Focus on kidney cancer
It is known that the hypoxia-inducible gene angiopoietin-like 4 (angptl4) is highly expressed in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Now, the specificity of this marker for diagnosis of this subtype of kidney cancer has been shown. In situ hybridization detected expression of angptl4 mRNA in 100% of the primary clear cell RCCs sampled (102 sporadic and 6 inherited), and in 87% of 30 secondary clear cell RCCs. By contrast, angptl4 mRNA was not detected in 94% of non-clear-cell RCCs (46 papillary, 28 chromophobe, 9 oncocytoma, 7 secondary).
Surgery
Fatigue and discomfort experienced by operating staff during laparoscopic renal surgery are ameliorated by the use of gel foot pads. A survey of 18 staff immediately after 100 consecutive procedures revealed marked improvements in number of breaks taken, foot and knee pain, energy levels and general discomfort when foot pads were used. Several of these improvements were sustained for the next 24 h.
Surgery
Direct-vision internal urethrotomy should be regarded as no more than a stop-gap treatment for simple strictures of the male urethra. A review of the charts of 76 men revealed the procedure to have a maximum success rate of 9%, with recurrence-free periods varying between 3 and 20 months for up to 5 sequential urethrotomies. The surprisingly poor performance of this popular procedure indicates it should be a temporary measure while definitive curative reconstruction is planned.
Infection
The apparently protective effect of male circumcision against genital HPV infection is probably a function of enhanced clearance of virus. Testing of 357 men every 2 months detected no difference in rates of HPV acquisition on the basis of circumcision status. Median duration of infection of the glans/coronal sulcus was, however, significantly longer (154 days) in uncircumcised men (n = 67). These results applied to oncogenic and non-oncogenic HPV strains. As such, prolongation of HPV infection in uncircumcised men might contribute to the increased risk of penile cancer.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPERS
Verine, J. et al. Determination of angptl4 mRNA as a diagnostic marker of primary and metastatic clear cell renal-cell carcinoma. PLoS ONE 5, e10421 (2010)
Haramis, G. et al. Prospective randomized evaluation of FOOT gel pads for operating room staff COMFORT during laparoscopic renal surgery. Urology doi:10.1016/j.urology.2010.01.018
Santucci, R. & Eisenberg, L. Urethrotomy has a much lower success rate than previously reported. J. Urol. 183, 1859–1862 (2010)
Hernandez, B. Y. et al. Reduced clearance of penile human papillomavirus infection in uncircumcised men. J. Infect. Dis. 201, 1340–1343 (2010)
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In brief. Nat Rev Urol 7, 303 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2010.76
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2010.76
