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Background: Measurement of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) remains an important tool in prostate cancer (PC) diagnosis. Due to limited availability of laboratory devices in an outpatient setting, compact and easy-to-handle point-of-care (POC) systems are desirable. Recently, a chip for PSA measurement on the concile® Ω100 POC reader platform was introduced. To investigate the clinical applicability, we evaluated the system in a consecutive cohort of patients undergoing PSA measurement in our outpatient clinic.Methods: Between 07/2014 and 01/2015, PSA was analyzed in a total of 198 patients by the POC reader system and in parallel by an Immulite 2000® and Centaur® standard laboratory system, respectively. By standard (Immulite®) measurement, 67 (34,2 %) had PSA > 4 ng/ml and 131 (65,8 %) had PSA ≤ 4 ng/ml. Results were correlated by linear regression analyses for all patients and within PSA subgroups. For patients with available prostate histology after PSA measurement (n = 68), receiver-operating characteristic curves were created and area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity for the prediction of PC at best cut-off value were calculated.Results: The coefficients of determination (r(2)) for the POC device compared to laboratory testing were 0.72 (Immulite®) and 0.63 (Centaur®), respectively (both p < 0.0001). In the PSA range of ≤4 ng/ml, the observed correlations were 0.75 and 0.70, respectively. For the POC test system, AUC for detection of PC was calculated with 0.745 while the standard laboratory tests showed 0.778 (Immulite®) and 0.771 (Centaur®). At best cut-off of 3.64 ng/ml, PSA analysis by the POC system showed a sensitivity of 85.7 % and a specificity of 66.7 %.Conclusions: The POC system obtained good concordance to elaborate laboratory measurement. In a screening scenario, the system provides quick and reliable PSA measurement, especially in the PSA range up to 4 ng/ml. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Galectins are known to regulate cell differentiation and growth as well as cell adhesion and apoptosis. Galectins have been discussed as possible prognosticators for survival in renal cell cancer (RCC) and other urological tumors. They might also play an emerging role as possible new marker-proteins for RCC. In this study, we analyzed the expression of galectin-1 and galectin-3 mRNA in order to further investigate their clinical significance in RCC. Methods Tissue samples were obtained from 106 patients undergoing surgery for RCC. The expression of galectin-1 and galectin-3 mRNA in normal kidney and corresponding cancer tissue was analyzed using quantitative real time PCR. Differences in expression levels of paired tissue samples were assessed using paired two-sample tests. Associations of relative mRNA expression levels in tumor tissues with clinical findings were analyzed using univariate logistic regression. Results The expression of galectin-1 (p < 0.001) and -3 (p < 0.001) mRNA were significantly higher in RCC when compared to the adjacent normal kidney tissue. For clear cell RCC, an association of male gender with higher galectin-1 and galectin-3 mRNA expression (p = 0.054, p = 0.034) was detected. For all RCCs, galectin-1 mRNA expression failed to show a significant association with advanced disease as well as a higher rate of lymph node metastases (p = 0.058, p = 0.059). Conclusion The mRNA expression of galectin-1 and galectin-3 is significantly increased in RCC cancer tissue. The higher mRNA expression in tumor tissue of male patients raises the question of a functional connection between galectins and the higher prevalence of RCC in men. Associations with advanced disease might lead to new ways of identifying patients at higher risk of recurrent disease and might even facilitate early metastasectomy with curative intent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Renal cell carcinoma can cause various paraneoplastic syndromes including metabolic and hematologic disturbances. Paraneoplastic hypereosinophilia has been reported in a variety of hematologic and solid tumors. We present the first case in the literature of severe paraneoplastic hypereosinophilia in a patient with renal cell carcinoma., Case Presentation: A 46 year-old patient patient with a history of significant weight loss, reduced general state of health and coughing underwent radical nephrectomy for metastasized renal cell carcinoma. Three weeks after surgery, the patient presented with excessive peripheral hypereosinophilia leading to profound neurological symptoms due to cerebral microinfarction. Systemic treatment with prednisolone, hydroxyurea, vincristine, cytarabine, temsirolimus and sunitinib led to reduction of peripheral eosinophils but could not prevent rapid disease progression of the patient. At time of severe leukocytosis, a considerable increase of cytokines associated with hypereosinophilia was measurable., Conclusions: Paraneoplastic hypereosinophilia in patients with renal cell carcinoma might indicate poor prognosis and rapid disease progression. Myelosuppressive therapy is required in symptomatic patients.