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AP - An ailing Democratic fundraiser has obtained an experimental cancer-fighting drug through the Mayo Clinic, according to his son, despite the drug maker's refusal to sanction the treatment.

An article published early online and in the December edition of The Lancet Neurology describes the clinical features of 100 patients who were diagnosed with the newly discovered anti-NMDA-receptor encephalitis (ANRE). Dr Josep Dalmau (Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA) and colleagues also note that patient recovery is improved by early tumor removal in combination with immunotherapy.

STUTTGART, GERMANY (UroToday.com) - Height is associated with a higher risk for the development of testicular cancer as shown in a case-control study of 6,415 patients with testicular cancer from 103 German institutions. For every patient, six healthy controls were analyzed. Patients with testicular cancer had an average height of 181.7 cm compared to 179.9 cm in healthy controls. Height of 185-190 cm, 191-195 cm, and > 195 cm was present in 19.5% versus 16.3%; 9.6% versus 6.

STUTTGART, GERMANY (UroToday.com) - The current role of immunotherapy of metastatic kidney cancer in the era of targeted therapy was investigated with a survey among German urologists and oncologists - in private practice and in hospital. Urologists in hospital treated the majority of patients. Most patients were treated with Sunitinib in the first line setting, Sorafenib in second-line setting and Temsirolimus in third line setting.

STUTTGART, GERMANY (UroToday.com) - The value of PCA3 in urine was investigated in a prospective European trial on 463 patients who had previously undergone one or two negative prostate biopsies and who were scheduled for a re-biopsy of their prostate. In 128 patients prostate cancer was found on re-biopsy. The area under the curve was 0.658 for PCA3 compared to 0.578 for free PSA.

STUTTGART, GERMANY (UroToday.com) - Interobserver variability of urine cytology was investigated by members of the working group "Urine Cytology" of the DGU. Four experienced cytologists analyzed 45 benign and 105 malignant urine specimens, respectively. Complete and good agreement was defined as same opinion of 4/4 and 3/4 cytologists, respectively. Complete agreement was obtained in 42% of all cases.

As the UK gears up for November's Mouth cancer Action Week, free accompanying Blue Ribbon Badge Appeal kits are available for all. Campaign organisers the British Dental health Foundation urge dental practices, doctor's surgeries, health centres hospitals and pharmacies to claim their free kit before the campaign kicks off, November 16th-22nd.

STUTTGART, GERMANY (UroToday.com) - Apoptotic DNA fragments in serum of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer are of prognostic relevance. The authors compared 45 patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer and 45 patients with BPH. With the aim of RT-PCR, two DNA fragments were identified and found to be present in significantly higher levels in serum of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer compared to patients with BPH. Sensitivity was 96% and specificity 62%.

UroToday.com - The wide acceptance and approval of a surgical technique aiming to cure patients with RCC depends on the technical feasibility and excellent results reported in retrospective series [1-4], along with prospective confirmation on pathological examination of its oncological safety.

After spending years developing a computational model to help illuminate cell signaling pathways, a team of MIT researchers decided to see what would happen if they "broke" the model. The results, reported in the Oct. 17 issue of the journal Cell, reveal new ways in which cells process chemical information and could indicate how to maximize the effectiveness of disease treatments such as chemotherapy.