Morphological changes in the basement membrane during progression from non-invasive to invasive rat bladder cancer induced by N-butyl-N-(4-hydoxybutyl) nitrosamine

X-ray scattering for classifying tissue types associated with breast disease

Collagen types I and III can be characterized at the molecular level (at the tens to hundreds of nanometers scale) using small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). Although collagen fibril structural parameters at this length scale have shown differences between diseased and nondiseased breast tissues, a comprehensive analysis involving a multitude of features with a large (>50) patient cohort has not previously been investigated. Breast tissue samples were excised from 80 patients presenting with either a breast lump or reduction mammoplasty. From these, invasive carcinoma, benign tissue, and normal parenchyma were analyzed. Parameters related to collagen structure, including longitudinal (axial) and lateral (equatorial) features, polar angle features, total scattering intensity, and tissue heterogeneity effects, were extracted from the SAXS patterns and examined. The amplitude of the third-order axial peak and the total scattering intensity (amorphous scatter) showed the most separation between tissue groups and a classification model using these two parameters demonstrated an accuracy of over 95% between invasive carcinoma and mammoplasty patients. Normal tissue taken from disease-free patients (mammoplasty) and normal tissue taken from patients with presence of disease showed significant differences, suggesting that SAXS may provide different diagnostic information from that of conventional histopathology.

Inhibition of tumor angiogenesis during cisplatin chemotherapy for bladder cancer improves treatment outcome

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the effect of inhibiting tumor angiogenesis during cisplatinum-(II)-diamine dichloride (cisplatin) chemotherapy of bladder cancer (BC) in a rat model.

METHODS

Bladder cancer was induced in 64 male rats using 0.05% N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)-nitrosamine in their water supply for 20 weeks. The animals were then divided randomly into four groups of 16 rats each: a control BC group (group 1); a BC group treated with cisplatin (0.25 mg/kg body weight) by intraperitoneal injection twice every week (group 2); a BC group treated with the antiangiogenic factor TNP-470 (30 mg/kg body weight) by intraperitoneal injection twice every week (group 3); and a BC group treated with cisplatin plus TNP-470 (group 4, treatment regimens as described). Per group, 4 rats were killed weekly after the start of treatment, for 4 weeks. BC was confirmed using histologic characteristics, and the treatment outcomes were determined by measuring tumor microvascular density and cell proliferation and apoptosis indexes (PI and AI, respectively).

RESULTS

All animals had confirmed BC. Both group 3 (TNP-470) and group 4 (cisplatin plus TNP-470) had significantly decreased microvascular density compared with group 1 (P <0.05). Although both the PI and AI were significantly different between group 4 (cisplatin plus TNP-470) and group 1 (control BC; P <0.05), neither the PI nor AI was significantly different between group 2 (cisplatin) and group 4 (cisplatin plus TNP-470; P >0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

TNP-470 in conjunction with cisplatin chemotherapy resulted in a decrease in the microvascular density of BC in a rat model. However, TNP-470 did not appear to have a significant impact on the cisplatin effect against BC as measured by apoptosis and cell proliferation.

MVAC chemotherapy-induced apoptosis and p53 alterations in the rat model of bladder cancer

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the induction of apoptosis by methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (MVAC) therapy as well as p53 alterations in a rat model of bladder cancer induced by N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (BBN).

METHODS

At 20 and 28 weeks after starting the administration of BBN, 60 rats (30 at 20 weeks, and 30 at 28 weeks) were divided into an MVAC treatment group (20 rats) and a control group of untreated rats (10 rats). After one intraperitoneal injection of MVAC, the rat bladder was obtained on day 1 or 7 for evaluation of apoptosis by biohistochemical and electron microscopic observations, and of p53 alterations immunohistochemically.

RESULTS

All tumors were noninvasive transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) at 20 weeks and invasive TCC at 28 weeks. In comparison with untreated tumors, a threefold increase of apoptotic indexes (Als) was noted in invasive TCC and a twofold increase in noninvasive TCC on day 1 after MVAC therapy. Both decreased Als and a frequent occurrence of apoptotic necrosis were observed on day 7. Occurrence of tumor necrosis was not affected by MVAC therapy, and the extent of necrosis was not related to apoptosis. Detection of p53 alterations, 45% and 40% in MVAC treated and untreated tumors, respectively, did not correlate with Als.

CONCLUSIONS

MVAC therapy may act through the induction of apoptosis, and invasive TCC cells may be much more sensitive to MVAC therapy in the rat model of bladder cancer. Neither spontaneous nor MVAC-induced apoptosis may be related to p53 alterations in the rat model of bladder cancer.