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Biomedical subjects

Kazumi Kamoi

Publications and source records attributed to Kazumi Kamoi.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

[Epidemiological survey of sexually transmitted male urethritis in Kyoto Prefecture].

The data of sexually transmitted urethritis in males have been collected at 24 institutes in Kyoto Prefecture since October, 2002. The data collected from January to December in 2004 are summarized herein. A total of 1,275 patients were diagnosed with urethritis during this period. Microbiological examinations isolated Neisseria gonorrhoeae alone in 368 (29%), Chlamydia tracomatis alone in 336 (26%), both in 85 (7%), and others in 453 (36%). Male patients under 20 years old tended to have Chlamydial urethritis, alone or combined with gonococcal infection, and had a predominant infectious source, a non-commercial-sexual-worker female partner, suggesting a profound problem in sexual life of adolescents. The urologist preferred to use quinolones as the first therapeutic modality against male urethritis. However, drug resistance of N. gonorrhoeae, especially against quinolones, has rapidly progressed, which was also observed by a sensitivity examination test. Antibiotics should be used adequately against male urethrits according to the recent guidelines.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Effects of acupuncture for chronic pelvic pain syndrome with intrapelvic venous congestion: preliminary results.

BACKGROUND: The present study was designed to reveal the usefulness of acupuncture for chronic pelvic pain syndrome with intrapelvic venous congestion as evaluated by symptom scores, transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) and magnetic resonance (MR) venography. METHODS: Ten male patients suffering from non-inflammatory chronic pelvic pain syndrome (NIH category IIIB) with intrapelvic venous congestion were treated using acupuncture. Eight patients had previously received pharmacotherapy, which was unsuccessful. Acupuncture was performed using disposable stainless steel needles, which were inserted into the bilateral BL-33 points and rotated manually for 10 min. The treatment was repeated every week for 5 weeks without other therapeutic maneuvers. Results from TRUS and MR venography, as well as clinical symptoms based on the NIH chronic prostatitis symptom index (NIH-CPSI) and the international prostate symptom score (IPSS), were compared before and after the treatment. RESULTS: No side-effects were recognized throughout the treatment period. The average pain and QOL scores of the NIH-CPSI 1 week after the 5th acupuncture treatment decreased significantly (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively) compared with the baseline. The maximum width of the sonolucent zone 1 week after the 5th treatment also decreased significantly (P < 0.01, compared with the baseline). Intrapelvic venous congestion demonstrated by MR venography was significantly improved in four patients. CONCLUSION: This study provided novel information concerning the therapeutic effects of acupuncture on non-inflammatory chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2002

Prognostic significance of thymidine kinase activity in bladder carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Thymidine kinase (TK) plays a key role in the complimentary or alternative salvage pathway of pyrimidine synthesis. Little is known about the significance of TK activity in bladder carcinoma. The authors examined the activity of TK in 55 patients with bladder carcinoma to determine the prognostic significance of TK activity. METHODS: TK activity in nonfixed, fresh-frozen specimens of bladder carcinoma and normal bladder tissue was determined by using the diethylaminoethanol cellulose disc method. RESULTS: The activity of TK was approximately two-fold higher in bladder carcinoma specimens compared with normal bladder tissues. The TK activity in muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma was two-fold higher compared with the activity in superficial bladder carcinoma (Ta and T1). In addition, the activity of TK in T1 tumors was two-fold higher compared with the TK activity in Ta tumors. The level of TK activity in Grade 3 bladder tumors was two-fold higher compared with the activity in Grade 1 and Grade 2 tumors. Patients with Ta and T1 bladder carcinoma who had low TK activity had a longer postoperative tumor free period compared with the patients who had high TK activity during the 2 years of follow-up. TK activity was correlated with the activity of thymidine synthase, which is a key enzyme for pyrimidine synthesis in the de novo pathway. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to demonstrate that the level of TK activity is correlated with both disease stage and tumor grade in patients with bladder carcinoma and that elevated TK activity predicts early recurrence in patients with Ta and T1 disease. These results suggest that the level of TK activity may be used as a prognostic parameter and that TK may be a molecular therapeutic target in patients with bladder carcinoma.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Synergistic cytotoxicity and apoptosis of JTE-522, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, and 5-fluorouracil against bladder cancer.

PURPOSE: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a key inducible enzyme involved in the production of prostaglandins that has been shown to induce apoptosis in various cancer cells. Several anticancer agents also mediate apoptosis and may share the common intracellular pathways leading to apoptosis. Since over expression of COX-2 has been demonstrated in bladder cancer, we reasoned that combination treatment with a COX-2 inhibitor and anticancer agents in bladder cancer cells may result in synergistic apoptosis. We examined whether the selective COX-2 inhibitor JTE-522 induces apoptosis in bladder cancer cells and whether JTE-522 may act synergistically with anticancer agents to achieve cytotoxicity and apoptosis in these cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cytotoxicity was determined by microculture tetrazolium dye assay. Synergy was assessed by isobolographic analysis. RESULTS: COX-2 mRNA expression was observed in the HT1197 bladder cancer cell line. JTE-522 was cytotoxic in HT1197 cells. Treating HT1197 cells with JTE-522 combined with doxorubicin or mitomycin C did not show synergistic cytotoxicity. However, combination treatment of HT1197 cells with JTE-522 and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) resulted in a synergistic cytotoxic effect. Synergy was also achieved in the T24 bladder cancer line. Synergistic cytotoxicity was noted irrespective of treatment sequence but the highest percent cytotoxicity was obtained when HT1197 cells were treated with JTE-522 and 5-FU simultaneously. The synergy achieved in cytotoxicity with JTE-522 and 5-FU was shown to be due to apoptosis. The mechanisms responsible for synergistic cytotoxicity and apoptosis was examined. Treating HT1197 cells with 5-FU enhanced expression of the pro-apoptotic molecule Bax, while JTE-522 treatment reduced expression of the anti-apoptotic molecule Bcl-XL, resulting in a significantly higher ratio of Bax-to-Bcl-XL. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that combination treatment of bladder cancer cells with the selective COX-2 inhibitor JTE-522 and 5-FU results in synergistic cytotoxicity and apoptosis due to the enhanced Bax-to-Bcl-XL expression ratio. These findings support the in vivo potential application of a combination of JTE-522 and 5-FU for bladder cancer.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic↗
PubMed2002

Clinical utility of ursodeoxycholic acid in preventing flutamide-induced hepatopathy in patients with prostate cancer: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: The present study was designed to ascertain retrospectively the validity of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in the treatment of prostate cancer in terms of prophylactic effects on the occurrence of flutamide-induced hepatopathy in a large number of patients surveyed in a multi-center cooperative study. METHODS: One hundred and eighty-one patients (74.1 +/- 4.9 years) with prostate cancer treated with flutamide with (n = 70) or without (n = 111) UDCA were retrospectively evaluated and the occurrence of hepatopathy was compared between these two patient groups. RESULTS: Between patients treated with UDCA and those without it, no significant differences were noted in age, clinical stage, grade, duration of flutamide administration and serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels before treatment. However, there were significant differences in the presence or absence of previous treatments and treatments used together with flutamide. The incidence of hepatopathy was 11.4% (8/70) in patients with UDCA and 32.4% (36/111) in those without it, showing a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). The hepatopathy-free rate obtained by the Kaplan-Meier method was also significantly higher in patients with UDCA (88.4% 1 year following flutamide administration) than that in those without it (59.6%) (P < 0.005). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that UDCA has a prophylactic effect against flutamide-induced hepatopathy in patients with prostate cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

[Hormonal chemotherapy for hormone-refractory prostate cancer].

To our knowledge, no standard chemotherapy for patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) has been established. Since most patients with HRPC are elderly and have bone metastasis, cytotoxic chemotherapy causes them to be at high risk for myelosuppression. Therefore, chemotherapeutic agents with low toxicity and good compliance should be elected. We conducted three regimens for HRPC on an outpatient basis. Eligibility criteria were defined as serial rising PSA values on 3 or more occasions at least 2 weeks apart or radiological new or extensive lesions under hormonal therapy. The first regimen is comprised of cyclophosphamide (CPM), 100 mg/day, UFT, 400 mg/day, and estramustine phosphate (EMP), 560 mg/day in two daily fractions. The second regimen is comprised of an oral administration of dexamethasone (DEX) (0.5-2 mg/day). The third regimen is comprised of DEX, 1 mg/day, cyclophosphamide, 100 mg/day and UFT, 400 mg/day in two daily fractions. Post-therapy prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level in serum, objective response on bone scan or measurable disease, and symptomatic response on bone pain were assessed. All regimens showed clinical efficacy with mild toxicity. Indications and limitations of these regimens are discussed. Further, the combination trials of taxane and EMP in patients with HRPC are reviewed.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Role of systematic ultrasound-guided staging biopsies in predicting extraprostatic extension and seminal vesicle invasion in men with prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: To assess the presence of extraprostatic extension and seminal vesicle invasion in men with prostate cancer, we performed systematic staging biopsies targeting neurovascular bundles, seminal vesicles, and other extraprostatic tissues before the men underwent radical prostatectomy. We retrospectively evaluated the clinical efficacy of these systematic staging biopsies compared with digital rectal examination (DRE) and transrectal sonography (TRUS). METHODS: Two hundred forty-four candidates for prostatectomy who had a diagnostic biopsy Gleason score of 8 or higher and/or indications of extraprostatic extension (eg, seminal vesicle invasion) by DRE or TRUS underwent staging biopsies using an 18-gauge Tru-Cut needle under real-time TRUS guidance between June 1997 and March 2000. We determined the number of staging biopsy cores to be taken based on the Gleason score of the diagnostic biopsy as well as abnormal DRE and/or TRUS findings. The chi-square test was used to evaluate the statistical significance of differences. RESULTS: There were no complications of staging biopsy. In 75 (31%) of the 244 patients, results of the staging biopsies were positive. The clinical stage was upgraded by staging biopsy in 18 (24%) of these 75 patients. After the staging biopsies, 90 patients underwent radical prostatectomy. Among these 90 patients, staging biopsy specimens were positive for cancer in 20 (47%) of the 43 patients who received neoadjuvant therapy and in 1 (2%) of the 47 patients who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. There were no false-positive staging biopsies in either group. Among the 90 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy, the false-negative rate for the prediction of organ-confined disease was 43% (30/69) for staging biopsies compared with 29% (10/34) for TRUS. The diagnostic accuracy of staging biopsies (67%; 60/90) was higher than that of DRE (52%; 47/90; p < 0.05) but lower than that of TRUS (79%; 71/90; p = 0.066). CONCLUSIONS: Staging biopsies can reliably sample extraprostatic tissue, including the seminal vesicles and neurovascular bundles. Positive staging biopsy results can aid in the selection of treatment options and in the prediction of outcome for individual patients by providing definitive histologic confirmation of locally advanced disease. Conventional predictive variables for staging can be applied when the results of staging biopsies are negative.

Aged↗