No abstract

Neuroendocrine small cell carcinoma of the urinary tract is rarely encountered and very few cases have been reported in the literature. Herein we describe a case of small cell malignancy located contemporarily in the ureter and the bladder.

Background/Aim: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. In contrast to localized disease, metastatic PCa leads to increased mortality. Κisspeptin (KISS1) functions as a metastasis suppressor in various cancers. The aim of this study was to detect the expression of KISS1 and its receptor GPR54 (KISS1R) in prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: The expression of KISS1 and KISS1R was examined in prostate cancer tissue specimens after radical prostatectomy. Results: A higher expression of KISS1 and KISS1R was shown in patients with localized tumors (Stage ≤IIb) compared to patients with advanced (Stage ≥III) tumor. High Gleason score PCa and higher prognostic groups patients showed a lower expression rate of both KISS1 and KISS1R. Conclusion: A down-regulation of KISS1-KISS1R system was detected in advanced prostate cancer. KISS1as tumor suppressor might be useful in the future for the diagnosis, risk assessment of prostate cancer progression, as well as a therapeutic target for aggressive tumors. Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in men, with an estimated 1.1 million diagnoses worldwide in 2012, accounting for 15% of all cancers diagnosed (1). PSA screening has contributed to an early diagnosis of most prostate cancers (2). Therapeutic options for a localized prostate cancer include surgery and/or radiotherapy. Unfortunately, disease often progresses, as evidenced most often by rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Advanced prostate cancer or metastatic disease requires androgen deprivation therapy (3), which however is not curative. Progression to castration-resistant cancer stage often requires additional hormonal or chemotherapy-based interventions (4-7). Metastasis is the predominant cause of prostate cancer death (8), rather than the original tumor growth. Over the past two decades, a great variety of molecules have been investigated having a role in suppression of tumor metastasis (9) and have become the target of clinical and basic cancer research. The expression of kisspeptin (KISS1) and its receptor GPR54 (KISS1R) in prostate cancer has been examined within this study. The goal of our study was to find any existing correlation of KISS1 expression and/or KISS1R with different clinicopathological characteristics of prostate cancer. The findings might be useful in risk assessment of prostate cancer as well as in future development of cancer therapy and prevention of metastasis. Kisspeptin, KISS1, KISS1 gene, KISS1R, Kiss1r. Several terms that refer to kisspeptin and kisspeptin receptor have been used over the past years. In our study and in accordance to Human Genome Organization Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC), KISS1 is used to represent the human (primate) kisspeptin gene and Kiss1 to represent non-human (non-primate) kisspeptin genes. (10). Non-italicized versions of the gene nomenclature are used to refer to the protein products of KISS1 (KISS1 for human and Kiss1 for other species). The full-length peptide products of KISS1/Kiss1 ge...

Comparing PSA kinetics after radical cystoprostatectomy with those of radical prostatectomy, it appears that PSA follows the same elimination pattern in both models. In contrast, Free PSA and Free/Total Ratio elimination kinetics' patterns differ between the two surgical models.

The Ets-related gene fusions are among the most common molecular alterations in prostate cancer (PCa) and are detected in more than 50 % of PCas. Transmembrane protease serine 2 and Ets-related gene fusion (TMPRSS2-ERG) is the most frequently identified chimeric gene and has been associated with undifferentiated and invasive phenotypes. TMPRSS2-ERG has also been detected in prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) lesions and more rarely in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) regions mainly in PCa-bearing glands. The possibility that the fusion TMPRSS2-ERG may be present in BPH samples in the absence of apparent PCa was addressed. Out of 115 BPH samples, three were found positive employing RT-PCR. The presence of the fusion gene was confirmed by FISH for these samples, and an additional four samples were found to carry the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion out of 43 tested by the later approach. The presence of the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion did not result in altered expression of 12 putative downstream targets. These findings indicate that TMPRSS2-ERG may or may not lead to PCa development.