Lasers versus bipolar technology in the transurethral treatment of benign prostatic enlargement: a systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative studies.

PURPOSE: To systematically review studies comparing the overall efficacy and safety of lasers and bipolar technology for the transurethral treatment of benign prostatic enlargement (BPE). METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was completed in February 2018. Studies with comparative data between different lasers and bipolar technologies (enucleation or resection) were included in this review. A meta-analysis was performed using STATA 14.0, and subgroup analyses were also performed regarding the type of laser (holmium, thulium, green light and diode). RESULTS: 27 studies with 31 published articles (4382 patients) were selected for the meta-analysis. Compared with bipolar technology, lasers demonstrated shorter catheterization duration (standardized mean difference (SMD): 1.44; 95% CI 1.07-1.81; p < 0.001) and shorter hospital stay (SMD: 1.16; 95% CI 0.83-1.49; p < 0.001), and a smaller drop in hemoglobin (Hb) level (SMD: 0.86; 95% CI 0.47-1.26; p < 0.001). However, significant heterogeneity was detected in the studies and statistical significance was lost on sub-analyses. Furthermore, there were no significant differences between lasers and bipolar technology in the maximum flow rate (Qmax) and international prostate symptom score (IPSS) at a minimum of 3 months after treatment. Complications, including urethral stricture, urinary incontinence, urinary tract infection, re-catheterization and blood transfusion, did not significantly differ between lasers and bipolar technology. CONCLUSION: Early efficacy and safety profiles were comparable between bipolar and laser treatments. Differences were observed in terms of smaller reduction in Hb, shorter catheterization duration and shorter hospital stay in favor of lasers. However, the smaller reduction in Hb, with lasers, did not translate into reduced transfusion requirements. Furthermore, there was significant heterogeneity in the studies and, in subgroup analyses, the differences were not statistically significant.

Mettl14 inhibits bladder TIC self-renewal and bladder tumorigenesis through N6-methyladenosine of Notch1.

BACKGROUND: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) emerges as one of the most important modification of RNA. Bladder cancer is a common cancer type in developed countries, and hundreds of thousands of bladder cancer patients die every year. MATERIALS AND METHODS: There are various cells in bladder tumor bulk, and a small population cells defined as tumor initiating cells (TIC) have self-renewal and differentiation capacities. Bladder TICs drive bladder tumorigenesis and metastasis, and their activities are fine regulated. However, the role of N6-methyladenosine in bladder TIC self-renewal is unknown. RESULTS: Here, we found a decrease of N6-methyladenosine in bladder tumors and bladder TICs. N6-methyladenosine levels are related to clinical severity and outcome. Mettl14 is lowly expressed in bladder cancer and bladder TICs. Mettl14 knockout promotes the proliferation, self-renewal, metastasis and tumor initiating capacity of bladder TICs, and Mettl14 overexpression exerts an opposite role. Mettl14 and m6A modification participate in the RNA stability of Notch1 mRNA. Notch1 m6A modification inhibits its RNA stability. Notch1 plays an essential role in bladder tumorigenesis and bladder TIC self-renewal. CONCLUSION: This work reveals a novel role of Mettl14 and N6-methyladenosine in bladder tumorigenesis and bladder TICs, adding new layers for bladder TIC regulation and N6-methyladenosine function.

MicroRNA-212 inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of renal cell carcinoma by targeting X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP).

MicroRNAs have been found to be critical regulator of cancer cell biology. MicroRNA-212 (miR-212) was identified to be a critical cancer-associated microRNA playing either oncogenic functions or tumor suppressive roles in different types of human cancers. In this study, we found that the level of miR-212 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent non-tumor tissues. Decreased level of miR-212 was associated with advanced T stage and TNM stage of RCC. The expression of miR-212 was decreased in RCC cell lines as compared with the HK-2 cell line. Overexpression of miR-212 inhibited cell viability, proliferation, migration and invasion of CAKI-2 cells. Knockdown of miR-212 increased cell viability and proliferation, migration and invasion of ACHN cells. In vivo experiments showed that miR-212 inhibited the proliferation and promoted the apoptosis of ACHN cells in nude mice and thus inhibited the in vivo tumor growth of CAKI-2 cells. Furthermore, we confirmed that X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) was the downstream target of miR-212. The expression level of miR-212 was negatively correlated with XIAP expression in RCC tissues. Moreover, XIAP mediated the tumor suppressive roles of miR-212 in RCC. Finally, we demonstrated that the aberrant expression of miR-212 and XIAP was evidently correlated with poor prognosis of RCC patients. In all, miR-212 can act as a prognostic biomarker for RCC patients and inhibits the growth and metastasis of RCC cells by inhibiting XIAP.