With the prevalence of obesity in the United States, a significant proportion of robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) candidates have an elevated body mass index (BMI). We determine if this impacts on the clinical outcomes of RALP. 218 consecutive patients underwent RALP were identified from a prospectively maintained RALP database recorded and compared for their demographics, clinical outcomes and adverse events in normal weight (BMI 0.05). Elevated BMI appears to increase the RALP operative time, but has little impact on other intraoperative parameters, clinical outcomes or patient morbidity. RALP is a safe and effective procedure in patients with elevated BMI.

The understanding of molecular mechanisms that are involved in the development and the progression of gastric cancer (GC) are of importance for the diagnosis and treatment. The calpain system, which contains the calpains and the endogenous inhibitor, has been suggested as an important factor in the tumorigenesis and migration of colorectal adenocarcinoma, breast and ovarian cancer, and as a prognostic marker for GC. However, the expression level of calpain system proteins in GC and normal‑appearing peritumoral gastric mucosa remain unknown. The present study investigated the expression of calpain‑1 (CAPN1), calpain‑2 (CAPN2), calpastatin and calmodulin (CaM) in GC and uninvolved gastric mucosa tissues with immunohistochemistry. Results demonstrated that CAPN2 protein level increased in GCs compared with normal tissues, while calpastatin and CaM protein level decreased. No evident alterations were observed for CAPN1. Although the protein expression of all these four proteins was not in association with the clinical variables of GC in the present study, higher calpain enzyme activity could be a negative prognostic marker, since calpains are responsible for the generation of active forms of certain proteins that facilitate the progression of cancer. The ratio of (CAPN1 x CAPN2)/(calpastatin x CaM) may serve as a potential index for diagnosis of GC.