Ultrastructural study of the noninvolved urothelium of tumor-bearing patients after two years of intravesical interferon therapy.
Eur Urol 1996;
29:477-82. [PMID:
8791058 DOI:
10.1159/000473800]
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Seventeen patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder were studied. Twelve patients did not have a recurrence 2 years after a transurethral resection (TUR) followed by interferon (IFN)-alpha 2b treatment. This observation led us to study the ultrastructural morphology of the noninvolved urothelium in 8 of the above 12 patients.
METHODS
All patients had a primary solitary grade I or II tumor. Topical therapy was started after TUR. Each patient received a total of 22 instillations of 50 MU IFN-alpha 2b in 12 months according to the standard procedure. After the first year, a repetitive dose of 50 MU IFN-alpha 2b was administered every 2 months for a period of 1 more year.
RESULTS
At the end of therapy, certain ultrastructural modifications were observed indicating a partial restoration of the urothelium: the existence of asymmetric unit membrane, a well-developed Golgi apparatus and an increase of the filaments. The cells were joined to each other with well-developed tight junctions. Tubuloreticular inclusions were also observed.
CONCLUSIONS
Prevention of recurrence by restoring the morphology of the noninvolved urothelium in response to IFN treatment deserves further examination.
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