Incidence trends and survival outcomes of penile squamous cell carcinoma: evidence from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results population-based data.

BACKGROUND: To provide the latest incidence trends and explore survival outcomes of penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) patients with or without a previous primary malignancy. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with PSCC between 1975 and 2016 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were retrospectively included. Then, we calculated the age-adjusted incidence rates (IRs) and annual percentage changes (APCs). Multivariate Cox analysis and Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival curves were conducted to investigate prognostic variables for cancer-specific survival (CSS). RESULTS: A total of 6,122 PSCC patients were enrolled, 1,137 of whom had a prior malignancy. The age-adjusted IR for the general population in men declined before 1987, fluctuated slightly between 1987 and 1997, and showed an upward trend after 1997, which was basically consistent with that in patients without a previous primary malignancy. The incidence trend of PSCC in the general population was similar with that in those without a previous malignancy. However, the IRs of PSCC in men with a previous malignancy have been increasing since 1975 regardless of race. Furthermore, age at diagnosis, pathological grade, extent of disease, marital status, the administration of surgery and presence of previous primary malignancy were identified to be significantly related to CSS. CONCLUSIONS: The IRs of PSCC have been increasing in recent years. Several independent prognostic factors for CSS were identified, allowing surgeons to assess the individualized risk in advance.

Coordinated microRNA/mRNA expression profiles reveal a putative mechanism of corneal epithelial cell transdifferentiation from skin epidermal stem cells.

Skin epidermal stem cells (SESCs), which share a single origin with corneal epithelial cells (CECs), are considered to be one of the most ideal seed cells for the construction of tissue engineered corneas. However, the mechanism underlying the transdifferentiation of SESCs to CECs has not been fully elucidated. In the present study, to identify critical microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) and genes that regulate the transdifferentiation of SESCs to CECs, SESCs and CECs were collected from sheep and used for small RNA sequencing and mRNA microarray analyses. Among the differentially expressed miRNAs and genes, 36 miRNAs were downregulated and 123 genes were upregulated in the CECs compared with those in the SESCs. miR­10b exhibited the largest change in expression between the cell types. Target genes of the 36 downregulated miRNAs were predicted and a computational approach demonstrated that these target genes may be involved in several signaling pathways, including the 'PI3K signaling pathway', the 'Wnt signaling pathway' and the 'MAPK signaling pathway', as well as in 'focal adhesion'. Comparison of these target genes to the 123 upregulated genes identified 43 intersection genes. A regulatory network of these 43 intersection genes and its correlative miRNAs were constructed, and three genes (dedicator of cytokinesis 9, neuronal differentiation 1 and activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule) were found to have high interaction frequencies. The expression levels of 7 randomly selected miRNAs and the 3 intersection genes were further validated by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. It was found that miR­10b, the Wnt signaling pathway and the 3 intersection genes may act together and serve a critical role in the transdifferentiation process. This study identified miRNAs and genes that were expressed in SESCs and CECs that may assist in uncovering its underlying molecular mechanism, as well as promote corneal tissue engineering using epidermal stem cells for clinical applications.