RAB20, a member of the RAS GTPase oncogene family, is overexpressed in several cancers with poor outcomes, promoting tumorigenesis and inducing genomic instability. Here, we performed comprehensive genomic sequencing on eight penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) and normal tissue pairs and found that RAB20 was upregulated in tumors, especially in metastatic lymph nodes. RAB20 overexpression in tumors was further verified by qPCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry of our newly established PSCC cell lines and paired tissues. The clinical significance of RAB20 was validated in 259 PSCC patients, the largest cohort to date, and high RAB20 expression positively correlated with the T, N, M status, extranodal extension, and clinical stage (all p < 0.01). RAB20 was an unfavorable independent prognostic indicator in the survival analysis (p = 0.011, HR = 2.090; 95% Cl: 1.183–4.692), and PSCC patients with high RAB20 expression experienced shorter 5-year cancer-specific survival times (p < 0.001). Furthermore, tumorigenesis assays demonstrated that RAB20 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and colony formation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. RAB20 depletion also induced PSCC cell cycle arrest at G2/M by increasing Chk1 expression and promoting cdc25c phosphorylation to reduce cdc2-cyclinB1 complex formation. Our study revealed an oncogenic role for RAB20 in promoting PSCC cell proliferation at the G2/M phase via the Chk1/cdc25c/cdc2-cyclinB1 pathway. Thus, RAB20 could be a promising prognostic biomarker of advanced PSCC with poor patient survival outcomes and could be a potential therapeutic target.

Background: Radical cystectomy and urinary diversion remains the standard surgical treatment for patients with muscle‐invasive or high‐risk or recurrent non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer. Although this approach prolongs patient survival remarkably, there are postoperative complications associated with urinary diversion. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of modified ileal conduit surgery for reducing early and late stoma‐ and ureteroileal anastomosis‐related complications, as compared with conventional ileal conduit urinary diversion. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the clinical data of bladder cancer patients treated with radical cystectomy and ileal conduit urinary diversion at Sun Yat‐sen University Cancer Center between January 1, 2000 and June 30, 2016. Ileal conduit was created by the conventional or a modified technique. The clinicopathologic features of the conventional and the modified ileal conduit groups were compared using the t test and the Chi square test. Multivariable logistic regression analysis and multivariable Cox regression analysis were performed to determine the odds of developing stoma‐ and ureteroileal anastomosis‐related complications in the two groups. Results: 145 and 100 patients underwent the modified and conventional ileal conduit surgery, respectively. The two groups were comparable with regard to clinicopathologic features. The rate of stoma‐related complications was significantly lower in the modified ileal conduit group than in the conventional ileal conduit group (0.7% vs. 17.0%, P < 0.001). No late stoma‐related complications were seen in the modified ileal conduit group, but were seen in 13 (13.0%) patients in the conventional ileal conduit group. The rate of ureteroileal anastomosis‐related complications was significantly lower in the modified ileal conduit group than in the conventional ileal conduit group (4.8% vs. 15.0%, P = 0.001). In multivariable analyses, the modified ileal conduit group was significantly less likely to develop stoma‐ (odds ratio [OR] = 0.024, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.003–0.235; P = 0.001) or ureteroileal anastomosis‐related complications (OR = 0.141, 95% CI 0.042–0.476; P = 0.002) than the conventional ileal conduit group. Conclusions: Our modified surgical technique for ileal conduit urinary diversion may be effective for reducing early and late complications related to the stoma and the ureteroileal anastomosis. Prospective randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm our results.

Background: Radical inguinal lymph node dissection (rILND) is the most available treatment to cure penile cancer (PC) with limited inguinal-confined disease. However, guidelines regarding acceptable boundaries of rILND are controversial, and consensus is lacking. The authors aimed to standardize the surgical boundaries of rILND with definite pathological evidence and explore the distribution pattern of inguinal lymph nodes (ILNs) in PC. Methods: A total of 414 PC patients from two centers who underwent rILND were enrolled. The ILN distribution was divided into seven zones anatomically for pathological examination. Student’s t test and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis were used. Results: ILNs displayed a funnel-shaped distribution with high density in superior regions. ILNs and metastatic nodes are present anywhere within the radical boundaries. Positive ILNs were mainly concentrated in zone I (51.7%) and zone II (41.3%), but there were 8.7% and 12.3% in inferior zones V and VI, respectively, and 7.1% in the deep ILNs. More importantly, a single positive ILN and first-station positive zone was detected in all seven regions. Single positive ILNs were located in zones I through VI in 40.4%, 23.6%, 6.7%, 18.0%, 4.5%, and 1.1%, respectively, and 5.6% presented deep ILN metastasis directly. Conclusions: The authors established a detailed ILN distribution map and displayed lymphatic drainage patterns with definite pathological evidence using a large cohort of PC patients. Single positive ILNs and first-station metastatic zones were observed in any region, even directly with deep ILN metastasis. Only rILND can ensure tumor-free resection without the omission of positive nodes.

Background: Literature regarding the advantages of gasless vNOTES is insufficient. The aim of our study is to compare gasless vNOTES vs. traditional vNOTES on hemodynamic profiles and outcomes in patients with benign gynecological disease. We hypothesize that compared with those in the traditional vNOTES group, hemodynamic profiles will be changed less during gasless vNOTES, while safety can be promised. Methods: This is a single-center, prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial, which has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Hospital on September 27, 2022. One hundred and twenty patients will be recruited and randomly assigned to either the traditional vNOTES group or the gasless vNOTES group in a 1:1 ratio. For patients allocated to the traditional vNOTES group, after insertion of one port through the vagina, CO₂ gas is infused with a pressure of 12–14 mmHg; while for those allocated to the gasless vNOTES group, a special device is used as an abdominal wall-lifting device to facilitate gasless surgery. CO₂ pneumoperitoneum will not be used during the whole gasless vNOTES procedure. The primary outcome is vital signs at different time points. The secondary outcomes include surgical conversion rate, duration of surgery and anesthesia, anesthetic consumption, intraoperative estimated blood loss, VAS and PONV scores at postoperative 2 h and 24 h, administration of vasopressor drugs from the beginning of general anesthesia induction to 15 min after endotracheal intubation, including times, dosage, and type, intraoperative and postoperative complications, time of first getting out of bed after surgery, and time of first eating after surgery, including light drink. Discussion: This is the first randomized controlled trial to compare the impacts of gasless vNOTES vs. traditional vNOTES on hemodynamic profiles and outcomes in patients with benign gynecological disease. If a favorable effect and safety of gasless vNOTES for hemodynamic profiles and outcomes in patients are shown, gasless vNOTES would be an optimal treatment option for patients with benign gynecological disease. Trial registration: The trial was registered at https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=182441 with registration No. ChiCTR2200064779 on Oct 17, 2022.

Following the publication of this paper, it was drawn to the Editors’ attention by a concerned reader that certain of the cell migration and invasion assay data shown in Figs. 2C and 5C were strikingly similar to data appearing in different form in other articles by different authors. Owing to the fact that the contentious data in the above article had already been published elsewhere, or were already under consideration for publication, prior to its submission to Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, the Editor has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office did not receive a reply. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 15: 2203‑2211, 2018; DOI: 10.3892/etm.2017.5624]