0000000000828154
AUTHOR
Estelle Li
DHH is an independent prognosticator of oncologic outcome of clear cell renal cell carcinoma.
Aberrant HH signaling has proved important in the pathogenesis of several solid cancers. Limited in vitro analyses suggested an oncogenic role for HH in renal cell carcinoma. In this explorative study we sought to validate aberrant HH expression in patients with renal cell carcinoma.A tissue microarray was constructed from 140 radical nephrectomy specimens of patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma. We performed immunohistochemistry for Ki67 and HH pathway biomarkers, including PTCH1, Smo, SHH, IHH, DHH, Gli1, Gli2 and Gli3. Staining intensity was measured by automated image processing and related to tumor stage and grade. The impact of biomarker expression on cancer specific survival…
Ultrasound-Guided Intramural Inoculation of Orthotopic Bladder Cancer Xenografts: A Novel High-Precision Approach
Orthotopic bladder cancer xenografts are essential for testing novel therapies and molecular manipulations of cell lines in vivo. Current xenografts rely on tumor cell inoculation by intravesical instillation or direct injection into the bladder wall. Instillation is limited by the lack of cell lines that are tumorigenic when delivered in this manner. The invasive model inflicts morbidity on the mice by the need for laparotomy and mobilization of the bladder. Furthermore this procedure is complex and time-consuming. Three bladder cancer cell lines (UM-UC1, UM-UC3, UM-UC13) were inoculated into 50 athymic nude mice by percutaneous injection under ultrasound guidance. PBS was first injected b…