Nature Clinical Practice Urology最新文献

Epidemiologic studies document relationships between chromium VI (CrVI) exposure and increased risk of spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, preterm birth, and neonatal death in pregnant women. Environmental contamination with CrVI is a growing problem both in the United States and developing countries. CrVI is widely used in numerous industries. This study was designed to understand the mechanism of CrVI toxicity on placental oxidative stress and antioxidant (AOX) machinery. Pregnant mother rats were treated with or without CrVI (50 ppm K₂Cr₂O₇) through drinking water from gestational day (GD) 9.5-14.5, and placentas were analyzed on GD 18.5. Results indicated that CrVI reduced the trophoblast cell population. CrVI increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decreased the expression of AOX proteins. CrVI disrupts the trophoblast proliferation of the placenta. This study provides insight into the critical role of AOXs in placental function.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in men worldwide and, although advances in treatment options have extended the overall survival of these patients, bone health issues remain a challenge throughout the continuum of care. Patients with prostate cancer are at high risk of skeletal complications from bone metastases and bone loss induced by cancer treatments, such as androgen-deprivation therapy. The preservation of skeletal health might require the cooperation of urologists, oncologists, pain specialists, and other physicians specializing in the treatment of prostate cancer. Complications resulting from bone loss and bone metastases can result in increased risk of fracture and death. Implementation of a multidisciplinary approach for the management of bone health can, therefore, provide clinically meaningful benefits to patients with skeletal complications. The early diagnosis and treatment of bone loss and bone metastases with bisphosphonates are critical for the maintenance of skeletal wellness and prevention of bone complications in patients with prostate cancer.

Despite years of research and hundreds of reports on tumor markers in oncology, the number of markers that have emerged as clinically useful is pitifully small. Often initially reported studies of a marker show great promise, but subsequent studies on the same or related markers yield inconsistent conclusions or stand in direct contradiction to the promising results. It is imperative that we attempt to understand the reasons why multiple studies of the same marker lead to differing conclusions. A variety of methodological problems have been cited to explain these discrepancies. Unfortunately, many tumor marker studies have not been reported in a rigorous fashion, and published articles often lack sufficient information to allow adequate assessment of the quality of the study or the generalizability of study results. The development of guidelines for the reporting of tumor marker studies was a major recommendation of the National Cancer Institute-European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (NCI-EORTC) First International Meeting on Cancer Diagnostic in 2000. As for the successful CONSORT initiative for randomized trials and for the STARD statement for diagnostic studies, we suggest guidelines to provide relevant information about the study design, preplanned hypotheses, patient and specimen characteristics, assay methods, and statistical analysis methods. In addition, the guidelines provide helpful suggestions on how to present data and important elements to include in discussions. The goal of these guidelines is to encourage transparent and complete reporting so that the relevant information will be available to others to help them to judge the usefulness of the data and understand the context in which the conclusions apply.