Shoji Kimura

We aimed to investigate the roles of tripartite motif (TRIM) proteins in urological cancers. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to investigate the oncological role of tripartite motif proteins in urological cancers. Results: A total of 84 articles were identified for the final analysis (26 articles on kidney cancers, 19 on bladder cancers, 37 on prostate cancers, and 1 on testicular cancers). In total, 27 TRIM family proteins were involved in kidney cancer, of which 9 were associated with tumor-promoting findings (TRIM24, TRIM27, TRIM37, TRIM44, TRIM46, TRIM47, TRIM59, TRIM63, and TRIM65) and of which 9 TRIM proteins were tumor-suppressive (TRIM2, TRIM7, TRIM8, TRIM13, TRIM21, TRIM26, TRIM28, TRIM33, and TRIM58). Fourteen TRIM family proteins were associated with bladder cancer (tumor-promoting: TRIM9, TRIM25, TRIM26, TRIM28, TRIM29, TRIM59, TRIM65, and TRIM66; tumor-suppressive: TRIM19 and TRIM38). Ten TRIM family proteins were associated with prostate cancer (tumor-promoting: TRIM11, TRIM24, TRIM28, TRIM33, TRIM44, TRIM59, TRIM63, TRIM66, and TRIM68; tumor-suppressive: TRIM32 and TRIM36). Twenty-eight TRIM family proteins were identified to be associated with prostate cancer (tumor-promoting: TRIM11, TRIM24, TRIM28, TRIM33, TRIM44, TRIM59, TRIM63, TRIM66, and TRIM68; tumor-suppressive: TRIM32 and TRIM36). TRIM proteins regulate urological cancers by ubiquitination or modulation of oncologic pathways. Conclusions: This review identifies TRIM proteins that are involved in urological cancers. Some of these proteins have the potential to be the therapeutic target.

Background There is sparse evidence regarding optimal management and prognosticators for oncologic outcomes in patients with clinical node positive (cN+) upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the data from 105 UTUC patients with cN1-2M0 between June 2010 and June 2022 at multiple institutions affiliated with our university. At the time of diagnosis, all patients received standard-of-care treatment including radical nephroureterectomy (RNU), chemotherapy, and/or palliative care. We employed a Cox regression model to analyze the prognostic importance of various factors on overall survival (OS). Results Of 105 patients, 54 (51%) underwent RNU, while 51 (49%) did not. RNU was likely to be selected in younger and healthy patients, resulting in better median OS in patients who underwent RNU than in those who did not (42 months vs. 15 months, p < 0.001). Multivariable analysis among the entire cohort revealed that low G8 score (≤ 14) (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.20, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15–4.23), elevated pretreatment C-reactive protein (CRP) (HR: 3.28, 95%CI: 1.59–6.76), and failure to perform RNU (HR: 2.27, 95%CI: 1.11–4.76) were independent prognostic factors for worse OS. In the subgroup analyses of cohorts who underwent RNU and those who did not, elevated pretreatment CRP was the only common independent prognostic factor for worse OS in cN + UTUC patients. Conclusions RNU seems to be a reasonable treatment option in cN + UTUC patients where applicable. Elevated pretreatment CRP appears to be a strong prognosticator of worse OS and may be helpful in optimizing candidate selection for intensified treatment in this setting.

We aimed to assess the clinical, oncological, and pathological impact of en bloc resection of bladder tumors (ERBT) compared with conventional transurethra

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among men worldwide

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the prognostic value of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) persistence 4–8 weeks after radical prostatectomy (RP) in patients with prostate cancer, using studies from Medline, Scopus, and Cochrane Library, on 10 October 2020. Studies were eligible if they compared patients with postoperative PSA persistence 4–8 weeks after RP to those without such persistence to assess the value of PSA persistence in prognosticating biochemical recurrence (BCR), disease recurrence, cancer-specific mortality (CSM), and overall mortality (OM) by multivariable analysis. Our review and analysis included nine studies published between 2008 and 2019 with 14,455 patients. Of those studies, 12.0% showed postoperative PSA persistence. PSA persistence was associated with BCR (HR: 4.44, 95% CI: 2.84–6.93), disease recurrence (HR: 3.43, 95% CI: 1.62–7.25), and CSM (HR: 2.32, 95% CI: 1.83–2.95). We omitted meta-analysis on the association of PSA persistence with OM due to an insufficient number of studies. PSA persistence was associated with disease recurrence in a sub-group of patients with pathological nodal involvement (HR: 5.90, 95% CI: 3.76–9.24). Understanding detection of PSA persistence at 4–8 weeks after RP might be useful for patient counseling, follow-up scheduling, and clinical decision-making regarding adjuvant therapies.