Publications by authors named "Liangren Liu"

Article Synopsis
  • - The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in maintaining host health, and its imbalance is linked to diseases like prostate inflammation and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
  • - This review analyzed literature up to April 2023, focusing on how the gut microbiota contributes to prostate issues and potential treatments that modify the microbiome.
  • - Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by gut bacteria help protect the gut lining and control inflammation; however, an imbalance in the microbiota lowers SCFA levels, leading to health problems like prostate inflammation.
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Prostate cancer (PCa) is currently the second most common malignancy in men worldwide,and its incidence rate is on the rise. Most cases of PCa are treated by radical prostatectomy, but with the development of medical imaging and innovation in therapeutic theories and technology, focal therapy has shown better application prospects in the treatment of PCa. Compared with radical prostatectomy, focal therapy yields satisfactory results in terms of effectiveness and reduction of complications in addition to avoidance of overtreatment and treatment-related financial burden.

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This umbrella review aimed to summarize and provide a general evaluation of the effectiveness of current treatments for male infertility and assess the quality of evidence and possible biases. An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses available in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, covering studies published up to October 2023, was conducted. Sperm concentration, morphology, and motility were used as endpoints to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatments.

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Article Synopsis
  • Treatment-induced neuroendocrine prostate cancer (t-NEPC) develops from adenocarcinoma when cells adapt in response to treatments like enzalutamide that block androgen receptors, but the transition mechanisms are not fully understood.
  • Plexin D1 (PLXND1) is found to be highly expressed in NEPC patients and is linked to worse outcomes; it is also regulated by androgen receptor signaling in cells resistant to enzalutamide.
  • Experimentally reducing PLXND1 expression showed potential to slow NEPC growth, suggesting it could be a valuable target for therapy and a marker for the disease's progression.
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Objective: To investigate the practical value of the transrectal two-dimensional shear-wave elastography (SWE) in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Methods: Consecutive male participants with and without BPH constituted the BPH and control group respectively were enrolled prospectively between March and December 2022. Transrectal conventional ultrasound and SWE examinations for the prostate were performed on these participants.

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Treatment-induced neuroendocrine prostate cancer (t-NEPC) often arises from adenocarcinoma via lineage plasticity in response to androgen receptor signaling inhibitors, such as enzalutamide. However, the specific regulators and targets involved in the transition to NEPC are not well understood. Plexin D1 (PLXND1) is a cellular receptor of the semaphorin (SEMA) family that plays important roles in modulating the cytoskeleton and cell adhesion.

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Purpose: This study aimed to develop and validate a nomogram for predicting the efficacy of transurethral surgery in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients.

Methods: Patients with BPH who underwent transurethral surgery in the West China Hospital and West China Shang Jin Hospital were enrolled. Patients were retrospectively involved as the training group and were prospectively recruited as the validation group for the nomogram.

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Bladder cancer (BC) is a common malignant tumor of urinary system, which can be divided into muscle-invasive BC (MIBC) and nonmuscle-invasive BC (NMIBC). The number of BC patients has been gradually increasing currently. At present, bladder tumours are diagnosed and followed-up using a combination of cystoscopic examination, cytology and histology.

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Article Synopsis
  • Several studies suggest that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), especially aspirin, may lower the risk of various cancers, but more research is needed to fully understand these relationships.
  • Our umbrella review assessed the quality and biases of existing literature, revealing that while NSAIDs may reduce incidence for many cancers, taking non-aspirin NSAIDs could actually raise kidney cancer risks.
  • Despite some potential benefits, the overall quality of studies was low, and due to possible side effects, routine NSAID use for cancer prevention isn't recommended.
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Selenium is an essential trace metalloid element that is associated with fundamental importance to human health. Our umbrella review aimed to evaluate the quality of evidence, validity, and biases in the relationship between selenium intake and health-related outcomes according to published systematic reviews with pooled data and meta-analyses. Selenium intake is associated with a decreased risk of digestive system cancers, all-cause mortality, depression, and Keshan disease, when in children reduce the risk of Kashin-Beck disease.

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We investigated the impact and predictive value of bladder function in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) on the efficacy of transurethral prostatectomy. Symptomatic, imaging, and urodynamic data of patients who underwent transurethral prostatectomy at West China Hospital of Sichuan University (Chengdu, China) from July 2019 to December 2021 were collected. Follow-up data included the quality of life (QoL), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and IPSS storage and voiding (IPSS-s and IPSS-v).

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Background: Bladder cancer, characterized by a high potential of tumor recurrence, has high lifelong monitoring and treatment costs. To date, tumor cells with intrinsic softness have been identified to function as cancer stem cells in several cancer types. Nonetheless, the existence of soft tumor cells in bladder tumors remains elusive.

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Background: Primary urethral melanoma is extremely rare and malignant, and accounts for <1% of all melanoma cases. Here, we aimed to gain more insight into the pathological and follow-up outcomes of patients with this tumor type.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of nine patients who had undergone comprehensive treatment at West China Hospital since 2009.

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Cell death constitutes an indispensable part of the organismal balance in the human body. Generally, cell death includes regulated cell death (RCD) and accidental cell death (ACD), reflecting the intricately molecule-dependent process and the uncontrolled response, respectively. Furthermore, diverse RCD pathways correlate with multiple diseases, such as tumors and neurodegenerative diseases.

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Objective: To evaluate the quality of evidence, potential biases, and validity of all available studies on dietary sugar consumption and health outcomes.

Design: Umbrella review of existing meta-analyses.

Data Sources: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and hand searching of reference lists.

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Background: Intravenous fluid therapy is important for pediatric and adult patients in intensive care units (ICUs). However, medical professionals continue to struggle to determine the most appropriate fluids to obtain the best possible outcomes for each patient.

Objective: We conducted a meta-analysis involving cohort studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to compare the influence of balanced crystalloid solutions and normal saline among patients in ICUs.

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Background: The role of cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) remains controversial. In addition, several unanswered questions regarding the use of CN remain: Can CN provide survival benefits for patients with mRCC? Where do we place CN in the treatment sequence paradigm among patients with mRCC? How do we best stratify patients with mRCC for CN therapy?

Materials And Methods: A search strategy was conducted in the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases. Studies were included only in the English language.

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Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common male condition that impacts many men's quality of life by generating lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). In recent years, inflammation has become very common in the prostate, and BPH with inflammation has a higher International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) score and an enlarged prostate. Chronic inflammation leads to tissue damage and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which play an important role in the pathogenesis of BPH.

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To investigate the function of sildenafil on diseases other than urogenital system, an umbrella review was conducted. Meta-analysis and systematic reviews on this topic were comprehensively evaluated in this umbrella review. Quality of evidence was evaluated through AMSTAR and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system to generate a reliable and valid conclusion.

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Article Synopsis
  • Holmium laser lithotripsy is the standard treatment for upper urinary stones, and this study compares the Moses technique against conventional methods for effectiveness and safety.
  • After analyzing four studies with a total of 892 patients, researchers found no significant differences in key outcomes like stone-free rates and complication rates between the two techniques.
  • However, the Moses technology demonstrated a shorter laser working time, suggesting it may be more efficient, but its higher costs necessitate further research to assess its overall benefits.
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Ubiquitin proteasome activity is suppressed in enzalutamide resistant prostate cancer cells, and the heat shock protein 70/STIP1 homology and U-box-containing protein 1 (HSP70/STUB1) machinery are involved in androgen receptor (AR) and AR variant protein stabilization. Targeting HSP70 could be a viable strategy to overcome resistance to androgen receptor signaling inhibitor (ARSI) in advanced prostate cancer. Here, we showed that a novel HSP70 allosteric inhibitor, JG98, significantly suppressed drug-resistant C4-2B MDVR and CWR22Rv1 cell growth, and enhanced enzalutamide treatment.

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