There are three minimally invasive methods for the management of large upper impacted ureteral stones: mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy (MPCNL), transurethral ureteroscope lithotripsy (URSL), and retroperitoneal laparoscopic ureterolithotomy (RPLU). This study aimed to compare MPCNL, URSL, and RPLU, and to evaluate which one is the best choice for large upper impacted ureteral stones. Between January 2012 and December 2015, at the Department of Urology, Huai’an First People’s Hospital, 150 consecutively enrolled patients with a large upper impacted ureteral stone (>15 mm) were included. The patients were randomly divided (1:1:1) into the MPCNL, URSL, and RPLU groups. The primary endpoint was success of stone removal measured 1 month postoperatively and the secondary endpoints were intraoperative and postoperative parameters and complications. Fifteen patients needed auxiliary ESWL after URSL, and 3 patients after MPCNL, but none after RPLU. The stone clearance rate was 96% (48/50) in the MPCNL group and 72% (33/46) in the URSL group. In the RPLU group the stones were completely removed and the stone clearance rate was 100% (48/48) (P = 0.021 vs. URSL; P = 0.083 vs. MPCNL). Operation-related complications were similar among the three groups (all P > 0.05). Hospital stay was shorter in the URSL group compared with MPCNL (P = 0.003). Operation time was the shortest with URSL and the longest with MPCNL (all P < 0.05). MPCNL and RPUL are more suitable for upper ureteral impacted stones of >15 mm. URSL could be considered if the patient is not suitable for general anesthesia, or the patient requests transurethral uretroscopic surgery. This study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (Registration number: ChiCTR-INR-17011507; Registration date: 2017–5-22).

This study aimed to explore the function of LINC00665 on the proliferation and metastasis of prostate cancer (PCa), and the potential regulatory mechanisms were also investigated. The expression level of LINC00665 in 50 pairs of PCa tissues and adjacent ones was studied by qRT-PCR, and the associations between LINC00665 and clinicopathological characteristics of PCa patients were analyzed. Control group (sh-NC) and LINC00665 knock-down group (sh-LINC00665) were set in 22RV1 and DU145 cells, respectively. The biological functions of LINC00665 in PCa cell lines were assessed by CCK-8, EdU, Transwell assays, and the nude mouse xenograft model was used to evaluate the tumorigenicity in vivo. In addition, qRT-PCR, Western Blot, RIP and ChIP assays were also used to determine the regulation mechanism of LINC00665 in PCa cell lines. In this study, our results showed that LINC00665 expression level in PCa cancer tissues was significantly up-regulated, compared with that in adjacent ones. Besides, similar results were found in PCa cell lines. Knock-down of LINC00665 significantly attenuated the proliferation and migration ability in 22RV1 and DU145 cells, compared to sh-NC. Mechanically, LINC00665 could interact with EZH2 and LSD1, recruiting them to KLF2 promoter region to inhibit its transcription. Moreover, the tumor-suppressive effects mediated by sh-LINC00665 were significantly reversed through the down-regulation of KLF2. Also, the suppression of LINC00665 impaired tumor growth of PCa in vivo. In summary, LINC00665 exerted the oncogenic functions in PCa cell lines by epigenetically silencing KLF2 expression by binding to EZH2 and LSD1, illuminating a novel mechanism of LINC00665 in the malignant progression of PCa and furnishing a prospective therapeutic biomarker to combat PCa.

Bladder cancer (BCa) is a common urinary tract malignancy with frequent recurrences after initial resection. Submucosal injection of gemcitabine prior to transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) may prevent recurrence of urothelial cancer. However, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. In the present study, ultra‑performance liquid chromatography Q‑Exactive mass spectrometry was used to profile tissue metabolites from 12 BCa patients. The 48 samples included pre‑ and post‑gemcitabine treatment BCa tissues, as well as adjacent normal tissues. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the metabolic profiles of pre‑gemcitabine BCa tissues differed significantly from those of pre‑gemcitabine normal tissues. A total of 34 significantly altered metabolites were further analyzed. Pathway analysis using MetaboAnalyst identified three metabolic pathways closely associated with BCa, including glutathione, purine and thiamine metabolism, while glutathione metabolism was also identified by the enrichment analysis using MetaboAnalyst. In search of the possible targets of gemcitabine, metabolite profiles were compared between the pre‑gemcitabine normal and post‑gemcitabine BCa tissues. Among the 34 metabolites associated with BCa, the levels of bilirubin and retinal recovered in BCa tissues treated with gemcitabine. When comparing normal bladder tissues with and without gemcitabine treatment, among the 34 metabolites associated with BCa, it was observed that histamine change may be associated with the prevention of relapse, whereas thiamine change may be involved in possible side effects. Therefore, by employing a hypothesis‑free tissue‑based metabolomics study, the present study investigated the metabolic signatures of BCa and found that bilirubin and retinal may be involved in the mechanism underlying the biomolecular action of submucosal injection of gemcitabine in urothelial BCa.

Objective: The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of 49 relevant studies to evaluate the prognostic value of miRNA-200c in various human malignant neoplasms.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common human malignancies, which represents a serious threat to health, and microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) have been reported to be closely associated with the progression and development of prostate cancer. The present study aimed to investigate the expression patterns, functions and underlying mechanisms of miR-589-5p in prostate cancer. The results demonstrated that the expression levels of miR-589-5p were downregulated in prostate cancer tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of miR-589-5p inhibited cell viability, migration and invasion in prostate cancer cells. Subsequently, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 (CCL-5) was identified as a direct target gene of miR-589-5p, which was highly expressed at the mRNA and protein levels in prostate cancer tissues and cells. Furthermore, CCL-5 mRNA was negatively correlated with miR-589-5p expression in prostate cancer tissues. Silencing CCL-5 promoted the apoptosis, and inhibited the migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells. Taken together, these results indicated that miR-589-5p may act as a tumor suppressor in prostate cancer by targeting CCL-5, thus suggesting that miR-589-5p may be a novel and reliable molecular marker for the diagnosis and prognosis of prostate cancer.

Retroperitoneal laparoscopic resection is the preferred minimally invasive surgery for adrenal tumors. Patients vary greatly in postoperative drain output, but no clear criteria exist to select candidates for a drainage‑free strategy. The objective of the present study was to establish clinical screening criteria for identifying patients eligible for a drainage-free strategy after retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenal tumor resection and verify the clinical value of the criteria. A retrospective analysis was first conducted on 126 patients who underwent the aforementioned surgery. Patients were divided into two groups based on total postoperative drain output: The drainage-free group (≤60 ml, 40 cases) and the drain group (>60 ml, 86 cases). Indicators such as age and tumor diameter were compared with identify factors influencing postoperative drain output. Subsequently, a prospective validation study was carried out involving 54 patients, with 20 patients meeting the preliminary screening criteria assigned to the experimental group and 34 ineligible patients to the control group. Perioperative data and complication rates of the two groups were compared. The retrospective univariate analysis identified seven indicators (including age and tumor diameter) associated with postoperative drain output (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression confirmed five independent risk factors for postoperative drain output: Age [odds ratio (OR)=1.062; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.005-1.123; P=0.033], tumor diameter (OR=2.199; 95% CI: 1.162-4.159; P=0.015), locking clip application for adrenal tissue or central vein (OR=12.081; 95% CI: 1.772-82.385; P=0.011), saponification and adhesion of adipose tissue in the surgical area (OR=0.092; 95% CI: 0.026-0.319; P<0.001) and intraoperative blood loss (OR=10.48; 95% CI: 1.025-1.072; P60 ml (recovered with conservative treatment). The experimental group also had significantly less total drain output, shorter drain removal time and shorter hospital discharge time than the control group (P0.05). In conclusion, the established screening criteria may accurately identify eligible patients. This strategy appears to safely shorten hospital stays and facilitate stratified management and may have clinical value.