Development and Verification of Prognostic Nomogram for Penile Cancer Based on the SEER Database.

Aim: We aimed to establish a prognostic nomogram for penile cancer (PC) patients based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) database. Methods: Data from 1643 patients between 2010 and 2015 were downloaded and extracted from the SEER database. They were randomly divided into the development group (70%) and the verification group (30%), and then, univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression, respectively, was used to explore the possible risk factors of PC. The factors significantly related to overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were used to establish the nomogram, which was assessed via the concordance index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and calibration curve. An internal validation was conducted to test the accuracy and effectiveness of the nomogram. Kaplan-Meier calculation was used to predict the further OS and CSS status of these patients. Results: On multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression, the independent prognostic risk factors associated with OS were age, race, marital status, N/M stage, surgery, surgery of lymph nodes, and histologic type, with a moderate C-index of 0.737 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.713-0.760) and 0.766 (95% CI: 0.731-0.801) in the development and verification groups, respectively. The areas under the ROC (AUC) of 3- and 5-year OS were 0.749 and 0.770, respectively. While marital status, N/M stage, surgery, surgery of lymph nodes, and histologic type were significantly linked to PC patients' CSS, which have better C-index of 0.802 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.771-0.833) and 0.82 (95% CI: 0.775-0.865) in the development and verification groups, and the AUC of 3- and 5-year CSS were 0.766 and 0.787. Both of the survival calibration curves of 3- and 5-year OS and CSS brought out a high consistency. Conclusion: Our study produced a satisfactory nomogram revealing the survival of PC patients, which could be helpful for clinicians to assess the situation of PC patients and to implement further treatment.

Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis to Construct Competitive Endogenous RNA Network in Chromogenic Renal Cell Carcinoma.

AIM: This study is aimed at constructing the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network in chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (ChRCC). METHODS: Clinical and RNA sequence profiles of patients with ChRCC, including messenger RNAs (mRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. "edgeR" and "clusterProfiler" packages were utilized to obtain the expression matrices of differential RNAs (DERNAs) and to conduct gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to screen the highly related RNAs, and miRcode, StarBase, miRTarBase, miRDB, and TargetScan datasets were used to predict the connections between them. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regressions were performed in turn to elucidate prognosis-related mRNAs in order to construct the ceRNA regulatory network. RESULTS: A total of 1628 DElncRNAs, 104 DEmiRNAs, and 2619 DEmRNAs were identified. WGCNA showed significant correlation in 1534 DElncRNAs, 98 DEmiRNAs, and 2543 DEmRNAs, which were related to ChRCC. Fourteen DEmiRNAs, 113 DElncRNAs, and 43 DEmRNAs were screened. Nine mRNAs (ALPL, ARHGAP29, CADM2, KIT, KLRD1, MYBL1, PSD3, SFRP1, and SLC7A11) significantly contributed to the overall survival (OS) of patients with ChRCC (P < 0.05). Furthermore, two mRNAs (CADM2 and SFRP1) appeared to be independent risk factors for ChRCC. CONCLUSION: The findings revealed the molecular mechanism of ChRCC and potential therapeutic targets for the disease.

[Spatial distribution and contamination evaluation of heavy metals in the intertidal surface sediments of Eastern Chongming].

Using the ArcGIS geostatistical analysis module, this work investigated the spatial distribution pattern of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd) and their deposition fluxes in the intertidal surface sediments of Eastern Chongming based on the analysis of grain size, heavy metal concentrations and organic carbon content. The spatial interpolation (Kriging) was performed to estimate the deposition fluxes, and the contamination status of heavy metals was evaluated using geoaccumulation index and potential ecological risk index. The results showed that the average contents of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr and Cd were 42, 27, 69, 71 and 0.23 microg x g(-1), respectively, all of which exceeded the background value in the Shanghai tidal flat. The contents of heavy metals showed a landward as well as northward increasing trend due to the influences of sediment grain size and organic carbon content. The annual deposition of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr and Cd in Eastern Chongming were 187, 121, 395, 312 and 1.04 t, respectively; the total deposition flux of these heavy metals was 11 g x (m2 x a)-1. Although the overall contamination level of heavy metals in Eastern Chongming was relatively low, Cd, Pb and Cu had a potential pollution threat to the sediment environment.