The Role of miRNA in Testicular Cancer: Current Insights and Future Perspectives.

Background and Objectives: Despite advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of testicular germ cell tumours (TGTCs), challenges persist in identifying reliable biomarkers for early detection and precise disease management. This narrative review addresses the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) as potential diagnostic tools and therapeutic targets in the treatment of TGCTs. Materials and Methods: Three databases (PubMed®, Web of Science™, and Scopus®) were queried for studies investigating the utility of miRNA as diagnostic tools, assessing their prognostic significance, and evaluating their potential to guide TGCT treatment. Different combinations of the following keywords were used, according to a free-text protocol: "miRNA", "non-coding RNA", "small RNA", "Testicular Cancer", "seminomatous testicular germ cell", "non-seminomatous testicular germ cell". Results: The potential of miRNAs as possible biomarkers for a non-invasive diagnosis of TGCT is appealing. Their integration into the diagnostic pathway for TGCT patients holds the potential to enhance the discriminative power of conventional serum tumour markers (STMs) and could expedite early diagnosis, given that miRNA overexpression was observed in 50% of GCNIS cases. Among miRNAs, miR-371a-3p stands out with the most promising evidence, suggesting its relevance in the primary diagnosis of TGCT, particularly when conventional STMs offer limited value. Indeed, it demonstrated high specificity (90-99%) and sensitivity (84-89%), with good positive predictive value (97.2%) and negative predictive value (82.7%). Furthermore, a direct relationship between miRNA concentration, disease burden, and treatment response exists, regardless of disease stages. The initial evidence of miRNA decrease in response to surgical treatment and systemic chemotherapy has been further supported by more recent results suggesting the potential utility of this tool not only in evaluating treatment response but also in monitoring residual disease and predicting disease relapse. Conclusions: MiRNAs could represent a reliable tool for accurate diagnosis and disease monitoring in the treatment of TGCT, providing more precise tools for early detection and treatment stratification. Nevertheless, well-designed clinical trials and comprehensive long-term data are needed to ensure their translation into effective clinical tools.

Conservative approach for a giant prostatic hyperplasia of 1280 ml: a case report and literature review.

Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH) affects at least one-third of men over 60 years. A giant prostatic hyperplasia (GPH) is a prostate enlargement that exceeds 500 g. We present a case of a 72-year-old man with a GPH volume of 1280 ml, referred to our hospital for a worsening of the lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), bilateral loin pain and kidney failure. Although the patient had a negligible post-void residual urine, he had bilateral hydronephrosis. The patient was managed conservatory because of a high anesthesiologic risk but a bilateral percutaneous nephrostomy was placed soon due to kidney function worsening. The presence of serious comorbidities and the resolution of the loin pain and the renal failure, achieved first with the nephrostomy and then with periodic replacement of ureteral stents, along with an improvement of the LUTS obtained with medical therapy, have oriented us towards a conservative management of the patient.

Primary non leukemic myeloid sarcoma of the ureteral wall: a case report of a rare disease.

Myeloid sarcoma (MS) is an extramedullary tumor mass causing proliferation of mature or immature blast cells of one or more myeloid lineages. Involvement of the genitourinary tract is rare. We present a case of MS of the ureteral wall. A 74-year-old man was evaluated for left hydronephrosis and ipsilateral low back pain. A computed tomography scan showed a nodular formation in the pelvic ureter. Urinary cytology revealed cellular atypia, so ureteroscopy was performed showing a distal ureteral mass. The histological examination of the biopsy revealed to be malignant neoplasm. The patient underwent left laparoscopic nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff excision. Microscopic histological examination revealed a tumor compatible with MS. A postoperative positron emission tomography revealed residual hypercaptation of the bladder, pelvic muscle and iliac nodes, so the patient started chemotherapy. A multidisciplinary approach was required, taking into account the patient's age, the already poor renal function and the location of the neoplasm.

Neobladder "Function": Tips and Tricks for Surgery and Postoperative Management.

Orthotopic neobladder (ONB) reconstruction is a continent urinary diversion procedure increasingly used in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer following radical cystectomy (RC). It represents a valid alternative to the ileal duct in suitable patients who do not prefer a stoma and are motivated to undergo adequate training of the neobladder. Careful patient selection, taking into account the absolute and relative contraindications for ONB as well as an adequate recovery protocol after surgery are integral to the success of this procedure and the oncological and functional outcomes. The objective of this review is to summarize the current data on RC with ONB in terms of patient selection, preoperative preparation, surgical techniques and functional (continence and sexual activity) and oncological outcomes, with particular attention to the management of complications and the impact on quality of life (QoL).

Potential prognostic value of miRNAs as biomarker for progression and recurrence after nephrectomy in renal cell carcinoma: a literature review.

OBJECTIVES: We provide a systematic literature review on tissue miRNAs in patients with RCC to evaluate and summarize their usefulness as prognostic markers. We undertook a systematic search for articles in English using the PubMed-Medline database from January 2010 to December 2020. Studies were identified and selected according to the PRISMA criteria and the PICO methodology. The population consisted of RCC patients undergoing nephrectomy and the main outcome of interest was recurrence-free survival (RFS). Only studies providing hazard ratios (HRs) from multivariate or univariate analyzes with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) and/or area under the curve (AUC) were considered. CONTENT: All nine included studies (1,541 patients) analyzed the relationship between tissue miRNA expression levels (up or downregulated) and RFS. Some of these found that the methylation status of miR-9-1, miR-9-3 and miR-124 was associated with a high risk of relapse. Moreover, miR-200b overexpression was associated with OS. MiR-210 overexpression indicated a shorter OS than those who were miR-210 negative. Finally, patients with high miR-125b expression had shorter cancer-specific survival (CSS) than those with low expression; similarly, patients with low miR-126 expression also had shorter CSS time. SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK: Several studies tested the usefulness of specific miRNAs to predict RCC recurrence. Some of them showed a fair accuracy and strong relationship between specific miRNA over or under-expression and survival outcomes. However, results from these studies are preliminary and miRNAs use in routine clinical practice is still far to come.

Retroperitoneal extension of massive ulcerated testicular seminoma through the inguinal canal: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Testicular cancers represent about 5% of all urological malignancies and 1-1.5% of all male neoplasms. Most of the testicular cancers are localized (68%) at diagnosis. Bulky masses in the scrotum are rare. We present a rare case of bulky testicular cancer with retroperitoneal spread through the inguinal canal. CASE REPORT: A 44-year-old man came to the emergency department referring weakness and the presence of a scrotal mass. At physical examination, a voluminous mass was found, with necrotic phenomena within the scrotum. Abdomen was tense and sore. Abdominal CT scan revealed a bulky testicular mass spreading to the retroperitoneal space through the inguinal canal with node enlargement. Patient underwent orchiectomy with excision of infiltrated scrotum skin. Histologic diagnosis confirmed a typical form seminoma. The patient was then treated with a cisplatin-based chemotherapy, with a partial response. The patient recently relapsed and he is being treated with a new line of chemotherapy and subsequent surgery with or without radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: We described a rare presentation of testicular cancer. This case highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to rare testis tumour presentation and early diagnosis for testicular cancers.

Comparison between ultrasound-guided and digital-guided anesthesia before prostatic biopsy.

OBJECTIVE: Our target in this study is to evaluate the efficacy of ultrasound (US)-guided anesthesia in comparison it to the digital-guided one, considering pain and discomfort reduction, during prostate biopsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 150 patients that underwent prostate biopsy between March 2011 and January 2012; conditions to enter the sample were: elevated PSA levels and/or psa ratio free/total less than 15% and/or detection of alteration via ultrasound examination and/or a positive outcome of a digital rectal examination. Patients were randomized into two groups. In 75 patients (group A) was performed local US-guided anesthesia with a dose of 10 ml of mepivacaine 1%, in the other 75 patients (group B) a local digital-guided anesthesia was performed, again with an equal dose of 10 ml of mepivacaine 1%. After the biopsy patients were kept under observation for two hours, after that they were asked to provide description of the pain experienced during biopsy, using a 10-point visual analog scale (visual analogue scale; 0 for no pain, 10 for excruciating pain). RESULTS: In group A, 49 patients scored a VAS value of zero, 23 a value of 1 and 2 a value of 3. On the other side, in group B, 9 patients scored a VAS value of 1, 36 a value of 2, 28 a value of 3 and 2 a value of 4. In comparison patients in group A scored VAS values statistically lower than patients in group B (t student test, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The ultrasound-guided prostatic anesthesia is preferable to the digital-guided, because it considerably reduce the pain related to this procedure.