Treating Multifocal Ureteral Strictures with Combined Techniques: 14 Cases of Initial Experience.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and feasibility of lingual mucosal graft ureteroplasty (LMGU) combined with ureteral reimplantation (UR) for repairing managing multifocal ureteral strictures (MUS). Methods: Between December 2020 and December 2022, 14 patients underwent LMGU combined with UR. Their perioperative data were collected retrospectively and analyzed. For the proximal diseased ureter, the narrow segment was incised longitudinally to open the ventral wall of ureter, and a lingual mucosal graft was placed as an onlay graft. Meanwhile, UR was applied to treat distal ureteral strictures. Results: Of 14 patients, three (21.4%) had previously undergone a failed ureteral reconstruction. The mean (standard deviation [SD]) proximal stricture length was 4.0 cm (1.56), and distal ureteral stricture length was 4.3 cm (0.94). The mean (SD) operative time was 236 minutes (57), the estimated blood loss was 78 mL (41.5), and the length of postoperative stay was 6 days. One (7%) patient underwent double LMGU to treat proximal 2 segments of ureteral stricture. No open conversions and intraoperative complications occurred. With a mean follow-up of 15 months (range 6-29), the recurrence-free rate was 14/14 (100%). Conclusions: LMGU combined with UR is a feasible and effective technique for managing MUS and can be an alternative to ileal ureteral replacement or renal autotransplantation in some selected patients with MUS.

The relationship between serum albumin and prostate-specific antigen: A analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2010.

Background: Previous studies have shown that serum albumin is associated with prostate cancer (PCa), but not with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in populations without PCa history. Therefore, we analyzed secondary data provided by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (2003-2010). Methods: In total, 5,469 participants were selected from the NHANES database (2003-2010). Serum albumin and PSA levels were serially considered independent and dependent variables, serially. A number of covariates were included in this study, including demographic, dietary, physical examination, and comorbidity data. Using weighted linear regression model and smooth curve fitting, the linear and non-linear relationship between serum albumin and PSA was investigated. Results: After modulating underlying interference factors, the weighted multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that serum albumin did not independently predict PSA levels (ß = -0.009 95%CI: -0.020, 0.002). Nevertheless, a non-linear relationship was found between serum albumin and PSA, with a point of 41 g/L. Left of the inflection point, the effect size, 95%CI, and P-value were 0.019 (log2 transformation) (-0.006, 0.043) and 0.1335, respectively. We found a negative association between serum albumin and PSA on the right side of the inflection point, with effect size, 95%CI, and a P-value of -0.022 (log2 transformation) (-0.037, -0.007), 0.0036. Conclusion: In summary, serum albumin and PSA levels are not linearly related. When serum albumin levels exceed 41 g, serum albumin levels are negatively associated with PSA levels.

Lingual Mucosal Graft Ureteroplasty for Long Proximal Ureteral Stricture: 6 Years of Experience with 41 Cases.

BACKGROUND: Management of a long proximal ureteral stricture is challenging. Lingual mucosal graft ureteroplasty (LMGU) is a novel minimally invasive technique for ureteral reconstruction that avoids the morbidity of bowel interposition or autotransplantation. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of LMGU for managing long, complex proximal ureteral strictures in a multi-institutional cohort of patients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective study involved data for 41 patients treated with LMGU at three centers between June 2015 and January 2021. SURGICAL PROCEDURE: LMGU was performed using either an onlay ureteroplasty in which the diseased ureter was incised ventrally and repaired with a lingual mucosal graft (LMG) to widen the ureteral lumen, or an augmented anastomotic technique in which the obliterated segment of the ureter was excised and reanastomosed primarily on dorsal side, and an LMG was placed on the ventral side. MEASUREMENTS: Pre-, intra-, and postoperative variables and outcomes were assessed. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Of 41patients, 40 were operated with laparoscopic procedures and one with a robot. Twenty-four (59%) patients underwent an onlay ureteroplasty, and 17 (41%) underwent an augmented anastomotic ureteroplasty. The reconstructed ureter was wrapped with omentum in 90% of cases. The median (range) stricture length was 4.8 cm (2.0-8.0), operative time was 166 min (98-306), and estimated blood loss was 65 ml (15-220). No open conversions and intraoperative complications occurred. At a median follow-up of 35 mo (range 13-80), the overall success rate was 97.6% (40/41). CONCLUSIONS: LMGU is a safe, feasible, and effective long-term technique for managing long, complex proximal ureteral strictures. PATIENT SUMMARY: We reported a novel technique for long proximal complex ureteral strictures using an onlay lingual mucosal graft (LMG). Our 6-yr outcomes demonstrate that onlay LMG ureteroplasty is a safe, feasible, and effective long-term procedure for ureteral reconstruction.

Erratum: RNA interference-mediated depletion of TRPM8 enhances the efficacy of epirubicin chemotherapy in prostate cancer LNCaP and PC3 cells.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3892/ol.2018.7847.].

Comprehensive Characterization of Common and Cancer-Specific Differently Expressed lncRNAs in Urologic Cancers.

Urologic cancers, comprising prostate carcinoma (PCa), renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and bladder carcinoma (BCa), were the commonly occurred carcinoma amid males. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) with the length of more than 200 nt functioned importantly in physiological and pathological advancement. Nevertheless, further investigation regarding lncRNA expression feature and function in urologic cancers should be essential. This study is aimed at uncovering the roles of the differently expressed lncRNAs in urologic cancers. The data of gene expression levels was downloaded from lncRNAtor datasets. The lncRNA expression pattern existing in different urologic cancers was assessed by hierarchical clustering analysis. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and KEGG pathway analysis were separately applied to evaluate the biological function and process and the biological pathways involving differently expressed lncRNAs. Our results indicated that 18 lncRNA expressions were increased, and 16 lncRNA expressions were reduced in urologic cancers after comparison with that in normal tissues. Moreover, our results demonstrated 61, 422, 137, and 281 lncRNAs were specifically dysregulated in bladder cancer (BLCA), kidney renal clear cell cancer (KIRC), kidney renal papillary cell cancer (KIRP), and prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD), respectively. Bioinformatics analysis showed that differently expressed lncRNAs displayed crucially in urologic cancers. The prognostic value of common and cancer-specific differently expressed lncRNAs, such as PVT1, in cancer outcomes, was emphasized here. Our research has deeply unearthed the mechanism of differently expressed lncRNAs in urologic cancers development.

miR-192 Is Overexpressed and Promotes Cell Proliferation in Prostate Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most prevalent types of cancer among men worldwide. The incidence of PCa is increasing in China. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify novel diagnostic and prognostic markers for PCa to improve the treatment of the disease. METHODS: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GEO database were used to analyze the expression of miR-192, and the relationship between miR-192 and the clinical features of patients with PCa. Cell cycle and cell proliferation assay were used to detect the functional roles of miR-192 in PCa. Bioinformatic analysis for miR-192-5p was performed using gene ontology and KEGG analysis. RESULTS: By analyzing the dataset of TCGA, we found that miR-192 was overexpressed in PCa samples compared to normal tissues and was upregulated in high-grade PCa compared to low-grade PCa. We also observed that higher miR-192 expression was associated with a shorter biochemical recurrence-free survival time. Our results also demonstrated that miR-192 promoted PCa cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that miR-192 may be considered for use as a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target of PCa.

RNA interference-mediated depletion of TRPM8 enhances the efficacy of epirubicin chemotherapy in prostate cancer LNCaP and PC3 cells.

Several studies have shown that transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 8 (TRPM8), which has been regarded as a novel prostate-specific marker, serves a key role in processes such as the proliferation, viability and cell migration of prostate cancer cells. Efforts have been made to uncover the potential role of targeting TRPM8 in the management of prostate cancer; it has been verified that TRPM8-targeted blockade, either by RNA interference-mediated depletion or specific TRPM8 inhibitors, could reduce the rate of proliferation and proliferative fraction, and induce apoptosis in prostate cancer cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of knockdown of TRPM8 on chemosensitivity in prostate cancer LNCaP and PC3 cells. The RNA interference-mediated depletion of TRPM8 inhibited proliferation and enhanced epirubicin chemosensitivity of LNCaP and PC3 cells, and promoted epirubicin-induced apoptosis by increasing the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (hereafter p38) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways, which was demonstrated via the use of specific inhibitors of phosphorylation of p38 and JNK. The results demonstrate that the targeted silencing of TRPM8 expression is a therapeutic strategy for treatment of prostate cancer that has considerable potential, even for castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Silencing of RTKN2 by siRNA suppresses proliferation, and induces G1 arrest and apoptosis in human bladder cancer cells.

Human bladder cancer is the most common urological malignancy in China. One of the causes of carcinogenesis in the cancer may be gene mutation. Therefore, the present study investigated the expression levels of Rhotekin 2 (RTKN2), a Rho effector protein, in human bladder cancer tissues and cell lines, and examined the effect of RTKN2 on the proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis and invasion of human bladder cancer cell lines. The mRNA expression levels of RTKN2 in 30 human bladder cancer tissue samples were significantly higher, compared with those in 30 normal human bladder tissue samples. The protein expression levels of RTKN2 was markedly higher in T24 and 5637 cells, compared with those in four other human bladder cancer cell lines. The silencing of RTKN2 by small interfering (si)RNA inhibited cell proliferation and arrested cell cycle at the G1 phase, via reducing the expression levels of the MCM10, CDK2, CDC24A and CDC6 cell cycle­associated proteins in the T24 and 5637 cells. Furthermore, RTKN2 knockdown in the cells led to cell apoptosis and the suppression of invasion. These results suggested that RTKN2 is involved in the carcinogenesis and progression of human bladder cancer, indicating that RTKN2 may be a molecular target in cancer therapy.

Role of WISP3 siRNA in proliferation, apoptosis and invasion of bladder cancer cells.

Bladder cancer (BC) is the most common cancers of the urinary tract worldwide, killing thousands of people a year. WISP3 is a cysteine-rich protein that belongs to the CCN (Cyr61, CTGF, Nov) family of proteins. Increasing evidences have linked abnormal levels of CCN family members to tumorigenic effects. In the present study, we found that WISP3 was overexpressed in BC. Knockdown of WISP3by RNA interference in two BC cell lines (5367 and SCaBER cells) significantly inhibited cell proliferation, which may be mediated by cell cycle arrest in G1 phase. Moreover, silencing of WISP3 also induced cell apoptosis via increasing the expression of caspase 3 and caspase 9. Depletion of WISP3 notably inhibited the invasion of BC cells. Our data suggests that inhibition of WISP3 may be a therapeutic strategy for BC.