The prognostic value of the pretreatment serum albumin to globulin ratio for predicting adverse pathology in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer.

Purpose: Few studies have demonstrated the clinical significance of pretreatment serum albumin and globulin in prostate cancer (PCa). This study evaluated the association between the pretreatment albumin to globulin ratio (AGR) and clinicopathologic characteristics of nonmetastatic PCa in a large multicenter setting in Korea.

Materials And Methods: This study involved 742 patients with nonmetastatic PCa who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) in seven institutions between January 2011 and December 2012.

Expression of phosphorylated p21-activated kinase 4 is associated with aggressive histologic characteristics and poor prognosis in patients with surgically treated renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: P21-activated kinase 4 (PAK4), a serine/threonine kinase that regulates a number of fundamental cellular processes, has been suggested as a prognostic factor for various human tumors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical implications of phospho-Ser474 PAK4 (pPAK4), an activated form of PAK4, in surgically treated renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Materials And Methods: Samples from 131 patients with surgically treated RCC were immunostained to detect PAK4 and pPAK4.

Effect of pre-operative internal obturator muscle mass index in MRI on biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer patients after radical prostatectomy: a multi-center study.

Background: Recent reports show that the pre-operative or post-operative skeletal mass index (sarcopenia) affects survival rates for various cancers; however, the link between prostate cancer survival and sarcopenia is unclear. Therefore, this study examined the effect of the pre-operative internal obturator muscle (IOM) mass index on biochemical recurrence (BCR) of prostate cancer (PCa) patients who underwent radical prostatectomy.

Methods: In total, 222 patients, who underwent open, laparoscopic, or robot-assisted radical prostatectomy at seven centers in 2011 and were followed up for 5 years, were enrolled.

A high basal metabolic rate is an independent predictor of stone recurrence in obese patients.

Purpose: Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is an indicator of overall body metabolism and may portend unique aberrations in urine physico-chemistry and stone recurrence. The present study examined the effect of predicted BMR on 24 hours urinary metabolic profiles and stone recurrence in obese stone patients.

Materials And Methods: Data from 308 obese patients (body mass index [BMI] ≥30 kg/m²) diagnosed with urinary stone disease between 2003 and 2015 were analyzed retrospectively.

TOX-expressing terminally exhausted tumor-infiltrating CD8 T cells are reinvigorated by co-blockade of PD-1 and TIGIT in bladder cancer.

Exhausted T cells in the tumor microenvironment are major targets of immunotherapies. However, the exhaustion status of CD8 tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in bladder cancer has not been comprehensively evaluated. Herein, we examined distinct exhaustion status of CD8 TILs based on the level of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and thymocyte selection-associated high mobility group box protein (TOX) expression in urothelial bladder cancer.

Parathyroid hormone is associated with prostate cancer.

Background: The present study investigated the association of serum parathyroid hormone (PTH), vitamin D, and calcium levels with prostate cancer (CaP).

Methods: The study population consisted of an experimental group [459 patients including 216 patients with CaP and 243 patients with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH)] and a prostatectomy group (47 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy). Patients with serum creatinine levels >1.

Intraoperative allogeneic blood transfusion is associated with adverse oncological outcomes in patients with surgically treated non-metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Background: The objective of this study was to provide more definitive information about the prognostic impact of perioperative blood transfusion (PBT) on patients with surgically treated renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Methods: A database of 4019 patients with clear cell RCC, all of whom underwent radical or partial nephrectomy as primary therapy as part of a multi-institutional Korean collaboration between 1988 and 2015, was analyzed retrospectively. PBT was defined as transfusion of allogeneic red blood cells during surgery or postsurgical period.

A Low Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index is Associated with Aggressive Pathologic Characteristics and Poor Survival after Nephrectomy in Clear Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

To investigated the prognostic significance of the geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) in patients with surgically treated clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). We retrospectively selected 4,591 consecutive patients with surgically treated ccRCC from a multi-institutional Korean collaboration between 1988 and 2015. The clinical significance of the GNRI as a continuous and categorical variable was determined.

ZNF492 and GPR149 methylation patterns as prognostic markers for clear cell renal cell carcinoma: Array‑based DNA methylation profiling.

The present study aimed to identify novel methylation markers of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) using microarray methylation analysis and evaluate their prognostic relevance in patient samples. To identify cancer‑specific methylated biomarkers, microarray profiling of ccRCC samples from our institute (n=12) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database (n=160) were utilized, and the prognostic relevance of candidate genes were investigated in another TCGA dataset (n=153). For validation, pyrosequencing analyses with ccRCC samples from our institute (n=164) and another (n=117) were performed and the potential clinical application of selected biomarkers was examined.

Methylation Signature for Prediction of Progression Free Survival in Surgically Treated Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Background: Little is known about epigenetic silencing of genes by promoter hypermethylation in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The aim of this study was to identify prognostic methylation markers in surgically treated clear cell RCC (ccRCC).

Methods: Methylation patterns were assayed using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip array on pairs of ccRCC and normal tissue from 12 patients.

Trends in clinical, operative, and pathologic characteristics of surgically treated renal mass in a Korean center: A surgical series from 1988 through 2015.

Purpose: To analyze trends over a period of 28 years in the clinical, operative, and pathologic characteristics of patients with a renal mass who underwent surgical resection in Korea.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive patients (n=6,231) with a renal mass who underwent surgical resection at eight Korean institutions between 1988 and 2015 were reviewed. Patients were assigned to one of three groups according to the date of surgery: group 1, 1988-1999; group 2, 2000-2009; and group 3, 2010-2015.

Twenty-four-hour urine osmolality as a representative index of adequate hydration and a predictor of recurrence in patients with urolithiasis.

Purpose: To determine the value of 24-h urine osmolality (UOsm) as a representative index of adequate hydration and predictor of stone recurrence in patients with urolithiasis.

Methods: Medical records of consecutive patients presenting with renal or ureteric stones between 1994 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were grouped according to the results of 24-h UOsm (low ≤ 564 mOsm/kg HO, high > 564 mOsm/kg HO).

Urinary Cell-Free DNA IQGAP3/BMP4 Ratio as a Prognostic Marker for Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.

Background: Disease monitoring in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients is crucial for early identification of disease recurrence and progression. High IQGAP3/BMP4 and IQGAP3/FAM107A ratios in urinary cell-free DNA (ucfDNA) are a diagnostic biomarker for bladder cancer. We aimed to investigate whether the levels of these biomarkers in ucfDNA can be used to monitor disease recurrence or progression in patients with NMIBC.

Prognostic Impact of Nutritional Status Assessed by the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) Score in Patients with Surgically Treated Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Purpose: The prognostic role of the controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has not been evaluated. The aim of the current study was to clarify the prognostic significance of the CONUT score in Korean patients with surgically treated RCC.

Materials And Methods: A database of 1,881 patients with surgically treated RCC from a multiinstitutional Korean collaboration between 1999 and 2015 was analyzed.

The Anticancer Effects of Garlic Extracts on Bladder Cancer Compared to Cisplatin: A Common Mechanism of Action via Centromere Protein M.

Although garlic induces apoptosis in cancer cells, it is unclear whether the effects are similar to those of cisplatin against bladder cancer (BC). Therefore, this study investigated whether garlic extracts and cisplatin show similar activity when used to treat BC. The effect of garlic on T24 BC cell line was examined in a BALB/C-nude mouse xenograft model and compared with that of cisplatin.

Urinary cell-free nucleic acid IQGAP3: a new non-invasive diagnostic marker for bladder cancer.

Background: There is growing interest in developing new non-invasive diagnostic tools for bladder cancer (BC) that have better sensitivity and specificity than cystoscopy and cytology. This study examined the value of urinary cell-free nucleic acid (NA) as a diagnostic marker for BC.

Material And Methods: A total of 81 patients (74 BC and 7 normal controls) were used for a tissue set, and 212 patients (92 BC and 120 normal controls) were used as a urine set.

Genetic variation of the PSCA gene (rs2294008) is not associated with the risk of prostate cancer.

Prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA) is a cell-membrane glycoprotein consisting of 123 amino acids and highly expressed in the prostate, but there have been few reports on the relationship between rs2294008 ofPSCA and prostate cancer in the literature. Therefore, we evaluated the association between rs2294008 and the risk of prostate cancer. A total of 240 prostate cancer patients and 306 controls (patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia) were enrolled.

Low preoperative serum cholesterol level is associated with aggressive pathologic features and poor cancer-specific survival in patients with surgically treated renal cell carcinoma.

Background: The prognostic implications of preoperative serum total cholesterol (TC) level in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remain poorly understood. We investigated the prognostic role of preoperative serum TC in patients with surgically treated RCC from a large, multi-institutional Korean collaboration.

Patients And Methods: A database of 3064 patients with RCC who underwent radical or partial nephrectomy between 1999 and 2011 at eight academic centers was analyzed.

Long-term validation of a molecular progression-associated gene classifier for prediction of muscle invasion in primary non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Our previous study reported a clinically applicable prognostic gene classifier for primary non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). The present study aimed to perform long-term validation of this classifier in the prediction of muscle-invasive disease. Previously published gene expression profiles were used from 176 patients with NMIBC with extended follow-up.

Chronological Trends in Clinical and Urinary Metabolic Features over 20 Years in Korean Urolithiasis Patients.

Urolithiasis is common and is becoming more prevalent worldwide. This study assessed the chronological trends in clinical and urinary metabolic features over 20 years in Korean urolithiasis patients. We performed a retrospective analysis of 4,076 patients treated at our clinic from 1996 to 2015.

Change in Prostate Specific Antigen Concentration in Men with Prostate Specific Antigen Less than 2.5 ng/ml Taking Low Dose Finasteride or Dutasteride for Male Androgenetic Alopecia.

Purpose: In this retrospective cohort study we assessed the effect on prostate specific antigen concentration of low dose finasteride or dutasteride treatment for male androgenetic alopecia in men with baseline serum prostate specific antigen less than 2.5 ng/ml.

Materials And Methods: The cohort consisted of 1,379 consecutive male patients who were treated for androgenetic alopecia with finasteride 1.

Garlic extract in bladder cancer prevention: Evidence from T24 bladder cancer cell xenograft model, tissue microarray, and gene network analysis.

There is a growing interest in the use of naturally occurring agents in cancer prevention. This study investigated the garlic extract affects in bladder cancer (BC) prevention. The effect of garlic extract in cancer prevention was evaluated using the T24 BC BALB/C-nude mouse xenograft model.