months. Two semen analyses and determi- nation of resting levels of luteinizing hor- mone (LH), follicle - stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL), testosterone, thy- roid stimulating hormone (TSH) and in- hibin B were done in all participants. Pa- tients were followed-up for another 12- month after CoQ 10 discontinuation. Results: Serum LH and FSH decreased (P=0.01) and serum inhibin B increased (P=0.001) significantly after CoQ 10 ther- apy. Mean sperm concentration, sperm progressive motility, and sperm with nor- mal morphology improved significantly after 12-month CoQ 10 therapy by 113.7%, 104.8%, and 78.9%, respectively (P=0.001). The overall pregnancy rate was 34.1% within a mean of 8.44.7 months. Sperm density/ml (r=0.072, P=0.001), duration of CoQ 10 administra- tion (r=0.064, P=0.001), and female age (r=-0.062, P=0.002) are three most sig- nificantly related independent factors to pregnancy rate by multiple regression analysis. Conclusions: CoQ 10 supplementation improves semen quality with beneficial effect on pregnancy rate. Further con- trolled studies to replicate our results seem warranted. UP-01.139 The Role of Surgical Ligation of the Left Internal Spermatic Vein for the Management of Infertile Men With Subclinical Left Varicocele Sountoulides P 1 , Gravas S 2 , Kikidakis D 1 , Theodosiou A 1 , Paschalidis K 1 , Melekos M 2 , Sofikitis N 3 1 Dept. of Urology, General Hospital of Veria, Veria 2 Dept. of Urology, University Hospital of Thessaly, Larissa; 3 Dept. of Urology, University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece Introduction and Objective: Surgical ligation of the internal spermatic veins in infertile men with a palpable varicocele has been associated with a significant im- provement in sperm parameters. On the contrary there is no consensus on the role of varicocelectomy for the treatment of infertile men with non palpable, ultra- sound-detected, subclinical varicoceles. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the surgical ligation of the inter- nal spermatic vein for the treatment of infertile men with subclinical varicoceles and no other causes of spermatogenetic impairment. Materials and Methods: In this multi- institutional prospective study, a total of 34 infertile men with subclinical varico- cele diagnosed with high resolution Color Doppler ultrasonography and no other demonstrable causes of infertility were enrolled. The patients were allowed to choose between surgical ligation of the internal spermatic veins and observation. 18 men consented to undergo microsurgi- cal ligation of the spermatic veins (group A) while 16 men opted for observation and constituted the control group (group B). Baseline sperm parameters (sperm count, motility and morphology) were compared to values obtained after a pe- riod of 6-9 months for the patients in both groups (postoperative values for group A). Results: In the group of patients that un- derwent surgical ligation of the internal spermatic veins there was no statistically significant differences between preopera- tive and postoperative values for all sperm parameters, although postoperatively there was a small increase in all sperm parameters. On the contrary, for the pa- tients in the control group there was a statistically significant decrease in the per- centage of morphologically normal sper- matozoa. There was a non-statistically sig- nificant decrease in the sperm count and motility in the control group. Conclusions: There is no evidence from the present study suggesting that infertile men with subclinical varicoceles and other causes of infertility would benefit from surgical ligation of the internal sper- matic veins. UP-01.140 The Prognostic Value of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) in Regard to Cancer- Specific (CSS) and Overall Survival (OS) in Clear Cell Renal Cell Cancer (CCRCC) Patients May in Part Be Explained by Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Gudbrandsdottir G 1 , Hjelle K 1,3 , Aarstad H 2,4 , Bostad L 3,5 , Beisland C 1,4 1 Dept.of Urology; 2 Dept. of ENT; 3 Dept. of Pathology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; 4 Dept. of Surgical Sciences; 5 The Gades Institute, University of Bergen, Norway Introduction and Objective: Elevated preoperative CRP-level in RCC patients has in many studies been found to be cor- related to poorer prognosis for survival. In this study we have explored this topic, and also looked for possible biological explanation to the prognostic value of CRP. Material and Methods: There were 124 patients that underwent surgery for RCC between January 2007 and April 2010 in- cluded. 93 patients were CCRCC, 31 were other subtypes. Of the patients, 55 were stage T1a, 26 were T1b, 17 were T2, 11 were T3 and 5 were T4. Distant metasta- ses (M+) were preoperatively diagnosed in ten patients. The patients were fol- lowed until death or March 1, 2011. Mean observation time is 27 months (median 25, range 2 - 49). Eleven patients were dead of RCC and 7 patients have died of other causes. Preoperative blood samples were taken in the morning on the day of surgery: Samples were prepared and fro- zen at -80°C. The level of VEGF in serum was analyzed by using the Luminex immu- nobead technology (Invitrogen/Biosource, Carlsbad, CA, USA). In univariate analyses, a preoperative CRP level of 5 mg/L, is regarded as elevated. CRP 5mg/L is re- garded as baseline CRP-values. Results: In univariate analyses of all pa- tients, patients with elevated CRP, had a significant poorer prognosis than patients with a baseline CRP (p 0.001 for both OS and CSS). This significant difference is also found among the CCRCC patients (p 0.01 for both OS and CSS). In the non-CCRCC group, however, there was a trend toward the same results (p=0.06 for both OS and CSS).The level of serum- VEGF was significantly higher in the CCRCC than in the non-CCRCC group (p=0.03).In the CCRCC group, in a multi- variate Cox regression model, CRP was an independent prognostic marker for OS and CSS, together with tumor stage (p0.05 for both). VEGF predicted CSS and OS in a dose dependent fashion (p0.001), closely associated with CRP prognostic value. In a correlation test, serum-VEGF was significantly correlated to CRP level (Spearmans Rho = 0.44, p0.0001). Conclusion: VEGF secretion may in part explain the prognostic value of CRP in RCC patients. UP-01.141 Elevated Preoperative Serum Levels of MCP-1 (CCL2) is a Prognostic Marker for Cancer-Specific (CSS) and Overall Survival (OS) in Renal Cell Cancer Patients Gudbrandsdottir G 1 , Hjelle K 1,4 , Aarstad H 2,4 , Bostad L 3,5 , Beisland C 1,4 1 Dept. of Urology; 2 Dept. of ENT; 3 Dept. of Pathology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen; 4 Dept. of Surgical Sciences; 5 The Gades Institute, University of Bergen, Norway Introduction and Objective: Histori- UNMODERATED POSTER SESSIONS S232 UROLOGY 78 (Supplement 3A), September 2011