Background. While extensive prostate biopsy (PB) in the patients with early prostate cancer (PC) provides better sensitivity and more precise tumour staging, in the patients with advanced PC, it is virtually only a confirmation of malignancy. The purpose of our study was to find out whether the quadrant prostate biopsy (QPB) provides a sufficient first-line pathological evaluation in the patients likely to have advanced PC, and whether the reduction of core number impairs the competence of PB through missing quantitative histology information. Methods. We studied 84 men who underwent PB and classified into groups »H« (highly-) and »L« (low likely to have advanced PC). Pathological results of 5-12 cores PB and simulated QPB were retrospectively compared, particularly for the presence of PC, tumour volume, Gleason score (GS), and the presence of highgrade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN). Results. The PC detection rate was not impaired in group H, but dropped significantly in group L, while the percentage of positive cores was insignificantly changed in group H (p=0.39), but significantly decreased in group L (p=0.04) due to the sampling scheme reduction. No HGPIN was missed with QBP in group H, while 2 HGPIN were missed in group L. Insignificant GS changes resulted in both groups as a consequence of the limitation to QPB. Conclusions. QPB is an appropriate first-line scheme in the patients with advanced PC as the information lost due to the core number reduction is mainly not critical for patient management.

The aim of this study was to investigate the alterations in the DPC4 tumor suppressor gene in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The study included 32 tumor specimens from Croatian patients with a diagnosis of RCC. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) was investigated using three specific oligonucleotide primers for the three DPC4 polymorphic markers. Our investigation of mutations in the DPC4 gene was focused on exons 2, 8, 10 and 11. These exons belong to the mad homology domains 1 (exon 2) and 2 (exons 8–11). The presence of previously documented mutation in exons 2 (codon 100), 8 (codon 358), 10 (codon 412), and 11 (codon 493) was investigated by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, as a first screening method. Finally, the study was extended to search for any other type of mutation in the four selected exons by single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) assay. To increase heterozygosity, all 32 tumor specimens were tested with primers for three polymorphic markers. A total of 30 (94%) were heterozygous (informative). LOH at any of these markers was only revealed in four (13%) of the 30 informative samples. No tumor samples were positive for mutation in the four investigated exons analyzed by RFLP. In addition, no samples showed other types of mutation in denaturing conditions. Genetic alterations were shown only in a minority of patients, probably because mutation analysis of the DPC4 gene has only been partially covered by our work. It seems that exon 2 (belonging to the MH1 domain) and exons 8, 10, 11 (belonging to the MH2 domain) are not altered in RCC. This investigation must be extended on other exons of DPC4 for a better understanding a role of this gene in renal cell carcinoma.

Background. The aim of this report is to present the irradiation technique applied to a patient with primary testicular non-Hodgkin's (NHL) lymphoma stage IEA, histologically CD20 positive NHL - diffuse follicular center cell (FCC) lymphoma grade Ill. Since primary NHLs of the testis are rather rare, no uniform radiotherapy approach to their treatment has been developed to date. Testicular NHLs are relatively often of ag~ gressive biological characteristics, so that the disease relapse is not uncommon even in patients in an early stage of the disease (stage I and ll), who received seemingly optimal therapy (orchiectomy of the diseased testicle, polychemotherapy and irradiation). Case report. In this report the applied radiation treatment field is shown. The disease was diagnosed in June 2001 after the inguinal orchiectomy. Afterwards, the patient received 6 courses of polychemotherapy (CHOP) plus intrathecal methotrexate therapy. The irradiation was conducted with one direct 6 megavolt (MV) energy photon beam. The irradiation field encompassed the contralateral testicle (scrotum) and inguina-femora/lymph nodes. The radiotherapy dose was 30 Gy applied in 15 fractions calculated at the depth of 4 cm. The radiotherapy finished in December 2001. The patient has regular check-ups (last in May 2003) and has been in remission since then. Conclusions. Relapse sites are quite often extranodal, not in the regional lymph nodes. Therefore, considering the radiation treatment fields there are no definitive recommendations.

The prostate is a composite exocrine gland divided into four zones: anterior fibromuscular stroma, peripheral zone (PZ), central zone, and preprostatic tissue. The preprostatic tissue is the smallest, but most complex, prostate zone. Its main component is a cylindrical, smooth, muscular sphincter. Inside this muscle are tiny periurethral glands. The group of glandular ducts that "escapes" the limit of the muscular cylinder and develops beyond it is called the transition zone (TZ). This zone accounts for about 5% of the mass of glandular tissue in the normal prostate and is the most common site of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Prostatic adenocarcinoma (PCa) also appears in the TZ.

"Chronic Prostatitis Caused by Trichomonas vaginalis – Diagnosis and Treatment." Journal of Chemotherapy, 14(5), pp. 537–538

Human prostate gland is a composite organ made up of several glandular and nonglandular components. There are three distinct glandular regions. These are the peripheral, the central, and the transition zone. They differ histologically and biologically. The central zone is relatively resistant to carcinoma and other diseases. The peripheral zone is the site of origin of most carcinomas and prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN). Most authors now agree that PIN is a likely precursor of at least a proportion of carcinomas arising in this zone. The transition zone is the exclusive site of origin of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). A subset of prostate cancers arises in this zone as well. Most are found incidentally at transuretral resection (TUR). A morphological lesion, atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AH), arising also in transition zone, provides a possible link between BPH and transition zone cancers. However, further studies of biological markers of neoplastic transformation are needed to address this issue.

This study evaluates the potential contribution of the nm23-H1 gene to malignant transformation in patients with renal cell carcinoma. Using specific oligonucleotide primers for the nm23-H1 microsatellite repetitive sequence, gene instability was followed by polymerase chain reaction/loss of heterozygosity assay on 54 tumor specimens and the corresponding normal tissue samples. We also determined, immunohistochemically, the relative concentration and localization of the nm23-H1 protein product. From 77.7% informative cases, DNA from 6 tumors exhibited loss of heterozygosity, regardless of the tumor stage (TNM). Out of 39 samples analyzed, 30 were negative for Nm23-H1 protein, while the others were only slightly positive. No correlation with tumor stage was found. Normal renal tissue was also negative for this protein. Our results provide the evidence for loss of heterozygosity, followed by means of microsatellite tandem-repeat polymorphism, at the nm23-H1 locus in renal cell carcinoma. However, since no correlation was found between the tumor stage or metastatic potential on the one hand, and allelic loss and specific protein expression on the other, it seems that nm23-H1 does not play a key role in the invasiveness of this tumor type.