[Imperative partial nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma: oncological and functional results]. / Néphrectomie partielle de nécessité pour carcinome à cellules rénales : résultats oncologiques et fonctionnels.

OBJECTIVES: To study oncological results and functional results after partial nephrectomy in imperative indication for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 1990 to December 2009, 65 partial nephrectomies in 61 patients were performed in imperative indication for renal cell carcinoma. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 59.3 years. The mean follow-up was 47.4 months. The tumours were asymptomatic in 87.5%. The average tumour diameter was 4.3 cm. Twenty-nine percent of patients relapsed after a mean time of 27.4 months. The morbidity was 38.5%. Preoperative and endpoint serum creatinine and renal clearance were respectively 119 µmol/L and 63.1 mL/min versus 137 µmol/L and 50.9 mL/min (P=0.0003; 0.0002). Overall survival at one, three, five and ten years was 98.4%, 91.2%, 91.2% and 51.9%. CONCLUSION: Partial nephrectomy in imperative indication for renal cell carcinoma has helped preserve renal function but has a significant morbidity and recurrence rate.

Gonadotropin action on androgen synthesis in short-term incubation of explants and dispersed cells of the testis of Xenopus laevis.

Testis cells of the toad Xenopus laevis were dissociated with collagenase and the cell suspension was enriched for steroidogenic cells by Percoll gradients. Results suggested that cells should be preincubated during a 6-h period before stimulation with gonadotropin. Our results indicate that a 2-h incubation period with gonadotropin was necessary to obtain a significant response. Furthermore, the cells can be maintained in a functional state longer than mammalian testis cells. Different gonadotropins were used to stimulate androgen production, and their effects were compared in both dissociated cells and testicular explants. Cells were more sensitive to luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) than the explants (ED50LH = 0.041 +/- 0.003 micrograms for cells and 0.097 +/- 0.002 micrograms for explants: ED50FSH = 0.41 +/- 0.03 micrograms for cells and 0.63 +/- 0.03 micrograms for explants). Moreover, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) which only stimulates testicular explants at high doses, failed to stimulate the androgen production of dissociated cells; this indicates a low sensitivity of amphibian testis to hCG and a possible damaging effect of collagenase on the receptors of isolated cells.

Seasonal variations of androgens, estrogens, and progesterone in the different lobules of the testis and in the plasma of Salamandra salamandra.

Progesterone, 4-androstenedione, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, 5 alpha-androstane-3 alpha,17 beta-diol (3 alpha-diol), 5 alpha-androstane-3 beta, 17 beta-diol (3 beta-diol), estrone, and estradiol levels were determined by radioimmunoassay in the different lobules of the testis of Salamandra salamandra throughout the year according to the seasonal cycle. 3 beta-diol levels were not detectable. High levels of steroids were found in the grandular tissue (enlarged pericystic cells after spermiation) and large variations were showed for progesterone, 4-androstenedione, testosterone, 3 alpha-diol, and estrone. In the mature lobule (formed by cysts with mature spermatozoa), only testosterone showed seasonal variations and in the immature lobule (with early stages of meiosis), 3 alpha-diol showed fluctuations. The major estrogen found in the testis of Salamandra was estrone; estradiol stayed at a low level throughout the cycle. The steroids fluctuation seems to be related to the histological evolution of the testis throughout the cycle. The present data were the first on steroid seasonal variations in the testis of an urodele.