A systematic review and meta-analysis of radical cystectomy in the treatment of muscular invasive bladder cancer (MIBC)

Single cell RNA-Sequencing Reveals Mast Cells Enhance Mononuclear Phagocytes Infiltration in Bladder Cancer Microenvironment

Objective: Investigating the interaction between Mast cells (MCs) and Mononuclear Phagocytes (MPs) in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of blader cancer (BCa) to uncover potential immunotherapeutic targets. Methods: Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) was conducted on 12 BCa patients to identify distinct subgroups of MCs and MPs. Transcriptome data was analyzed to characterize the phenotype, gene enrichment, cell-cell communication, and biological processes. The expression levels of cytokines were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while the chemotactic effects of cytokines were evaluated through Transwell assay. Results: In muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), the proportion of interferon-stimulated MC subtype (Mast-ISG15) increased. Mast-IL13 subgroup and Mast-CCL2 subgroups were functionally enriched in interferon (IFN) and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) signaling pathways. The Mast-CCL2 subgroup overexpressed the CCL2 gene, which could chemoattract MPs through CCL2. In vitro experiments confirmed that under stimulation, activated MCs activated IFN and NF-κB signaling, increasing the secretion of CCL2 and IL-13, chemoattracted THP-1 monocyte. Conclusion: This study revealed the vital role of MCs in shaping the TME of BCa. And provides new insights for the precise treatment of BCa.

Immune checkpoint gene signature assesses immune infiltration profiles in bladder cancer and identifies KRT23 as an immunotherapeutic target

BACKGROUND

In the past few decades, researchers have made promising progress, including the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the therapy of bladder cancer (BLCA). Existing studies mainly focus on single immune checkpoint inhibitors but lack relevant studies on the gene expression profiles of multiple immune checkpoints.

METHODS

RNA-sequencing profiling data and clinical information of BLCA patients and normal human bladder samples were acquired from the Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases and analyzed to identify different expression profiles of immune checkpoint genes (ICGs) after consensus clustering analysis. Based on the 526 intersecting differentially expressed genes, the LASSO Cox regression analysis was utilized to construct the ICG signature.

RESULTS

According to the expression of ICGs, BLCA patients were divided into three subtypes with different phenotypic and mechanistic characteristics. Furthermore, the developed ICG signature were independent predictors of outcome in BLCA patients, and was correlated with the immune infiltration, the expression of ICGs and chemotherapeutic effect.

CONCLUSIONS

This study systematically and comprehensively analyzed the expression profile of immune checkpoint genes, and established the ICG signature to investigate the differences in ICGs expression and tumor immune microenvironment, which will help risk stratification and accelerate precision medicine. Finally, we identified KRT23 as the most critical model gene, and highlighted KRT23 as a potential target to enhance immunotherapy against BLCA.

Efficiency of bladder-sparing strategies for bladder cancer: an umbrella review

Bladder preservation (BP) has emerged as a clinical alternative to radical cystectomy (RC) for alleviating the substantial physical and psychological burden imposed on localized bladder cancer patients. Nevertheless, disparities persist in the comparative evaluations of BP and RC. We aimed to address the disparities between BP and RC. An umbrella review and meta-analysis were conducted to explore these disparities. We extracted data from meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) selected after searching PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Review Manager 5.4.0 and R x64 4.1.3 were used to evaluate the collected data. Our study included 11 meta-analyses and 3 RCTs. In terms of progression-free survival, all the meta-analyses reported that patients with localized bladder cancer who underwent BP exhibited outcomes comparable to those who underwent RC. Meta-analyses regarding the outcomes of cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) are controversial. To solve these issues, we conducted a pooled analysis of CSS data, which supported the similarity of CSS between BP and RC with no significant heterogeneity [odds ratio (OR): 1.2; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.71-2.02; I2 = 26%]. Similarly, the pooled OS results extracted from three RCTs indicated the comparability of OS between BP and RC with no significant heterogeneity (OR: 1.12; 95% CI: 0.41-3.07; I2 = 33%). A combination of umbrella review and meta-analysis results suggested that BP had survival rates comparable to those of RC. We suggest that BP may be a more eligible therapy than RC for patients with localized muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This conclusion warrants further validation through randomized controlled trials.

Comparison of different urinary diversions after radical cystectomy in Iran: Assessment of health-related quality of life and financial burden in a Middle Eastern country

OBJECTIVES

To compare health-related quality of life (HRQOL), cost-effectiveness, and survival among different types of urinary diversion (UD) utilized after radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer with consideration of the unique economic and cultural context in Iran.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this retrospective study, we examined all patients who underwent RC from May 2017 to December 2021 at two specialized centers by the same surgical team. Patients were grouped based on their UD. Post-surgical HRQOL (obtained from EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQBLM-30), financial burden, surgical complications, and survival were compared. Kruskal-Wallis H test, One-way ANOVA, and Kaplan-Meier analyses were utilized; accordingly.

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS

In total 187 patients were identified-orthotopic neobladder (ONB) (N = 75), ileal conduit (IC) (N = 57), and cutaneous ureterostomy (CU) (N = 55)-and were followed for a median 17.5 (Interquartile range: 7.0, 47.0) months. ONB was associated with better HRQOL, especially in the domains addressing physical, role and social functioning (p = 0.003, 0.011, 0.045) as well as better body image (p < 0.001), lower short- and long-term financial burden (p = 0.034 and <0.001, respectively), marginally lower complication rate (p = 0.049), and better 5-year overall survival (p < 0.001), in comparison with other UDs. Patients who underwent CU had the lowest HRQOL and worst survival. Limitations were retrospective design and possibility of selection bias.

CONCLUSIONS

In this first study that assesses a Middle Eastern collective; ONB seems to be the UD of choice with regard to HRQOL and economic burden when there is no contraindication.

Comparison of morbidity and mortality after radical cystectomy between individuals older and younger than 80 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To compare outcomes related to survival and post-operative complications in individuals older and younger than 80 years with bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy (RC).

METHODS

We conducted a systematic search using three large databases: PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus. We included observational studies comparing outcomes between individuals older than 80 years and younger patients undergoing RC. The outcomes of interest included overall survival, disease-specific survival, progression-free survival, and risk of post-operative complications. We applied a random effects model for the analysis and reported pooled effect sizes as odds ratios (ORs) or hazards ratios (HRs) along with 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS

We analyzed 21 studies. Our results show that individuals older than 80 years had higher risks of mortality at 30 days (OR 2.82; 95% CI 1.97, 4.04), 90 days (OR 3.34; 95% CI 2.61, 4.27), 12 months (HR 3.03; 95% CI 2.64, 3.49), and 24 months (HR 3.54; 95% CI 2.27, 5.50) of the post-operative follow-up than younger individuals. In addition, individuals older than 80 years also had poor 5-year survivals (HR 2.17; 95% CI 1.64, 2.88), an increased risk of 5-year cancer-specific mortality (HR 1.58; 95% CI 1.24, 2.03), poor 5-year recurrence free survivals (HR 1.49; 95% CI 1.07, 2.08), and high complications risks (OR 1.20; 95% CI 1.02, 1.42) when compared to younger patients.

CONCLUSION

Individuals older than 80 years undergoing RC are likely to have poor survival-related outcomes and increased complications risks. Pre-planned comprehensive geriatric assessments (CGAs) may be needed to offer better peri- and post-operative care to improve the outcomes in this patient population.

SYNPO2 promotes the development of BLCA by upregulating the infiltration of resting mast cells and increasing the resistance to immunotherapy

Synaptopodin 2 (SYNPO2) plays a pivotal role in regulating tumor growth, development and progression in bladder urothelial Carcinoma (BLCA). However, the precise biological functions and mechanisms of SYNPO2 in BLCA remain unclear. Based on TCGA database‑derived BLCA RNA sequencing data, survival analysis and prognosis analysis indicate that elevated SYNPO2 expression was associated with poor survival outcomes. Notably, exogenous SYNPO2 expression significantly promoted tumor invasion and migration by upregulating vimentin expression in BLCA cell lines. Enrichment analysis revealed the involvement of SYNPO2 in humoral immune responses and the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Moreover, increased SYNPO2 levels increased the sensitivity of BLCA to PI3K/AKT pathway‑targeted drugs while being resistant to conventional chemotherapy. In in vivo BLCA mouse models, SYNPO2 overexpression increased pulmonary metastasis of 5637 cells. High SYNPO2 expression led to increased infiltration of innate immune cells, particularly mast cells, in both nude mouse model and clinical BLCA samples. Furthermore, tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion score showed that patients with BLCA patients and high SYNPO2 expression exhibited worse clinical outcomes when treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Notably, in the IMvigor 210 cohort, SYNPO2 expression was significantly associated with the population of resting mast cells in BLCA tissue following PD1/PDL1 targeted therapy. In conclusion, SYNPO2 may be a promising prognostic factor in BLCA by modulating mast cell infiltration and exacerbating resistance to immune therapy and conventional chemotherapy.