Biomedical subjects

K Marutsuka

Publications and source records attributed to K Marutsuka.

44 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1992

The content of urokinase-type plasminogen activator antigen as a prognostic factor in urinary bladder cancer.

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) is thought to be implicated in cancer invasion and metastasis. The aim of this study was to determine whether the u-PA content of cancer tissue is a prognostic factor in bladder cancer. Tissue samples from 46 patients with bladder cancer were assessed for u-PA antigen by a highly sensitive enzyme immunoassay. The relationships between the u-PA level in extracts of bladder cancer and the survival rates of the bladder-cancer patients were examined. Patients with a high u-PA level (8 ng/mg of protein and more) showed a statistically significantly higher rate of survival than those with a low u-PA level (p less than 0.005). The u-PA antigen level in cancer tissue was significantly lower in low-graded and non-invasive cancers than in others (p less than 0.01).

Aged↗

PubMed1992

The relationship between cardiovascular complications of estrogen therapy and fibrinolysis in patients with prostatic cancer.

To determine the relationship between cardiovascular complications of estrogen therapy and fibrinolysis, fibrinolysis parameters plasminogen, urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA), tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), were assessed in 12 prostatic cancer patients before and 6 weeks after the onset of estrogen therapy. The levels of plasminogen, u-PA, and PAI-1 in the patients treated with the estrogen therapy were significantly higher than those in the patients before the therapy. The t-PA level in the patients during the therapy was significantly lower than that before the treatment. Cardiovascular complications were found in two patients (16.7%) during estrogen therapy. In the two patients, marked elevation of PAI-1 and decreased level of t-PA were observed during the therapy. These results indicate that cardiovascular complications of estrogen therapy in patients with prostatic cancer may be related to hypofibrinolysis resulting from changes of PAI-1 and t-PA.

Aged↗

PubMed1992

Cavitating Pneumocystis pneumonia in an autopsied case of adult T-cell leukemia.

Cavitating necrosis is rare in Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. In this report, we describe an autopsy patient with adult T-cell leukemia associated with cavitating Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. The patient, a 61-year-old woman, died of an acute crisis of adult T-cell leukemia associated with diffuse pulmonary infection of Pneumocystis carinii. Postmortem examination revealed necrotic foci in both lungs, one of which, in the left lower lobe, had a central cavitation. Microscopically, leukemic cell infiltration was abundant in the lung parenchyma but not in the necrotic lesions. Pneumocystis carinii organisms were distributed diffusely in the alveoli and also in the cavity wall. Intranuclear and intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies were scattered in the lung indicating cytomegalovirus infection. However, no bacterial or fungal infection was detected in the lungs, even in the necrotic lesions. Cavitating Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia occurs in other immunodeficiency diseases apart from AIDS. To our knowledge, this report is the first case of cavitating Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in adult T-cell leukemia.

Blast Crisis↗

PubMed1991

An autopsy case of necrotizing ventriculo-encephalitis caused by cytomegalovirus in Hodgkin's disease.

A 59-year-old Japanese woman with Hodgkin's disease developed progressive dementia and died of pneumonia. The autopsy revealed necrotizing ventriculo-encephalitis caused by cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, which was confirmed by immunohistochemical and electron microscopic examinations. It is suggested that CMV ventriculo-encephalitis could occur not only in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, but also in other immunocompromised hosts.

Autopsy↗

PubMed1991

Correlation between urokinase-type plasminogen activator production and the metastatic ability of human rectal cancer cells.

The correlation between the production of plasminogen activators (PA), especially urokinase-type PA (u-PA), by cancer cells and their metastatic potential was studied. For this purpose, cells from the human rectal adenocarcinoma tumor line (RCM-l/nu) originally maintained by serial passage in nude mice as the solid subcutaneous tumor, were injected into the spleen. Cancer cells from liver metastatic foci were suspended and then injected into the spleen. After 10 cycles of this selection, a highly metastatic liver tumor line termed L-10 was obtained. The amount of u-PA in the supernatant of the tumor homogenate of L-10 was larger than that of RCM-l/nu. Using an in vitro culture system, the media conditioned by L-10 cells had a higher PA activity and a higher u-PA antigen level than by RCM-l/nu cells. The apparent difference in u-PA activity and antigen levels of these two lines was not due to the difference in the production of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI), because PAI antigen level and PAI activity in the culture media were almost equal between them. No tissue-type PA production was detectable in these tumor lines. From these results we deduce that u-PA may play an important role in tumor metastasis.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1989

Comparative study of plasminogen activators in cancers and normal mucosae of human urinary bladder.

We have developed a highly sensitive sandwich enzyme immunoassay for determination of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) and tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) antigen levels in extracts of human tissues. We determined antigen levels of PAs in extracts of 31 primary cancers and 15 normal mucosal tissues of the urinary bladder using this method. U-PA antigen levels in extracts of bladder cancers were significantly higher than those in normal tissues (p less than 0.005). U-PA antigen levels significantly increased as histological grading of malignancy advanced. There was no correlation between t-PA antigen level and malignancy. These results indicate that an increase of u-PA antigen level may be a parameter of malignant transformation and may play an important role in invasiveness of cancer.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Epithelial cyst of the gallbladder demonstrated by ultrasonography: case report.

We present a rare case of epithelial cyst of the gallbladder in a 71-year-old man. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed a small cystic structure adjacent to the gallbladder. The cyst wall was thin and smooth, and protruded into the lumen of the gallbladder. Histologically, the cyst had no communication with the lumen of the gallbladder. The cyst wall was composed of fibro-muscular fiber, and lined by a single layer of ciliated columnar epithelium. Epithelial cyst of the gallbladder should be included in the differential diagnosis when radiological studies show a cystic structure in or adjacent to the gallbladder.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Adult cystic Wilms' tumor (nephroblastoma): radiologic features with pathologic correlation.

Wilms' tumor is an uncommon disease in adults. Wilms' tumor typically presents as a large complex mass with cystic component and varying degrees of vascularity. The previously reported radiologic findings have reflected this complex appearance. We present a case of cystic Wilms' tumor in an adult patient. The tumor presented as a large, rapidly growing, hypovascular, multicystic mass with minimal solid component which showed as septation on ultrasound, contrast enhanced CT, and MR studies. The preoperative findings were suggestive of multilocular cystic nephroma. We suggest that Wilms' tumor should be included in the differential diagnosis of a patient who presents with a large, rapidly growing, multicystic renal mass.

Adult↗