical sites, and their prognoses are contingent upon the site of metastasis. When deliberating the optimal therapeutic approach for a patient, thorough evaluation of significant risk factors such as the feasibility of complete resection, the presence of oligometastases, and the patient's functional and physical condition is imperative. Recognizing the nuanced differences in RCC metastasis to distinct organs proves advantageous in contemplating potential treatment modalities aimed at optimizing survival outcomes. Moreover, discerning the metastatic site holds promise for enhancing risk stratification in individuals with metastatic RCC. This review summarizes the recent data pertaining to the current status of different RCC metastatic sites and elucidates their role in informing clinical management strategies across diverse metastatic locales of RCC.

Polystyrene nanobeads exacerbate chronic colitis in mice involving in oxidative stress and hepatic lipid metabolism.

BACKGROUND: Nanoplastics (NPs) are omnipresent in our lives as a new type of pollution with a tiny size. It can enter organisms from the environment, accumulate in the body, and be passed down the food chain. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a nonspecific intestinal inflammatory disease that is recurrent and prevalent in the population. Given that the intestinal features of colitis may affect the behavior and toxicity of NPs, it is imperative to clarify the risk and toxicity mechanisms of NPs in colitis models. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, mice were subjected to three cycles of 5-day dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) exposures, with a break of 7 to 11 days between each cycle. After the first cycle of DSS exposure, the mice were fed gavagely with water containing 100 nm polystyrene nanobeads (PS-NPs, at concentrations of 1 mg/kg·BW, 5 mg/kg·BW and 25 mg/kg·BW, respectively) for 28 consecutive days. The results demonstrated that cyclic administration of DSS induced chronic inflammation in mice, while the standard drug "5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA)" treatment partially improved colitis manifestations. PS-NPs exacerbated intestinal inflammation in mice with chronic colitis by activating the MAPK signaling pathway. Furthermore, PS-NPs aggravated inflammation, oxidative stress, as well as hepatic lipid metabolism disturbance in the liver of mice with chronic colitis. CONCLUSION: PS-NPs exacerbate intestinal inflammation and injury in mice with chronic colitis. This finding highlights chronically ill populations' susceptibility to environmental hazards, which urgent more research and risk assessment studies.

Alcohol induces apoptosis and autophagy in microglia BV-2 cells.

Alcohol (ethanol) has proven to be toxic to nearly all organs, with the brain being one of the principal targets. As one of the important components of the brain's blood-brain barrier (BBB) and central nervous system, the state of microglia may be associated with some symptoms of alcohol intoxication. In the present study, microglia BV-2 cells were exposed to various concentrations of alcohol for 3 or 12 h, imitating different stages of drunkenness after alcohol use, respectively. From the perspective of the autophagy-phagocytosis axis, our findings show that alcohol alters autophagy levels or promotes apoptosis in BV-2 cells. The current study adds to the understanding of the action mechanisms of alcohol neurotoxicity. We anticipate that this study will increase public awareness of alcohol's negative effects and contribute to the creation of novel alcoholism treatment approaches.

Metastasis in penile corpus cavernosum from esophageal squamous carcinoma after curative resection: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Metastasis in penile corpus cavernosum from esophageal squamous carcinoma is a rare but fatal disease, which was reported in cases without series studies. CASE PRESENTATION: An 84-year-old male smoker, who had a history of curative resection of esophageal squamous carcinoma 12 months before, presented with aggressive dysuria and penis pain for 1 month. Ultrasonic guided biopsy diagnosed metastatic squamous carcinoma from the primary in the esophagus. The accurately modulated conformal radiotherapy and non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs achieved to alleviate the penis pain temporarily. But the disease progressed and disseminated in a short period. He died of multiple metastases and cancer cachexia in 4 months. CONCLUSIONS: Primary esophageal cancer metastasis to penile corpus cavernosum refers to short onset time of metastasis, extensive dissemination, bad response to treatment and poor prognosis. Palliative therapy to patients with the disease could achieve temporary local symptom relief, but not prolong survival time. More research is necessary to understand the underlying mechanism of esophagheal metastasis.

Differential expression of androgen, estrogen, and progesterone receptors in benign prostatic hyperplasia.

This study aimed to identify the differential expression levels of androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptors (ERα, ERß), and progesterone receptor (PGR) between normal prostate and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The combination of immunohistochemistry, quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and Western blotting assay was used to identify the distribution and differential expression of these receptors at the immunoactive biomarker, transcriptional, and protein levels between 5 normal human prostate tissues and 40 BPH tissues. The results were then validated in a rat model of BPH induced by testosterone propionate and estradiol benzoate. In both human and rat prostate tissues, AR was localized mainly to epithelial and stromal cell nuclei; ERα was distributed mainly to stromal cells, but not exclusively; ERß was interspersed in the basal layer of epithelium, but sporadically in epithelial and stromal cells; PGR was expressed abundantly in cytoplasm of epithelial and stromal cells. There were decreased expression of ERα and increased expression of PGR, but no difference in the expression of ERß in the BPH compared to the normal prostate of both human and rat. Increased expression of AR in the BPH compared to the normal prostate of human was observed, however, the expression of AR in the rat prostate tissue was decreased. This study identified the activation of AR and PGR and repression of ERα in BPH, which indicate a promoting role of AR and PGR and an inhibitory role of ERα in the pathogenesis of BPH.

[Pentosan polysulfide sodium for chronic non-bacterial prostatitis in the rat model].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the therapeutic effect of pentosan polysulfide sodium (PPS) on chronic non-bacterial prostatitis (CNP) in rats. METHODS: Based on Robinette's method, we established a CNP model in 80 male SD rats, aged 6 months and weighing 315 - 450 g, by castration followed by subcutaneous injection of estradiol at 0.25 mg / (kg x d) for 30 consecutive days. Then we randomly allocated the model rats into a placebo group (n = 40) and a PPS group (n = 40) to receive intragastric administration of normal saline and PPS, respectively. After 8 weeks of treatment, the pathological changes in the rat prostatic tissue were observed by HE staining. RESULTS: Varied degrees of chronic inflammation and inflammatory cell infiltration were seen in the prostatic tissues of both groups of rats before the treatment. The inflammation was significantly improved after the treatment in the PPS group but not in the placebo group. CONCLUSION: PPS has some therapeutic effect on CNP in the rat, and its mechanism may be associated with the abilities of PPS to repair the damaged glycosaminoglycan layer and inhibit inflammation in the prostate.

A retrospective study: correlation of histologic inflammation in biopsy specimens of Chinese men undergoing surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia with serum prostate-specific antigen.

PURPOSE: To reveal the correlation between benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) histologic inflammation and serum prostate-specific antigen (sPSA) concentrations, and the possible mechanism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients underwent surgery at the Urology Department of West China Hospital of Sichuan University were retrospectively studied. Preoperative sPSA and transrectal ultrasonography were measured. According to the histopathological classification system for chronic prostatic inflammation proposed by the Chronic Prostatitis Collaborative Research Network (CPCRN) and the International Prostatitis Collaborative Network (IPCN), we classified the histologic sections of prostatic biopsy into glandular, periglandular, and stromal inflammation by the anatomical location of inflammatory infiltration. The glandular inflammation was graded according to the inflammatory aggressiveness. The periglandular and stromal inflammation were graded according to the inflammatory density. The correlation between histologic inflammation and sPSA was studied by a multiple regression model in conjunction with age and total prostatic volume. RESULTS: A total of 454 patients with exclusively BPH were analyzed. The periglandular inflammatory infiltration was the most common pattern (95.6%). Single regression analysis revealed that total prostatic volume, the aggressiveness of glandular inflammation, and the intensity of periglandular and stromal inflammation were correlated with sPSA. However, the multiple regression analysis revealed that only the total prostatic volume and the aggressiveness of glandular inflammation were correlated significantly with sPSA (R = .389, 0.289; P = .000). CONCLUSIONS: The aggressiveness of glandular inflammatory infiltration in BPH is a significant contributor to elevated sPSA levels. The theory of leakage may be the most reasonable mechanism to reveal the correlation morphologically. We should take inflammation into consideration when interpreting the abnormal elevating of sPSA levels.

[Risk factors of recurrence after transurethral resection of the prostate due to benign prostate hyperplasia].

OBJECTIVES: To review the clinic data of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) cases, and to find the risk factors of recurrence in post transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) patients. METHODS: From November 2002 to November 2007, 1471 cases were reviewed, including 41 patients of recurrence after TURP. Record the data include onset age, course of disease, age of surgery, LUTS, PSA, blood serum creatinine, size of the prostate in transabdomen ultrasonography, data of urodynamic examination, weight of resected tissue, persistence time of the resection, length of stay, score of inflammation of the pathologic sample, experience of the operator, routine blood examination, routine urine examination and so on. Statistical analysis was performed using univariate and multivariate unconditional Logistic regression analysis for evaluation of the data. RESULTS: In the univariate analysis, onset age (t = 2.292, P = 0.086), PVR (t = 2.181, P = 0.03), size of the prostate in transabdomen ultrasonography (t = -1.987, P = 0.047), experience of the operator (Z = 10.13, P = 0.0015) and the symptom that bladder does not feel completely empty right after urinating (chi(2) = 9.240, P = 0.002) had statistical significance. In the multivariate unconditional Logistic regression analysis, Odds ratio (OR) of the factors were investigated, the symptom that bladder does not feel completely empty right after urinating (OR = 0.557), the score for inflammation (OR = 0.905) and experience of the operator (OR = 0.393) had statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: The risk factors for elevating the incidence of post-TURP recurrence are the lower score for inflammation, younger onset age, having the symptom that bladder does not feel completely empty right after urinating, bigger size of prostate in transabdomen ultrasonography, lower post void residual urine volume and poor experience of the operator.