Project description:PurposeGuidelines from the NCCN® (National Comprehensive Cancer Network®) advocate digital rectal examination screening only in men with elevated prostate specific antigen. We investigated the effect of prostate specific antigen on the association of digital rectal examination and clinically significant prostate cancer in a large American cohort.Materials and methodsWe evaluated the records of the 35,350 men who underwent digital rectal examination in the screening arm of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening trial for the development of clinically significant prostate cancer (Gleason 7 or greater). Followup was 343,273 person-years. The primary outcome was the rate of clinically significant prostate cancer among men with vs without suspicious digital rectal examination. We performed competing risks regression to evaluate the interaction between time varying suspicious digital rectal examination and prostate specific antigen.ResultsA total of 1,713 clinically significant prostate cancers were detected with a 10-year cumulative incidence of 5.9% (95% CI 5.6-6.2). Higher risk was seen for suspicious vs nonsuspicious digital rectal examination. Increases in absolute risk were small and clinically irrelevant for normal (less than 2 ng/ml) prostate specific antigen (1.5% vs 0.7% risk of clinically significant prostate cancer at 10 years), clinically relevant for elevated (3 ng/ml or greater) prostate specific antigen (23.0% vs 13.7%) and modestly clinically relevant for equivocal (2 to 3 ng/ml) prostate specific antigen (6.5% vs 3.5%).ConclusionsDigital rectal examination demonstrated prognostic usefulness when prostate specific antigen was greater than 3 ng/ml, limited usefulness for less than 2 ng/ml and marginal usefulness for 2 to 3 ng/ml. These findings support the restriction of digital rectal examination to men with higher prostate specific antigen as a reflex test to improve specificity. It should not be used as a primary screening modality to improve sensitivity.
Project description:A hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-activated cell-penetrating peptide was developed through incorporation of a boronic acid-containing cleavable linker between polycationic cell-penetrating peptide and polyanionic fragments. Fluorescence labeling of the two ends of the molecule enabled monitoring its reaction with H2O2 through release of the highly adhesive cell-penetrating peptide and disruption of fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The H2O2 sensor selectively reacts with endogenous H2O2 in cell culture to monitor the oxidative burst of promyelocytes and in vivo to image lung inflammation. Targeting H2O2 has potential applications in imaging and therapy of diseases related to oxidative stress.
Project description:In rectal cancer, preoperative staging should identify early tumours suitable for treatment by surgery alone and locally advanced tumours that require therapy to induce tumour regression from the potential resection margin. Currently, local staging can be performed by digital rectal examination (DRE), endoluminal ultrasound (EUS) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Each staging method was compared for clinical benefit and cost-effectiveness. The accuracy of high-resolution MRI, DRE and EUS in identifying favourable, unfavourable and locally advanced rectal carcinomas in 98 patients undergoing total mesorectal excision was compared prospectively against the resection specimen pathological as the gold standard. Agreement between each staging modality with pathology assessment of tumour favourability was calculated with the chance-corrected agreement given as the kappa statistic, based on marginal homogenised data. Differences in effectiveness of the staging modalities were compared with differences in costs of the staging modalities to generate cost effectiveness ratios. Agreement between staging and histologic assessment of tumour favourability was 94% for MRI (kappa=0.81, s.e.=0.05; kappa(W)=0.83), compared with very poor agreements of 65% for DRE (kappa=0.08, s.e.=0.068, kappa(W)=0.16) and 69% for EUS (kappa=0.17, s.e.=0.065, kappa(W)=0.17). The resource benefits resulting from the use of MRI rather than DRE was 67164 UK pounds and 92244 UK pounds when MRI was used rather than EUS. Magnetic resonance imaging dominated both DRE and EUS on cost and clinical effectiveness by selecting appropriate patients for neoadjuvant therapy and justifies its use for local staging of rectal cancer patients.
Project description:Digital rectal examination is an act clinically performed daily by physicians and surgeons. It remains the key diagnostic test and directs the therapeutic management of cancer of the lower and middle rectum. It can be done in two main positions: lateral decubitus, and supine.
However, no randomized study in colorectal surgery is not interested in evaluating the best position to perform a full rectal exam.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Digital rectal examination is a difficult examination to learn and teach because of limited opportunities for practice; however, the main challenge is that students and tutors cannot see the finger when it is palpating the anal canal and prostate gland inside the patients. OBJECTIVE:This paper presents an augmented reality system to be used with benchtop models commonly available in medical schools with the aim of addressing the problem of lack of visualization. The system enables visualization of the examining finger, as well as of the internal organs when performing digital rectal examinations. Magnetic tracking sensors are used to track the movement of the finger, and a pressure sensor is used to monitor the applied pressure. By overlaying a virtual finger on the real finger and a virtual model on the benchtop model, students can see through the examination and finger maneuvers. METHODS:The system was implemented in the Unity game engine (Unity Technologies) and uses a first-generation HoloLens (Microsoft Inc) as an augmented reality device. To evaluate the system, 19 participants (9 clinicians who routinely performed digital rectal examinations and 10 medical students) were asked to use the system and answer 12 questions regarding the usefulness of the system. RESULTS:The system showed the movement of an examining finger in real time with a frame rate of 60 fps on the HoloLens and accurately aligned the virtual and real models with a mean error of 3.9 mm. Users found the movement of the finger was realistic (mean 3.9, SD 1.2); moreover, they found the visualization of the finger and internal organs were useful for teaching, learning, and assessment of digital rectal examinations (finger: mean 4.1, SD 1.1; organs: mean 4.6, SD 0.8), mainly targeting a novice group. CONCLUSIONS:The proposed augmented reality system was designed to improve teaching and learning of digital rectal examination skills by providing visualization of the finger and internal organs. The initial user study proved its applicability and usefulness.
Project description:Adaptation to hydrogen peroxide in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is profiled with expression arrays. Adaptation describes the process in which a mild dose of toxin (in this case, hydrogen peroxide) is able to protect against a later acute dose. Here, we study two adaptive protocols (0.1 mM H2O2 and 0.1 + 0.4 mM H2O2) and one acute protocol (0.4 mM H2O2) to identify processes uniquely involved in adaptation. Predictions from these studies are validated in expression profiling of deletion mutants of the transcription factors Yap1, Mga2, and Rox1.
Project description:Nonaggressive prostate cancer (NAG-PCa) with Gleason score of 6 is considered as a low-risk disease and does not require clinical interventions. However, current assessment of aggressiveness of PCa is invasive using needle biopsies. Urine is an appealing biospecimen for noninvasive detection of aggressive PCa. Using urine, particularly from easily obtainable from pre-DRE urine specimens, to identify AG-PCa-associated molecular markers is critical for clinical risk stratification. Herein, we acquired quantitative mass spectrometry data for glycoproteins from pre-DRE and post-DRE urine specimens from patients underwent PCa diagnosis with biopsies. Compared with urinary glycoproteins identified from post-DRE urine samples, we confirmed that three previously reported AG-PCa-associated glycoproteins identified in post-DRE urine specimens were also found to be significantly associated with AG disease in pre-DRE urine samples. In addition, new AG-PCa-associated glycoproteins were identified in pre-DRE urine specimens. Our study provides a foundation for further studies of AG-PCa biomarkers using pre-DRE urine specimens.
Project description:The first reliable quantification of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) formed during the low-temperature oxidation of an organic compound has been achieved thanks to a new system that couples a jet stirred reactor to a detection by continuous wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy (cw-CRDS) in the near-infrared. The quantification of this key compound for hydrocarbon low-temperature oxidation regime has been obtained under conditions close to those actually observed before the autoignition. The studied hydrocarbon was n-butane, the smallest alkane which has an oxidation behavior close to that of the species present in gasoline and diesel fuels.
Project description:Urine-based biomarkers have shown suitable diagnostic potential for prostate cancer (PCa) detection. Yet, until now, prostatic massage remains required prior to urine sampling. Here, we test a potential diagnostic approach using voided urine collected without prior digital rectal examination (DRE). In this study, we evaluated the diagnostic performance of a microfluidic-based platform that combines the principle of photodynamic diagnostic with immunocapture for the detection of PCa cells. The functionality and sensitivity of this platform were validated using both cultured cells and PCa patient urine samples. Quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) demonstrated this platform had a detection limit of fewer than 10 cells per 60 µL and successfully validated the presence of a PCa biomarker in the urine of cancer patients without prior DRE. This biosensing platform exhibits a sensitivity of 72.4% and a specificity of 71.4%, in suitable agreement with qRT-PCR data. The results of this study constitute a stepping stone in the future development of noninvasive prostate cancer diagnostic technologies that do not require DRE.
Project description:It was proposed that the reaction of sodium pyruvate and H2O2 generates the intermediate 2-hydroperoxy-2-hydroxypropanoate, which converts into acetate, CO2, and H2O ( Aleksankin et al. Kernenergie 1962 , 5 , 362 - 365 ). These conclusions were based on the products generated in (18)O-enriched water and H2O2 reacting with pyruvic acid at room temperature; however, the lifetime of 2-hydroperoxy-2-hydroxypropanoate at room temperature is too short for direct spectroscopic observation. Therefore, we applied the combination of low-temperature and (13)C NMR techniques to verify, for the first time, the formation of 2-deuteroperoxy-2-deuteroxypropanoate in mixtures of D2O and methanol-d4 and to monitor directly each species involved in the reaction between D2O2 and (13)C-enriched pyruvate. Our NMR results confirm the formation of 2-deuteroperoxy-2-deuteroxypropanoate, where the respective chemical shifts are supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. At near-neutral apparent pD (pD*) and -35 °C, the formation of 2-deuteroperoxy-2-deuteroxypropanoate occurred with k = 2.43 × 10(-3) dm(3)·mol(-1)·s(-1). The subsequent decomposition of 2-deuteroperoxy-2-deuteroxypropanoate into acetate, CO2, and D2O occurred with k = 2.58 × 10(-4) s(-1) at -35 °C. In order to provide a full kinetic analysis, we also monitored the equilibrium of pyruvate and methanol with the hemiacetal (2-deuteroxy-2-methoxypropanoate). The kinetics for the reaction of sodium pyruvate and D2O2 were fitted by taking into account all these equilibria and species.