The transcriptional terminator XRN2 and the RNA-binding protein Sam68 link alternative polyadenylation to cell cycle progression in prostate cancer.

Alternative polyadenylation (APA) yields transcripts differing in their 3'-end, and its regulation is altered in cancer, including prostate cancer. Here we have uncovered a mechanism of APA regulation impinging on the interaction between the exonuclease XRN2 and the RNA-binding protein Sam68, whose increased expression in prostate cancer is promoted by the transcription factor MYC. Genome-wide transcriptome profiling revealed a widespread impact of the Sam68/XRN2 complex on APA.

The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Time to Primary, Secondary Resection and Adjuvant Intravesical Therapy in Patients with High-Risk Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: A Retrospective Multi-Institutional Cohort Analysis.

Background: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on the diagnosis and treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed using an Italian multi-institutional database of TURBT patients with high-risk urothelial NMIBC between January 2019 and February 2021, followed by Re-TURBT and/or adjuvant intravesical BCG.

Results: A total of 2591 patients from 27 institutions with primary TURBT were included.

T1 Bladder Cancer: Comparison of the Prognostic Impact of Two Substaging Systems on Disease Recurrence and Progression and Suggestion of a Novel Nomogram.

The T1 substaging of bladder cancer (BCa) potentially impacts disease progression. The objective of the study was to compare the prognostic accuracy of two substaging systems on the recurrence and progression of primary pathologic T1 (pT1) BCa and to test a nomogram based on pT1 substaging for predicting recurrence-free survival (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS). The medical records of 204 patients affected by pT1 BCa were retrospectively reviewed.

Association of patients' sex with treatment outcomes after intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin immunotherapy for T1G3/HG bladder cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the association of patients' sex with recurrence and disease progression in patients treated with intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) for T1G3/HG urinary bladder cancer (UBC).

Materials And Methods: We analyzed the data of 2635 patients treated with adjuvant intravesical BCG for T1 UBC between 1984 and 2019. We accounted for missing data using multiple imputations and adjusted for covariate imbalance between males and females using inverse probability weighting (IPW).

How Can the COVID-19 Pandemic Lead to Positive Changes in Urology Residency?

The COVID-19 outbreak, in a few weeks, overloaded Italian hospitals, and the majority of medical procedures were postponed. During the pandemic, with hospital reorganization, clinical and learning activities performed by residents suffered a forced remodulation. The objective of this study is to investigate how urology training in Italy has been affected during the COVID-19 era.

Athermal versus ultrasonic nerve-sparing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: a comparison of functional and oncological outcomes.

Purpose: Many urologists emphasize the concept of heat-related damage suggesting the avoidance of any energy to perform nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy. At our institution, both athermal and ultrasonic dissection have been used over the last years to perform a nerve-sparing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (NSLRP). In this study, we compare functional and oncological outcomes of the two procedures.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus predicts worse outcomes in patients with high-grade T1 bladder cancer receiving bacillus Calmette-Guérin after transurethral resection of the bladder tumor.

Objectives: The aim of this multicenter study was to investigate the prognostic role of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) comorbidity in a large multi-institutional cohort of patients with primary T1HG/G3 non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) treated with transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB).

Materials And Methods: A total of 1,172 patients with primary T1 HG/G3 who had NMIBC on re-TURB and who received adjuvant intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy with maintenance were included. Endpoints were recurrence-free survival and progression-free survival.

Systemic Inflammatory Markers and Oncologic Outcomes in Patients with High-risk Non-muscle-invasive Urothelial Bladder Cancer.

Background: Serum levels of neutrophils, platelets, and lymphocytes have been recognized as factors related to poor prognosis for many solid tumors, including bladder cancer (BC).

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic role of the combination of the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (LMR) in patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive urothelial BC (NIMBC).

Design, Setting, And Participants: A total of 1151 NMIBC patients who underwent first transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT) at 13 academic institutions between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2012 were included in this analysis.

Feasibility of mirabegron in the treatment of overactive bladder in patients affected by Parkinson's disease: A pilot study.

Background: We investigated the effectiveness and safety of mirabegron oral treatment in a group of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and overactive bladder (OAB), refractory to antimuscarinics.

Materials And Methods: Thirty patients with PD and refractory OAB were prospectively included in the study. At baseline, motor symptoms, severity of disease and cognitive status were assessed with the Hoehn-Yahr Scale, the Unified Parkinson's disease Rating Scale, the Mini Mental State examination and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

Predictors of Residual T1 High Grade on Re-Transurethral Resection in a Large Multi-Institutional Cohort of Patients with Primary T1 High-Grade/Grade 3 Bladder Cancer.

The aim of this multi-institutional study was to identify predictors of residual high-grade (HG) disease at re-transurethral resection (reTUR) in a large cohort of primary T1 HG/Grade 3 (G3) bladder cancer patients. A total of 1155 patients with primary T1 HG/G3 bladder cancer from 13 academic institutions that underwent a reTUR within 6 weeks after first TUR were evaluated. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association of predictive factors with residual HG at reTUR.

Validation of Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte Ratio in a Multi-institutional Cohort of Patients With T1G3 Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer.

Introduction: The aim of this multicenter study was to investigate the prognostic role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and to validate the NLR cutoff of 3 in a large multi-institutional cohort of patients with primary T1 HG/G3 non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

Patients And Methods: The study period was from January 2002 through December 2012. A total of 1046 patients with primary T1 HG/G3 who had NMIBC on re-transurethral bladder resection (TURB) who received adjuvant intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy with maintenance from 13 academic institutions were included.

The Splicing Factor PTBP1 Promotes Expression of Oncogenic Splice Variants and Predicts Poor Prognosis in Patients with Non-muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.

Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is a malignant disease characterized by high heterogeneity, which corresponds to dysregulated gene expression and alternative splicing (AS) profiles. Bioinformatics analyses of splicing factors potentially linked to bladder cancer progression identified the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein I (i.e.

An increased body mass index is associated with a worse prognosis in patients administered BCG immunotherapy for T1 bladder cancer.

Purpose: The body mass index (BMI) may be associated with an increased incidence and aggressiveness of urological cancers. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of the BMI on survival in patients with T1G3 non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

Methods: A total of 1155 T1G3 NMIBC patients from 13 academic institutions were retrospectively reviewed and patients administered adjuvant intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy with maintenance were included.

High-Grade T1 on Re-Transurethral Resection after Initial High-Grade T1 Confers Worse Oncological Outcomes: Results of a Multi-Institutional Study.

Introduction: The aim of this multicenter study was to investigate the prognostic impact of residual T1 high-grade (HG)/G3 tumors at re-transurethral resection (TUR of bladder tumor) in a large multi-institutional cohort of patients with primary T1 HG/G3 bladder cancer (BC).

Patients And Methods: The study period was from January 2002 to -December 2012. A total of 1,046 patients with primary T1 HG/G3 and who had non-muscle invasive BC (NMIBC) on re-TUR followed by adjuvant intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy with maintenance were included.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Hexaminolevulinate in a Cohort of Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy.

Purpose: To compare the accuracy of white light cystoscopy (WLC) and blue light cystoscopy (BLC) in a cohort of patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) for previously resected urothelial bladder cancer.

Patients And Methods: A cohort of patients undergoing RC received WLC and BLC prior radical surgery. To evaluate the residual tumor rate, the bladder was inspected after its removal and normal appearing mucosa sampled for histologic analysis.

Detection and Clinical Significance of Circulating Tumor Cells in Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy for Urothelial Bladder Cancer.

Introduction: Estimation of prognosis is patients undergoing radical cystectomy is often unreliable, as occult disease remains undetected by conventional diagnostic tools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and the clinical significance of a polymerase chain reaction assay to detect cytokeratin 7 (CK7) mRNA expression in peripheral blood cells of patients undergoing radical cystectomy for clinically nonmetastatic bladder cancer.

Patients And Methods: From 2005 to 2009, 59 patients undergoing radical cystectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection were prospectively investigated.

Intravesical electro-osmotic administration of mitomycin C.

Bladder cancer is very common and most cases are diagnosed as nonmuscle invasive disease, which is characterized by its propensity to recur and progress. Intravesical therapy is used to delay recurrence and progression, while cystectomy is reserved for patients who are refractory to transurethral resection and intravesical therapy. There is an increasing interest in methods to enhance the delivery of intravesical chemotherapeutic agents to improve efficacy.

The efficacy of BCG TICE and BCG Connaught in a cohort of 2,099 patients with T1G3 non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Background: Potential differences in efficacy of different bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) strains are of importance for daily practice, especially in the era of BCG shortage.

Objective: To retrospectively compare the outcome with BCG Connaught and BCG TICE in a large study cohort of pT1 high-grade non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Individual patient data were collected for 2,451 patients with primary T1G3 tumors from 23 centers who were treated with BCG for the first time between 1990 and 2011.

Hexaminolevulinate hydrochloride in the detection of nonmuscle invasive cancer of the bladder.

Clinical trials have shown that hexaminolevulinate (HAL) fluorescence cystoscopy improves the detection of bladder tumors compared with standard white-light cystoscopy, resulting in more efficacious treatment. However, some recent meta-analyses report controversially on recurrence-free rates with this procedure. A systematic review of literature was performed from December 2014 to January 2015 using the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases for controlled trials on photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) with HAL.

Celecoxib for the prevention of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer: results from a matched control study.

Objectives: New targets and approaches are under investigation for the treatment of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Preclinical data suggest cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) as a promising target. Celecoxib, a COX-2 selective inhibitor, inhibits tumor development and enhances survival, both in vitro and in vivo models of bladder cancer.

The impact of re-transurethral resection on clinical outcomes in a large multicentre cohort of patients with T1 high-grade/Grade 3 bladder cancer treated with bacille Calmette-Guérin.

Objectives: To determine if a re-transurethral resection (TUR), in the presence or absence of muscle at the first TUR in patients with T1-high grade (HG)/Grade 3 (G3) bladder cancer, makes a difference in recurrence, progression, cancer specific (CSS) and overall survival (OS).

Patients And Methods: In a large retrospective multicentre cohort of 2451 patients with T1-HG/G3 initially treated with bacille Calmette-Guérin, 935 (38%) had a re-TUR. According to the presence or absence of muscle in the specimen of the primary TUR, patients were divided in four groups: group 1 (no muscle, no re-TUR), group 2 (no muscle, re-TUR), group 3 (muscle, no re-TUR) and group 4 (muscle, re-TUR).