Pre-Op Hydronephrosis Predicts Outcomes in Patients Receiving Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy.

Introduction: Robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) has gained momentum in the management of muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Predictors of RARC outcomes are not thoroughly studied. We aim to investigate the implications of preoperative hydronephrosis on oncological outcomes.

Diffusion kurtosis imaging to assess correlations with clinicopathologic factors for bladder cancer: a comparison between the multi-b value method and the tensor method.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in differentiating low-grade from high-grade tumors and evaluating the aggressiveness of bladder cancer.

Methods: From January 2017 to July 2017, 35 patients (28 males, 7 females; mean age 63 ± 9 years) diagnosed with bladder cancer underwent diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with two types of DKI protocols: (1) multi-b value ranging from 0 to 2000 s/mm to obtain mean diffusivity/kurtosis (MD/MK) and (2) the tensor method with 32 directions with 3 b values (0, 1000, and 2000s/mm) to obtain mean/axial/radial diffusivity (MD/Da/Dr), mean/axial/radial kurtosis (MK/Ka/Kr), and fractional anisotropy (FA) before radical cystectomy. Comparisons between the low- and high-grade groups, non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), and muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) were performed with the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs).

A Genomic-clinicopathologic Nomogram for the Preoperative Prediction of Lymph Node Metastasis in Bladder Cancer.

Preoperative lymph node (LN) status is important for the treatment of bladder cancer (BCa). Here, we report a genomic-clinicopathologic nomogram for preoperatively predicting LN metastasis in BCa. In the discovery stage, 325 BCa patients from TCGA were involved and LN-status-related mRNAs were selected.

Investigation of diffusion kurtosis imaging for discriminating tumors from inflammatory lesions after treatment for bladder cancer.

Background: The bladder wall may thicken resulting from chronic inflammation after initial treatment (transurethral resection [TUR] or neoadjuvant chemotherapy), which may mimic the feature of recurrent or residual bladder tumors (RBT). Therefore, it is critical to discriminate RBT from benign lesions after initial treatment.

Purpose: To investigate whether diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) could discriminate RBT from post-therapy bladder inflammatory lesions.

Increased expression of HMGB1 is associated with poor prognosis in human bladder cancer.

Background And Objective: High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a versatile protein with intranuclear and extracellular functions that is involved in numerous biological and pathological processes, such as transcription, DNA repair, and response to infection and inflammation. HMGB1 overexpression has been reported in a variety of human cancers. However, the clinical significance of HMGB1 expression in bladder cancer (BC) remains unclear.

[Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of intravesical instillation with gemcitabine after first-line intravesical chemotherapy failure in the treatment of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer].

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravesical instillation with gemcitabine after first-line intravesical chemotherapy failure, including mitomycin (MMC), epirubicin (EPB) and camptothecin (CPT), in the treatment of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

Methods: From June 2007 to October 2008, 72 patients with NMIBC, who had tumor recurrence within one year of first-line intravesical chemotherapy, were assigned to 3 groups (24 cases each). Group A received intravesical gemcitabine in a dose of 1000 mg, Group B received 2000 mg gemcitabine, and Group C received original intravesical chemotherapy.

UHRF1 is associated with tumor recurrence in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Ubiquitin-like with PHD and ring finger domains 1 (UHRF1) is a novel anti-apoptotic gene, and overexpression of UHRF1 is involved in tumorigenicity. Here, immunohistochemistry was used to detect UHRF1 expression in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), and these data were examined for correlation with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis. The UHRF1 expression rate was 49.

[Large germline deletion of the VHL gene in Chinese families with von Hippel-Lindau syndrome].

Objective: To investigate the large germline deletion of the VHL gene in Chinese families with von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL).

Methods: The large deletion of the VHL gene in 20 unrelated Chinese VHL families was analyzed by using universal primer quantitative fluorescent multiplex polymerase chain reaction (UPQFM-PCR) and GeneScan analysis.

Results: Partial and complete VHL gene deletions were detected in 6 probands, including 3 exon 1 deletions, 1 exon 3 and 2 complete deletions.