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This study aims to evaluate the influence of myosteatosis on survival of patients after radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer. We retrospectively identified 230 patients who underwent RC for bladder cancer at our three institutions between 2009 and 2018. Digitized free-hand outlines of the left and right psoas muscles were made on axial non-contrast computed tomography images at level L3. To assess myosteatosis, average total psoas density (ATPD) in Hounsfield Units (HU) was also calculated as an average of bilateral psoas muscle density. We compared cancer-specific survival (CSS) between high ATPD and low ATPD groups and performed cox regression hazard analyses to identify the predictors of CSS. Median ATPD was 44 HU (quartile: 39–47 Hounsfield Units). Two-year CSS rate in overall patients was 76.6%. Patients with low ATPD (P = 0.01) than patients with high ATPD (≥ 44 HU). According to multivariate analysis, significant independent predictors of poor CSS were: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≥ 1 (P = 0.03), decreasing ATPD (P = 0.03), non-urothelial carcinoma (P = 0.01), pT ≥ 3 (P P

In a previous study, we found that DNAJB8, a heat shock protein (HSP) 40 family member is expressed in kidney cancer stem-like cells (CSC)/cancer-initiating cells (CIC) and that it has a role in the maintenance of kidney CSC/CIC. Heat shock factor (HSF) 1 is a key transcription factor for responses to stress including heat shock, and it induces HSP family expression through activation by phosphorylation. In the present study, we therefore examined whether heat shock (HS) induces CSC/CIC. We treated the human kidney cancer cell line ACHN with HS, and found that HS increased side population (SP) cells. Western blot analysis and qRT-PCR showed that HS increased the expression of DNAJB8 and SOX2. Gene knockdown experiments using siRNAs showed that the increase in SOX2 expression and SP cell ratio depends on DNAJB8 and that the increase in DNAJB8 and SOX2 depend on HSF1. Furthermore, treatment with a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, temsirolimus, decreased the expression of DNAJB8 and SOX2 and the ratio of SP cells. Taken together, the results indicate that heat shock induces DNAJB8 by activation of HSF1 and induces cancer stem-like cells.

Kidney stones are a major public health concern with continuously increasing worldwide prevalence. Shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) is the first line treatment choice for upper urinary tract calculi with ureteroscopy and has advantages of safety and noninvasiveness, but the treatment success rate of SWL is lower than that of other therapies. It is therefore important to identify predictive factors for SWL outcome and select a suitable treatment choice for patients with upper urinary tract calculi. In recent years, computed tomography (CT) has become the gold standard for diagnosis of upper urinary tract calculi. Several factors based on CT images, including skin-to-stone distance, mean stone density, stone heterogeneity index, and variation coefficient of stone density, have been reported to be useful for predicting SWL outcome. In addition, a new method of analysis, CT texture analysis, is reportedly useful for predicting SWL outcomes. This review aims to summarize CT parameters for predicting the outcome of shock wave lithotripsy in stone cases in the upper urinary tract.

Cancer stem–like cells (CSC) are a small population of cancer cells with superior tumor initiating, self-renewal, and differentiation properties. In this study, we show that the cancer-testis antigen and HSP40 family member DNAJB8 contributes to the CSC phenotype in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). DNAJB8 overexpression increased the percentage of side population (SP) cells representing CSCs in RCC cells, enhancing their tumor-initiating ability. Conversely, attenuation of DNAJB8 decreased SP cells and reduced tumor-initiating ability. The utility of DNAJB8 as an immunologic target was established in DNA vaccination experiments. Compared with immunization with the tumor-associated antigen survivin, which was expressed in both CSCs and non-CSCs in RCC, immunization with Dnajb8 expression plasmids yielded stronger antitumor effects. Together, our findings suggest that DNAJB8 plays a role in CSC maintenance and that it offers a candidate for CSC-targeting immunotherapy in RCC. Cancer Res; 72(11); 2844–54. ©2012 AACR.

The primary purposes of this study were 1) to confirm age-related deterioration of physical performance in older adults longitudinally, and 2) to predict future functional status and mortality by initial level of physical performances. The subjects were 517 older adults examined both in 1992 and 1996 in the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Longitudinal Interdisciplinary Study on Aging. The same battery consisting of muscle strength, balance, walking, and manual speed was administered to the subjects in the baseline and follow-up examinations. A significant longitudinal decline was observed in all physical performances except for grip strength. The age-related decline accelerated with aging for preferred walking velocity. Inter-subject variability in walking velocity significantly increased for 4 years period. Maximum walking velocity was a common predictor for functional status and mortality. The results suggest that physical performance measures, especially maximum walking velocity, is a valid means for physical therapy to evaluate physical functioning of community-living older persons.