Background: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is one of the most common malignancies. Recently, immunotherapy has been considered a promising treatment for metastatic ccRCC. NUF2 is a crucial component of the Ndc80 complex. NUF2 can stabilize microtubule attachment and is closely related to cell apoptosis and proliferation. This research is dedicated to investigating the role of NUF2 in ccRCC and the possible mechanisms. Methods: First, analysis of NUF2 mRNA expression levels in ccRCC and normal tissues by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and further verified by analysis of independent multiple microarray data sets in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Moreover, we evaluated and identified correlations between NUF2 expression, clinicopathologic variable, and overall survival (OS) in ccRCC by various methods. We investigated the relationship between NUF2 and tumor immune infiltration and the expression of corresponding immune cell markers via the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) and Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) databases. Then, we performed functional enrichment analysis of NUF2 co-expressed genes using R software and protein-protein interactions (PPIs) using the search tool used to retrieve interacting genes/proteins (STRING) databases. Results: We discovered that NUF2 mRNA expression was upregulated in ccRCC tissues and was associated with sex, grade, pathological stage, lymph node metastasis, and worse prognosis. In addition, NUF2 was positively linked to tumor immune cells in ccRCC. Moreover, NUF2 was closely related to genetic markers of different immune cells. Finally, functional enrichment and protein–protein interaction (PPI) analysis suggested that NUF2 and its closely related genes may be involved in the regulation of the cell cycle and mitosis. Our results suggested that NUF2 is correlated with a poor prognosis and immune infiltration in ccRCC.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate non-cancer causes of death and associated risk factors after bladder cancer (BC) diagnosis. Methods: Eligible BC patients were obtained from the SEER database. SEER*Stat software 8.3.9.2 was used to calculate the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs). The proportions of different non-cancer cause of death were calculated and analyzed in different follow-up periods. Multivariate competing risk model was used to analyze the risk factors for death of BC and non-cancer diseases. Results: In total, 240,954 BC patients were included and 106,092 patients experienced death, with 37,205 (35.07%), 13,208 (12.45%) and 55,679 (52.48%) patients experienced BC, other cancer and non-cancer disease-related deaths, respectively. Overall SMR for BC patients who died from non-cancer diseases was 2.42 (95% CI [2.40–2.44]). Cardiovascular diseases were the most common non-cancer cause of death, followed by respiratory diseases, diabetes mellitus, and infectious diseases. Multivariate competing risk analysis identified the following high-risk factors for non-cancer mortality: age > 60 years, male, whites, in situ stage, pathological type of transitional cell carcinoma, not receiving treatment (including surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation), and widowed. Conclusions: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading non-cancer cause of death in BC patients, followed by respiratory disease, diabetes mellitus and infectious diseases. Physicians should pay attention to the risk of death from these non-cancer diseases. Also, physicians should encourage patients to engage in more proactive self-surveillance and follow up.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk of cardiovascular mortality (CVM) among patients with bladder cancer (BC). Methods and Materials: Data were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database for patients who were diagnosed with BC by pathology between 2000 and 2016. The standardized mortality rate (SMR) was calculated based on reference data from the general population. Nelson–Aalen cumulative hazard curves were used to assess the risk of experiencing CVM in BC patients. Multivariate competing risk models were performed. Results: In total, data from 237,563 BC patients were obtained from the SEER database for further analysis, of which 21,822 patients experienced CVM; the overall SMR for CVM in BC patients was 1.16 (95% CI: 1.14–1.17). Age, race, sex, year of diagnosis, histologic type, summary stage, surgery, marital status, and college education level were independent predictors of CVM in patients with BC. Conclusions: Patients with BC have a significantly increased risk of experiencing CVM compared to the general population. Pre-identification of high-risk groups and cardiovascular protection interventions are important measures to effectively improve survival in this group of patients.

Wang S, et al. Investig Clin Urol. 2023 Apr;64:e29. https://doi.org/10.4111/icu.20230015

Background: Historically, there has been a lack of focus on the mortality rates of individuals with both diabetes and Bladder Bancer (BC). Our study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with death from Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in BC patients. Methods: Data was gathered from the SEER database on individuals who were diagnosed with BC between the years 2000 and 2017. Calculation of the Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR) was performed to determine the mortality rate of DM in patients from BC. Potential risk factors for DM mortality were identified by a multivariate competing risk model. Haz-ard Ratios (HR), with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were used to indicate the degree of associated risk. Results: A total of 217,230 BC patients' data were collected from the SEER database for analysis. Among them, 98,880 patients passed away, and 1,783 patients encountered DM mortality. The overall SMR for DM mortality in BC patients was 3.32 (95% CI: 3.17-3.48). Results indicated that SMR increased with increasing years but decreased with increasing follow-up time. Multivariate competing risk analysis shows that BC patients with the fol-lowing factors were at higher risk of developing DM mortality: advanced age, male, black, in situ tumor stage, early year of diagnosis, pathology type of transitional cell carcinoma, without chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and absence of spouse (including separated, di-vorced, widowed, and unmarried). Conclusion: Individuals diagnosed with BC are at a considerably elevated risk of mortality from DM compared to the general population. It is of the utmost importance to identify high-risk groups and implement effective interventions for DM in order to enhance the sur-vival rate among this patient population.