Regional lymph node mapping in patients with penile cancer undergoing radical inguinal lymph node dissection - a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Radical inguinal lymph node dissection (rILND) is the most available treatment to cure penile cancer (PC) with limited inguinal-confined disease. However, guidelines regarding acceptable boundaries of rILND are controversial, and consensus is lacking. The authors aimed to standardize the surgical boundaries of rILND with definite pathological evidence and explore the distribution pattern of inguinal lymph nodes (ILNs) in PC.

SPP1 is associated with adverse prognosis and predicts immunotherapy efficacy in penile cancer.

Background: The effect of SPP1 in squamous cell carcinoma of the penis (PSCC) remained unknown. We attempted to clarify the function of the SPP1 gene in PSCC.

Method: Eight paired penile cancer specimens (including penile cancer tissue, paracancerous tissue, and positive lymph node tissue) subjected to whole transcriptome sequencing were analysed to identify differentially expressed genes.

Prognostic Significance of HER2 Expression in Patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin-exposed Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer.

Background: Guidelines recommend intravesical instillation of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) as the first-choice treatment for intermediate- and high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). However, there is no therapeutic biomarker for predicting BCG efficacy, especially in high-risk cases with high failure rates. HER2 expression is considered a prognostic factor for bladder cancer.

The role of Her-2 in penile squamous cell carcinoma progression and cisplatin chemoresistance and potential for antibody-drug conjugate-based therapy.

Background: Cisplatin-based chemotherapy has been the first choice for advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) in the last decade, but its utility is limited by the low response rate, systemic toxicity, and chemoresistance, which contribute to a poor prognosis. There is no standard second-line therapy for advanced PSCC. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her-2)-targeted antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are novel low-toxicity agents which have greatly improved clinical outcomes for several advanced cancers.

Identification of a novel stemness-related signature with appealing implications in discriminating the prognosis and therapy responses for prostate cancer.

Purpose: Cancer stemness represents the tumor-initiation and self-renewal potentials of cancer stem cells. It is involved in prostate cancer progression and resistance to therapy. Herein, we aimed to unveil the stemness features, establish a novel prognostic model, and identify potential therapeutic targets.

Immune-related gene risk score predicting the effect of immunotherapy and prognosis in bladder cancer patients.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy has changed the treatment model of metastatic bladder cancer. However, only approximately 20% of patients benefit from this therapy, and robust biomarkers to predict the effect of immunotherapy are still lacking. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether immune-related genes could be indicators for the prognosis of bladder cancer patients and the effect of immunotherapy.

miR-138-5p-mediated HOXD11 promotes cell invasion and metastasis by activating the FN1/MMP2/MMP9 pathway and predicts poor prognosis in penile squamous cell carcinoma.

The presence and extent of regional lymph node and distant metastasis are the most fatal prognostic factors in penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC). However, the available biomarkers and detailed mechanisms underlying the metastasis of PSCC remain elusive. Here, we explored the expression landscape of HOX genes in twelve paired PSCC tissues, including primary tumors, metastatic lymph nodes and corresponding normal tissues, and highlighted that HOXD11 was indispensable in the progression of PSCC.

RAB20 Promotes Proliferation via G2/M Phase through the Chk1/cdc25c/cdc2-cyclinB1 Pathway in Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

RAB20, a member of the RAS GTPase oncogene family, is overexpressed in several cancers with poor outcomes, promoting tumorigenesis and inducing genomic instability. Here, we performed comprehensive genomic sequencing on eight penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) and normal tissue pairs and found that RAB20 was upregulated in tumors, especially in metastatic lymph nodes. RAB20 overexpression in tumors was further verified by qPCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry of our newly established PSCC cell lines and paired tissues.

Molecular stratification by BCL2A1 and AIM2 provides additional prognostic value in penile squamous cell carcinoma.

: Lymph node metastasis is the most unfavorable prognostic factor of penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC). However, patients with the same lymph node status have different outcomes, and molecular classifiers for precise prognostic assessments are lacking. Comprehensive genomic profiling and high-content proliferation screening were performed in eight PSCC and normal tissue pairs and in cell lines.

GADD45a Mediated Cell Cycle Inhibition Is Regulated By P53 In Bladder Cancer.

Background: Bladder cancer (BC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies of the genitourinary system, yet the underlying mechanism of BC progression still remains unclear. Growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible 45 alpha (GADD45a) is a repressive gene implicated in cell cycle regulation, as well as in human cancers development. However, its role in BC remains to be determined.

PRMT5 Circular RNA Promotes Metastasis of Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder through Sponging miR-30c to Induce Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition.

Purpose: Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a novel class of noncoding RNAs, have recently drawn lots of attention in the pathogenesis of human cancers. However, the role of circRNAs in cancer cells epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify novel circRNAs that regulate urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) cells' EMT and explored their regulatory mechanisms and clinical significance in UCBs.

CSTF2-Induced Shortening of the 3'UTR Promotes the Pathogenesis of Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder.

Shortening of the 3' untranslated regions (3'UTR) of mRNA is an important mechanism for oncogene activation. However, 3'UTR alteration events, their pathologic functions, and underlying mechanisms in human urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) are not clear. Here, we combine RNA sequencing, bioinformatics, and clinical studies in two independent cohorts of patients with UCB to identify a novel shorter 3'UTR isoform that is frequently expressed in UCB and is critical in the tumorigenesis and acquisition of a poor prognostic phenotype in patients.

TRIM65 supports bladder urothelial carcinoma cell aggressiveness by promoting ANXA2 ubiquitination and degradation.

Clinically, most of human urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB)-related deaths result from tumor metastasis, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Recently, a growing number of tripartite motif (TRIM) family members have been suggested to be important regulators for tumorigenesis. However, the impact of most TRIM members on UCB pathogenesis is unclear.

An NF90/NF110-mediated feedback amplification loop regulates dicer expression and controls ovarian carcinoma progression.

Reduced expression of DICER, a key enzyme in the miRNA pathway, is frequently associated with aggressive, invasive disease, and poor survival in various malignancies. Regulation of DICER expression is, however, poorly understood. Here, we show that NF90/NF110 facilitates DICER expression by controlling the processing of a miRNA, miR-3173, which is embedded in DICER pre-mRNA.

Flavagline analog FL3 induces cell cycle arrest in urothelial carcinoma cell of the bladder by inhibiting the Akt/PHB interaction to activate the GADD45α pathway.

Background: Prohibitin 1 (PHB) is a potential target for the treatment of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB). FL3 is a newly synthesized agent that inhibits cancer cell proliferation by targeting the PHB protein; however, the effect of FL3 in UCB cells remains unexplored.

Methods: FL3 was identified to be a potent inhibitor of UCB cell viability using CCK-8 (cell counting kit-8) assay.

Renal transplantation increases angiotensin II receptor-mediated vascular contractility associated with changes of epigenetic mechanisms.

Hypertension is one of the most common complications following renal transplantation, and it increases the risk of graft loss and other cardiovascular diseases. Previous studies have revealed that the use of angiotensin II (Ang II) blockers for preventing and treating hypertension is closely associated with higher survival following renal transplantation. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which the vascular contractility of the recipient is altered in response to Ang II following renal transplantation have not been fully elucidated.

Chromobox homolog 8 is a predictor of muscle invasive bladder cancer and promotes cell proliferation by repressing the p53 pathway.

Chromobox homolog 8 (CBX8), also known as human polycomb 8, is a repressor that maintains the transcriptionally repressive state in various cellular genes, and has been reported to promote tumorigenesis. In the present study, we examined CBX8 expression in eight pairs of muscle invasive bladder cancer tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues, and found that CBX8 was frequently upregulated in muscle invasive bladder cancer tissues when compared to adjacent non-tumor tissues. Analysis showed that high expression of CBX8 in 152 muscle invasive bladder cancer specimens was associated with progression of the T, N, and M stages (P = 0.

High expression of B23 is associated with tumorigenesis and poor prognosis in bladder urothelial carcinoma.

B23, a multifunctional nucleolar protein, is overexpressed in numerous cancers and is associated with tumorigenesis. However, the clinical significance and potential role of B23 in bladder urothelial carcinoma remains to be elucidated. The present study observed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of B23 were increased in bladder cancer cells and tissues.

Clinical significance of soluble major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related a in renal cell carcinoma patients.

Objective: Major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related A (MICA) is a stress-inducible glycoprotein that can be shed as a soluble protein. This study was conducted to determine the expression of MICA in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and examine the clinical relevance of soluble MICA (sMICA) in this disease.

Methods: Immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR analyses were performed to assess the expression of MICA in 48 pairs of RCC and adjacent normal renal tissues.