Urethra tumors

Theory and Equipment. Many diseases of the human body can be identified by visual appearance. Tumors in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract, for example, possess a characteristic salmon pink color (3). The presence of such a color can be an indication of disease. Endoscopy is the medical imaging tool used to detect such colors in the inside of hoUow internal organs such as the rectum, urethra, urinary bladder, stomach, colon, etc. An endoscope is the instmment used to perform endoscopy. Endoscopic imaging involves the production of a tme color picture of the inside of the human body using lenses and either hoUow pipes, a fiber optic bundle, or a smaU CCD camera. AU three use a large field-of-view, sometimes referred to as a fish eye, lens to aUow a 180° field of view. 

Bladder tumor-associated antigen (BTA), a human complement factor H, is produced by bladder cancer cells (men two to three times as often as women). Cancer cells are sometimes seen in urine samples by microscope cytoscopy (examination of the bladder with an instrument inserted into the urethra), which can reveal abnormal areas. Biopsy is needed to confirm the diagnosis. Early stage cancer confined to the bladder wall can often be removed with a cytoscope. If several tumors are present, they are removed by infusing the bladder with a solution containing bacteria able to stimulate the immune system. 

Currently, biopsies of the prostatic urethra are recommended as a staging procedure in patients undergoing intravesical treatment for superficial bladder tumors. If intraductal urothelial carcinoma is identified on TURP or transurethral biopsy, patients will usually be recommended for radical cystoprostatectomy. The finding of intraductal urothelial carcinoma has also been demonstrated to increase the risk of urethral recurrence following cystoprostatectomy, such that its identification may also result in prophylactic total urethrectomy. Immunohistochemical stains for basal cells (high-molecular-weight cytokeratin, p63) may in some cases only outline the prostatic basal cells and in other cases label the intraductal urothelial carcinoma. 

Tumor invades urethra or prostate Tumor invades other organs... 

Primitive benign or malignant lesions of the male urethra account for only 1% of urological tumors... 

Fig. 19.11. Metastatic involvement of the urethra. Patient presenting with hlood discharge 1 year after cistectomy and radical prostatectomy for bladder cancer. Transrectal sagittal scan showing encasement of the urethral stump (arrowheads) hy recurrent tumor tissue ( )...

Immediately after the mice bladder instillation, the 1x10 MBT2 cells were inoculated via the urethra for tumor seeding. In order to evaluate the tumor progression, the mice were sacrificed for section examination on each 14 days post-inoculation. 

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