Background: An association between lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and risk of sexual dysfunction in male remains controversial in recent decades.Materials and Methods: PubMed and Web of Science were searched up to October 28, 2020, for articles reporting the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in men with LUTS. The main outcomes were results from sexual dysfunction assessments. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. The quality assessment of the included studies was performed by using The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) or JBI Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-MAStARI).Results: A total of 24 full-manuscript papers met the inclusion criteria. The pooled OR for 21 studies suggested that patients with severer LUTS had a higher risk of sexual dysfunction (OR = 3.31, 95% CI: 2.43 to 4.49, p < 0.001, I² = 90%). A significant decrease in scores of assessment tools for sexual dysfunction was observed in the patients with higher severity of LUTS compared with those patients with lower severity (WMD = −5.49, 95%CI: −7.25 to −3.27, P < 0.001, I² = 96%). Similar outcomes were also found in subgroup analyses. In a detailed analysis of specific sexual function domains, the severity of LUTS was associated with erectile dysfunction, intercourse satisfaction, and overall satisfaction, except for sexual desire.Conclusion: The study demonstrates an association between exposure of lower urinary tract symptoms and risk of sexual dysfunction in male. Assessment of sexual function is necessary for patients with lower urinary tract symptoms.Systematic Review Registration:http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero, identifier: CRD42020208747.

Dysregulation of transcription factors contributes to the carcinogenesis and progression of cancers. However, their roles in clear cell renal cell carcinoma remain largely unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of TFs and investigate their potential molecular mechanisms in ccRCC. Data were accessed from the cancer genome atlas kidney clear cell carcinoma cohort. Bioinformatics algorithm was used in copy number alterations mutations, and differentially expressed TFs’ analysis. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to identify clinically significant TFs and construct a six-TF prognostic panel. TFs’ expression was validated in human tissues. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was utilized to find enriched cancer hallmark pathways. Functional experiments were conducted to verify the cancer-promoting effect of BARX homeobox 1 (BARX1) and distal-less homeobox 4 (DLX4) in ccRCC, and Western blot was performed to explore their downstream pathways. As for results, many CNAs and mutations were identified in transcription factor genes. TFs were differentially expressed in ccRCC. An applicable predictive panel of six-TF genes was constructed to predict the overall survival for ccRCC patients, and its diagnostic efficiency was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC). BARX1 and DLX4 were associated with poor prognosis, and they could promote the proliferation and migration of ccRCC. In conclusion, the six-TF panel can be used as a prognostic biomarker for ccRCC patients. BARX1 and DLX4 play oncogenic roles in ccRCC via promoting proliferation and epithelial–mesenchymal transition. They have the potential to be novel therapeutic targets for ccRCC.

Introduction: The thulium laser resection of bladder tumors (TmLRBT) was increasingly used in the treatment of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) recently, and here we report the relevant outcomes of our institution to evaluate its efficacy and safety. Methods: We retrospectively collected the data of NMIBC patients who underwent either TmLRBT or transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT). The baseline characteristics and perioperative outcomes were compared in these 2 groups. Results: The TmLRBT had a higher rate of detrusor identification than TURBT (97.4 vs. 87.6%, p = 0.001). After screening, 134 patients who underwent TmLRBT and 152 patients who received TURBT were enrolled in the analysis, and their baseline characteristics were similar. During the TURBT, 24 (15.8%) obturator nerve reflexes and 9 (5.9%) bladder perforations occurred, while none happened during the TmLRBT. After surgery, TmLRBT patients had fewer postoperative gross hematuria (38.1 vs. 96.7%, p < 0.001) and postoperative irrigation (27.6 vs. 92.7%, p < 0.001), and its irrigation duration was significantly shorter (2.3 vs. 3.3 day, p < 0.001). During the follow-up, no significant difference in the recurrence rate was detected (p = 0.315). Conclusions: TmLRBT is a safer technique than conventional TURBT in the treatment of NMIBC, and it could offer better specimens for pathologic assessment while the cancer control was not compromised.

Objective This review aimed to confirm the association between ambient temperature and incidence of urolithiasis and evaluate the impact thereof. Methods A systematic literature review was performed up to September 2019 using multiple databases. The effect of temperature on urolithiasis risk was assessed using risk ratio (RR). Pearson correlation coefficient (Pearson’s r) was used to evaluate the linear association between ambient temperature and urolithiasis incidence. The non-linear association between climatic temperature and the urolithiasis incidence was also evaluated. Results Twenty-four studies related to the temperature and urolithiasis risk in 14 different countries or regions of five continent involving over 2.5 million cases were included in the meta-analysis. High climatic or workplace temperature was a significant risk factor of urolithiasis. The weighted correlation coefficient (Pearson’s r) of monthly temperature and urolithiasis risk was 0.49 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.40–0.57], a moderate correlation (0.4<r<0.6). According to non-linear models, as the daily temperature increases by 5 °C, the risk of urolithiasis will increase by 10% (95% CI 8–11%). Conclusion Both workplace and climatic temperatures are related to the incidence of urolithiasis. Public health intervention strategies need to be developed to prevent those in high-risk districts or occupations from being exposed to high ambient temperature.