BACKGROUND Aspartame (L-phenylalanine N-L-alpha-aspartyl-1-methyl ester) is an artificial sweetener with widespread applications. Previously published results have shown that among rats receiving aspartame a significant increase of lymphoreticular neoplasms, brain tumours and transitional cell tumours occurred. The aim of our short-term experiment was to investigate the biological effect of asp...

BACKGROUND Studies of the biochemical properties of MAO-A (monoamine oxidase) are numerous, but the information about determination of MAO-A in human normal and tumour renal tissue is limited. Our objectives in the present study were to determine the localization of MAO-A in normal kidney and level of expression of this protein in tumour kidney. MATERIAL/METHODS Enzyme immunohistochemical met...

Increased glycolysis in tumour tissue has first been observed by W A R B U R G in 1 9 2 3 and has since been postulated to be the origin of tumour formation 1. One possibility to increase the production of lactate, is to prevent the conversion of pyruvate, which is derived from glucose via the E m d e n M e y e r h o f pathway, into acetyl-CoA. Pyruvate will then function as a hydrogen acceptor...

The peptide AM (adrenomedullin) is stimulated by hypoxia through HIF-1 (hypoxia-inducible factor-1). The majority of human CC-RCCs (clear cell renal cell carcinomas) display mutations in the tumour suppressor protein von Hippel-Lindau, which leads to constitutively elevated HIF-1. We hypothesized that AM is increased in CC-RCC tumours and that AM is a plasma biomarker for CC-RCC. Tumours and no...

In Europe, almost 1000 children are diagnosed with a malignant renal tumour each year. The vast majority of cases are nephroblastoma, also known as Wilms' tumour (WT). Most children are treated according to Société Internationale d'Oncologie Pédiatrique Renal Tumour Study Group (SIOP-RTSG) protocols with pre-operative chemotherapy, surgery, and post-operative treatment dependent on stage and hi...

An experiment to explore renal carcinogenic efficacy of male rat exposure to dietary ochratoxin A (OTA) only in the first year of life has been made in comparison to lifetime exposure. Ten months exposure to OTA at 300 µg/kg b.w. was sufficient to cause high incidence of tumours which became apparent clinically after a latency of up to a year. As a putative model for human kidney cancer, the st...

INTRODUCTION Laparoscopic minimally invasive partial nephrectomy (MIPN) is the preferred technique in renal surgery, especially T1 phase kidney tumours, and it is recommended for the protection of renal functions in methods that do not involve ischaemia. AIM To evaluate long-term renal functions of zero-ischaemia laparoscopic MIPN patients who underwent a modified sequential preplaced suture ...

Objective To evaluate the impact of nephrectomy on renal function in people who are potential candidates for nephron sparing surgery, i.e. partial nephrectomy. Patients and methods A retrospective analysis was carried out of 109 patients (35 women, 74 men) who had undergone a nephrectomy for stage I renal carcinoma at the University of Michigan between 1960 and 1979. All patients had a function...