A Content Analysis of YouTube™ Videos Related to Bladder Cancer

Objective: We examined the content of YouTube™ videos on urinary bladder cancer education and evaluated their usefulness in promoting early detection of the cancer. Material and Methods:A systematic search of YouTube™ for videos containing knowledge information on bladder cancer was conducted using the keywords ‘bladder cancer’. Details about demographics of videos, including type, length, source and viewers’ interaction were evaluated and 2 researchers independently assessed the videos for usefulness in promoting knowledge on bladder cancer.Results: A total of 100 YouTube™ videos (100 most viewed videos were reviewed and 48 videos were excluded including surgical technic videos, videos in non-English languages, patient testimonial videos and videos about complementary and alternative medicine. A total of 52 videos were analyzed. The highest number of videos were uploaded by medical websites (18, 34.6%), the mean number of views is highest in videos that were categorized as not useful (105,447), followed by very useful (74,940.6±120,980.8), slightly useful (46,219.6±101,261.4), moderately useful (34,941.0±35,413.1). The mean number of “likes” is highest in the very useful group (339.4±373.6), so is the “dislikes” (25.3±40.9).Conclusion: YouTube™ contains a diverse source of information on bladder cancer. Most videos on bladder cancer may not be informative for health education. Medical professionals, medical institutions, and professional organizations should improve the content of videos about bladder cancer to provide patients with reliable and useful information.

Manipulation of p53 Protein in Bladder Cancer Treatment

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are gold standard treatment for bladder cancer (BC) for over 50 years. The efficacy on early stage BC patients is virtuous. However, patients with aggressive cancer growth benefited less from the therapy. Aberrant p53 was found in more than 50% of high-grade BC patients. Therefore, targeting p53 in a subset of high-grade BC patients expressing aberrant p53 is a promising strategy. In this paper, p53 role in BC carcinogenesis is discussed. Followed by p53-targeting strategies in current BC treatment. Besides, p53-targeting strategies that have been implemented in other types of cancer and their potential to be adapted in BC will be deliberated. Although targeting p53 is promising, none of the strategies studied were successfully implemented in healthcare settings. Restoration of p53 as the guardian of the genome is an exciting area for translational research. It has potential to replace the genotoxic chemotherapy and radiotherapy, thus, eliminating the notorious painful sideeffects on a subset of high-grade BC patients. Searches were performed on PubMed and Google Scholar web using the keywords “bladder cancer” or “urothelial cancer” or “urothelial cell carcinoma” and “p53”. Only full papers of research articles and review papers were included for analysis. Papers were categorized as either p53 function, current treatment using p53 and future potential treatment using p53 for details analysis.

Podoplanin: a Prognostic Marker and a Potential Target for Therapy in Bladder Cancer

Invasive bladder cancer is a frequent neoplastic diseases, and despite progresses made in early diagnosis and surgical procedures, the outcome of patients is characterized by high rate of mortality. This is mainly due to the lack of response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and other new resources are limited. In the present work we analyzed 50 consecutive cases of invasive bladder cancer treated by open surgery. Specimens were processed using standard histological procedures, including establishment of the histological diagnosis and grading. Additional slides were stained for podoplanin expression, clone D2-40 to investigate the structure and number of lymphatic vessels. We found lymphatic vessels in both intra- and peritumor areas, showing significant differences in morphology and number. Lymphatic invasion by tumor cells was higher in peritumor than in intratumor vessels. Lymphatic microvessel density correlated with stage and grade of the tumor. Of interest is the expression of podoplanin by tumor cells of urothelial carcinoma in about 14% of the cases, with strong correlation with grading. Based on our results, expression of podoplanin in invasive bladder cancer might indicate three potential targets: lymphatics, myofibroblasts, and tumor cells in selected cases. Keywords: bladder cancer, immunohistochemistry, podoplanin, therapeutic target

Interplay of host genome and tumour genome in bladder cancer

Aim. To determine the influence of the polymorphic variants of the base (OGG1 and XRCC1) and nucleotide (ERRC2/XPD and ERRC6/CSB) excision repair genes on the mutational and epigenetic status of bladder tumors. Methods. For this study, we used previously obtained data on the polymorphism of DNA repair genes in bladder cancer (BC) patients, whose tumor tissue samples were analyzed for the presence of key mutational and epigenetic changes. Results. Genotypes containing at least one minor OGG1 rs1052133 allele were significantly associated with an increased frequency of RAS family gene mutations and a reduced frequency of PIK3CA mutations. The polymorphisms of both base excision repair genes influenced the epigenetic variability of urothelial carcinomas, the modifying effect of OGG1 rs1052133 manifesting in ISL1 methylation and XRCC1 rs25487 impacting p16 or TIMP3 methylation. The minor ERRC6/CSB rs2228526 allele was associated with RAS mutations and lack of TIMP3 methylation. Likewise, carriers of the genotypes containing at least one minor ERRC2/XPD rs1799793 allele were less frequently found to have methylated RUNX3 gene in tumor tissues. Conclusions. The polymorphisms of the base (OGG1, XRCC1) and nucleotide (ERRC2/XPD, ERRC6/CSB) excision repair genes modify the mutational and epigenetic variability of a number of key BC genes. The study of the mechanisms of such interactions is necessary for understanding the molecular basis of BC pathogenesis. Keywords: bladder cancer, OGG1, XRCC1, ERRC2/XPD, ERRC6/CSB gene polymorphism, mutation, methylation.

New Insights in Bladder Cancer Diagnosis: Urinary miRNAs and Proteins

Bladder cancer is the 10th-most common cancer worldwide. The diagnosis and follow-up of patients require costly invasive methods and due to these expenses, bladder cancer continues to be one of the expensive malignancies. Early diagnosis is crucial in bladder cancer as it is in other cancers; therefore, non-invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis are very important. In this review, we aimed to focus on the most recent investigations on potential urinary micro RNA (miRNA) and protein biomarkers for bladder cancer diagnosis and their associated pathways. Studies performed by different groups were compiled and the biomarker properties of various proteins and miRNAs in the urine of bladder cancer patients were evaluated. Key studies were obtained by searching keywords “bladder cancer, urinary miRNA, urinary protein, urinary biomarker”. Targets and the pathways of the miRNAs and proteins were analyzed according to mirBase Catalogue and Panther Database. The major pathways that are targeted by aberrantly expressed miRNAs are Cholecystokinin receptor (CCKR), p53, Wnt signaling pathway, and feedback loops. We hereby conclude that urinary micro RNAs and proteins are promising candidates for bladder cancer diagnosis. It should be noted that urine collection, storage conditions, choice of fraction, and normalization strategies should be standardized.

BLADDER CANCER AND DEBATE ON TRIMODAL THERAPY (TMT) FOR BLADDER PRESERVATION

Bladder Cancer is one of the most common types of malignant neoplasms that affects both men and women. The surgery considered standard for the treatment of invasive tumor is Radical Cystectomy, which causes undesirable morbidity in the postoperative period on affected patients. Radical Transurethral Resection (TRU), associated with Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy, together form the Trimodal Therapy (TTM), which can demonstrate satisfactory results in the approach of the patient with invasive tumor with lower morbidity and well-timed survival rate, in a short time. Keywords: Bladder Cancer; Radical Cystectomy; Transurethral Resection; Trimodal Therapy.

XRCC1 codon 399 polymorphism (RS25487) in the Ukrainian population

Aim. To estimate the frequency of XRCC1 codon 399 polymorphic variants in bladder cancer patients and in a control group and define association of this polymorphism with a bladder cancer in Ukrainian patients. Methods. We determined the allele frequencies for 111 patients and 92 controls. Genotyping was performed by PCR-RELP method. Results. The distribution of genotypes in control group was: Arg/Arg – 48 % (n=44), Arg/Gln – 41.3 % (n=38), Gln/Gln – 10.7 % (n=10), whereas in group of patients with a bladder cancer the following distribution was observed: Arg/Arg – 56.8 % (n=63), Arg/Gln – 27.9 % (n=31), Gln/Gln – 15.3 % (n=17). Genotype distribution in control group was within Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (χ2=59.7, p<0.0001), whereas in patient group it was not (χ2=0.172, p=0.678). No significant association was observed between the XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphism and bladder cancer risk. Conclusions. It is indicated that XRCC1 codon 399 polymorphism may not contribute to bladder cancer susceptibility in the Ukrainian population. Keywords: bladder cancer, polymorphism, XRCC1 gene, the cancer risk.