Altered plasma, urine, and tissue profiles of sulfatides and sphingomyelins in patients with renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents the most common type of kidney cancer with the highest incidence and mortality rate among all urological malignancies. In this study, we show that RCC-related processes change body fluids sphingolipid concentrations, which may be used to monitor cancer occurrence in low-invasive lipid-based blood and urine tests. We investigate 674 plasma, urine, and tissue samples from 369 RCC patients and controls. For the first time, we show the significant concentration changes of low abundant sulfatides in plasma and urine of RCC patients. Elevated concentrations of lactosylsulfatides, decreased concentrations of sphingomyelines with long saturated N-fatty acyls and sulfatides with hydroxylated fatty acyls are the most crucial alternations in RCC. These changes are stage-dependent and are more emphasized in late-stage RCC. Similar trends in body fluids and tissues indicate that RCC widely influences lipid metabolism and highlights the potential of lipidomic profiling for cancer detection.

Association between Human Papillomavirus and Urological Cancers: An Update

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is currently the most common sexually transmitted pathogen in the world, and as such imposes a substantial global burden due to its oncogenic properties. The significant association of HPV with anogenital and head and neck carcinomas is well established. In terms of urological malignancies, only the association between HPV and penile cancer has been well defined; despite close anatomical proximity, its relationship with bladder, prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers has remained unclear. With technological advances in the nucleic acid amplification tests used to detect HPV over the last two decades, the results of new studies have led to the need to reexamine these relationships. This brief review aims to evaluate the association between urological malignancies and HPV infection in light of recent data.

Prognostic Value of Long Non-coding RNAs in Urological Malignancies: A Systematic Review, and Meta-Analysis

Background: Many studies have explored the potential roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in urological cancer (UC) progression. The clinical outcome and prognosis of UCs remain weak. Therefore, finding clinical prognostic markers is needed to improve therapeutic potential. The aim of this study was to consider the possible association between the lncRNAs expression with the survival time and clinical outcomes in patients with UC. Methods: A literature search was performed in several related databases to find eligible English papers published before 9 February 2021. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CI were calculated to investigate the association between lncRNAs expression and overall survival in patients with UC. Results: A total of 46 studies, including 39 lncRNAs were identified. Results indicated that lncRNAs expression was significantly correlated with poor overall survival (OS) outcome in patients with UCs (HR: 1.923, 95% CI: 1.448-2.554, P<0.001). Also, we divided included studies into up-regulated and down-regulated subgroups according to lncRNAs expression. The results indicated a significant association with poor OS outcomes in both up-regulated (HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.896-3.41, P<0.001) and down-regulated (HR=0.33, 95% CI: 0.22-0.49, P<0.001). Moreover, expression of lncRNAs was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (LNM) (OR=0.25, 95% CI: 0.13-0.47, P<0.001) Conclusion: Abnormal expression of various lncRNAs is a potential novel marker for predicting the clinical outcomes of urological tumors.

Fucosylation in Urological Cancers

Fucosylation is an oligosaccharide modification that plays an important role in immune response and malignancy, and specific fucosyltransferases (FUTs) catalyze the three types of fucosylations: core-type, Lewis type, and H type. FUTs regulate cancer proliferation, invasiveness, and resistance to chemotherapy by modifying the glycosylation of signaling receptors. Oligosaccharides on PD-1/PD-L1 proteins are specifically fucosylated, leading to functional modifications. Expression of FUTs is upregulated in renal cell carcinoma, bladder cancer, and prostate cancer. Aberrant fucosylation in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) could be used as a novel biomarker for prostate cancer. Furthermore, elucidation of the biological function of fucosylation could result in the development of novel therapeutic targets. Further studies are needed in the field of fucosylation glycobiology in urological malignancies.