The present results indicate that telomerase activity might be a marker for detecting malignancy of the prostate and evaluating the malignant potential of prostate cancer.

The therapeutic techniques of carbon ion therapy have been established for patients with prostate cancer. Carbon ion therapy may exert excellent effect to the tissues of prostate cancer.

32 patients with uncontrollable genital bleeding resulting from postpartum haemorrhage (n = 15) or malignant neoplasms (n = 17) were treated by arterial embolization therapy on an emergency basis. The 15 patients with postpartum haemorrhage responded dramatically to treatment by embolization. Follow-up computed tomography or magnetic resonance studies in 12 cases showed haematomas in the pelvic extraperitoneal space, but most then reduced in size or disappeared spontaneously. In two patients with large haematomas, laparotomy was required. No serious complications developed and normal menstruation resumed in the women who did not undergo hysterectomy. In the 17 patients with malignant neoplasms, bleeding was temporally controlled in all, but recurred in seven and required re-embolization in three. One patient experienced slight numbness of the leg and another had a skin ulcer. All patients underwent subsequent treatment including radiation therapy (n = 10), operation (n = 5) or chemotherapy (n = 2). We conclude that arterial embolization has significant merits in the management of patients with uncontrollable genital bleeding.

The incidence and clinical significance of the TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusion in prostate cancer has been investigated with contradictory results. It is now common knowledge that significant variability in gene alterations exists according to ethnic background in various kinds of cancer. In this study, we evaluated gene fusions involving the ETS gene family in Japanese prostate cancer. Total RNA from 194 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded prostate cancer samples obtained by radical prostatectomy was subjected to reversetranscriptase polymerase chain reaction to detect the common TMPRSS2:ERG T1-E4 and T1-E5 fusion transcripts and five other non-TMPRSS2:ERG fusion transcripts. We identified 54 TMPRSS2:ERG-positive cases (54/194, 28%) and two HNRPA2B1:ETV1-positive cases (2/194, 1%). The SLC45A3-ELK4 transcript, a fusion transcript without structural gene rearrangement, was detectable in five cases (5/194, 3%). The frequencies of both TMPRSS2:ERG-and non-TMPRSS2:ERG-positive cases were lower than those reported for European, North American or Brazilian patients. Internodular heterogeneity of TMPRSS2:ERG was observed in 5 out of 11 multifocal cases (45%); a frequency similar to that found in European and North American cases. We found a positive correlation between the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion and a Gleason score of r7 and patient age, but found no relationship with pT stage or plasma prostate-specific antigen concentration. To exclude the possibility that Japanese prostate cancer displays novel TMPRSS2:ERG transcript variants or has unique 5 0 fusion partners for the ETS genes, we performed 5 0 RACE using fresh-frozen prostate cancer samples. We identified only the normal 5 0 cDNA ends for ERG, ETV1 and ETV5 in fusion-negative cases. Because we identified a relatively low frequency of TMPRSS2:ERG and other fusions, further evaluation is required before this promising molecular marker should be introduced into the management of Japanese prostate cancer patients.

Background. There is a hypothesis explaining the pathogenesis of carcinoma that increased proliferation of tissue cells correlates with the development of carcinoma, presumably by increased rate of random muta‐tions and by promotion. In this study, the significance of hepatocellular proliferation in the development of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from anti‐hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐positive cirrhotic patients was studied. Method. Twenty‐eight Child A cirrhotic patients who were anti‐HCV (C‐100 antibody) positive were studied. At the beginning of the study, the in vitro uptake of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU, a thymidine analogue) by he‐patocytes in biopsied liver specimens was investigated as labeling indices (LIs), and they were divided into high‐DNA synthetic (BrdU LI 2 1.5%) and low‐DNA synthetic (BrdU LI < 1.5%) groups. The patients were then surveyed prospectively with frequent ultrasonography (every 3 months) for the development of HCC for 3 years. Result. The mean BrdU LI plus or minus standard deviation for 14 cirrhotic patients with high‐DNA synthesis activity (BrdU LI 2 1.5%) was 2.7 kO.8%, and this was significantly (P < 0.001) higher than that for 14 cirrhotic patients with low‐DNA synthesis activity (BrdU LI < 1.5%, 0.5 k 0.3%). Nine of 14 (64.3%) of the cirrhotic patients with high‐DNA synthesis activity developed HCC in the 3‐year period, in contrast to only 2 of 14 (14.3%) of the cirrhotic patients with low‐DNA synthesis activity (P < 0.05). Conclusions. Proliferation of hepatocytes is important in HCC development from anti‐HCV‐positive cir‐rhotic patients.