Publications by authors named "Carsten Stephan"

Androgen receptor (AR)-mediated signaling is essential for PC tumorigenesis. In the TCGA database we observed a positive correlation between ECD and AR expression. Consistently, Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) treatment of PC cell lines increased ECD mRNA and protein levels, and AR knockdown (KD) reduced ECD expression.

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Clinical and preclinical studies have provided conflicting data on the postulated beneficial effects of vitamin D in patients with prostate cancer. In this opinion piece, we discuss reasons for discrepancies between preclinical and clinical vitamin D studies. Different criteria have been used as evidence for the key roles of vitamin D.

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Human anterior gradient-2 (AGR2) has been implicated in carcinogenesis of various solid tumours, but the expression data in prostate cancer are contradictory regarding its prognostic value. The objective of this study is to evaluate the expression of AGR2 in a large prostate cancer cohort and to correlate it with clinicopathological data. AGR2 protein expression was analysed immunohistochemically in 1023 well-characterized prostate cancer samples with a validated antibody.

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There are limited and discrepant data on prostate cancer (PCa) and vitamin D. We investigated changes in three vitamin D metabolites in PCa patients after prostatectomy with zoledronic acid (ZA) treatment regarding their metastasis statuses over four years. In 32 patients from the ZEUS trial, 25(OH)D, 24,25(OH)D, and 1,25(OH)D were measured with liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry at four time points.

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Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a highly immunogenic tumor with variable responses to immune checkpoint therapy. The significance of the immune cell infiltrate in distant metastases, their association with the immune infiltrate in the primary tumors and their impact on prognosis are poorly described. We hypothesized that specific subtypes of immune cells may be involved in the control of metastases and may have an impact on the prognosis of ccRCC.

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Low expression levels of the E3 ubiquitin‑protein ligase Parkin (PARK2) are exhibited in several cancer entities, including clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), and are associated with poor prognosis; however, PARK2 can also function as a tumor suppressor gene. The aim of the present study was to thoroughly investigate the effects of PARK2 overexpression in ccRCC cell lines and to determine its effects on malignancy by conducting functional assays such as cell cycle analysis, apoptosis analysis, migration and invasion assays. Furthermore, liquid chromatography‑mass spectrometry was used to decipher potential targets of PARK2 that may influence the behavior of ccRCC tumor cells.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study evaluates the effectiveness of Prostate Health Index density (PHID) compared to Prostate Health Index (PHI) in detecting prostate cancer in a group of over 1,400 Caucasian men, including those with and without the disease.
  • Results showed that while PHID values differed significantly between the two groups, both PHID and PHI had similar diagnostic accuracy in terms of area under the ROC curve (AUC).
  • The findings suggest that the benefits of using PHID over PHI in clinical practice are minimal, with PHI being more effective in smaller prostates, highlighting that PHID's incremental value does not support its routine use.
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Background: Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) uses the Doppler principle to quantify the movement of biological tissues.

Objective: To investigate the contribution of TDI parameters derived during magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound (MRI/US) fusion-guided biopsy for prostate cancer (PCa) discrimination.

Methods: From March 2016 to Dec.

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Purpose: To evaluate the Prostate Health Index (PHI) density (PHID) in direct comparison with PHI in a prospective large cohort.

Methods: PHID values were calculated from prostate-specific antigen (PSA), free PSA and [- 2]proPSA and prostate volume. The 1057 patients included 552 men with prostate cancer (PCa) and 505 with no evidence of malignancy (NEM).

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Background: There is an urgent need for better prostate cancer (PCa) biomarkers due to the low specificity of prostate specific antigen (PSA).

Objective: Prostate Health Index (PHI) is an advanced PSA-based test for early detection of PCa. The present study aim was to investigate the potential improvement of diagnostic accuracy of PHI by its combination with suitable discriminative microRNAs (miRNAs).

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The aim of this study was to investigate the mitophagy-related genes PINK1 and PARK2 in papillary renal cell carcinoma and their association with prognosis. In silico data of PINK1 and PARK2 were analyzed in TCGA cohorts of papillary renal cell carcinoma comprising 290 tumors and 33 corresponding non-neoplastic renal tissues. Protein expression data from a cohort of 95 papillary renal cell carcinoma patients were analyzed and associated with clinical-pathological parameters including survival.

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Article Synopsis
  • Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are emerging biomarkers that have been under-researched in prostate cancer (PCa), with this study aiming to assess their diagnostic and prognostic capabilities.
  • Researchers identified eight specific circRNAs that were differentially expressed in PCa tissues through genome-wide analysis and confirmed these findings using robust testing methods.
  • The study found that circRNAs, along with their linear counterparts, improved the differentiation of malignant tissues and enhanced prediction accuracy for biochemical recurrence after prostate surgery when combined with traditional clinicopathological factors.
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Article Synopsis
  • Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are stable RNA molecules with potential as biomarkers due to their circular structure, which makes them less prone to degradation compared to linear mRNA.
  • This study aimed to explore the stability of circRNAs in clinical tissue samples, specifically kidney and prostate cancer tissues, by analyzing total RNA with varying RNA integrity numbers (RIN).
  • Results showed that circRNA expression declined with lower RIN values, indicating that circRNAs in clinical samples are subject to degradation similar to mRNAs, highlighting the need for further investigation in circRNA research.
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Objectives: We investigated the diagnostic efficacy of the prostate health index (PHI) and PHI density (PHID) to avoid unnecessary prostate biopsies in 3 urological practices.

Methods: In 122 patients, total prostate-specific antigen (PSA), free PSA (f-PSA), the quotient from total PSA and f-PSA (f-PSA%), and [-2]pro-PSA were measured in the serum; PHI, PHID, and PSA density (PSAD) were calculated prior to prostate biopsy. Tissue sampling via transrectal biopsy was indicated in case of suspicious PSA (progression and/or elevation of PSA) and/or suspicious digital rectal examination.

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Capillary hemangioma is a rare entity among testicular tumors. We demonstrate the case of an 18-year-old patient with palpatoric and sonographic conspicuous left testicle and negative serum tumor markers (-fetoprotein, -human chorionic gonadotropin, and lactate dehydrogenase). Ultrasound (US) imaging represented an isoechogenic lesion with high vascularization in both power Doppler and microflow imaging with central feeding artery.

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Introduction: Patients with consistent suspicion for prostate cancer (PCa) and multiple negative prebiopsies prior to multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) are still frequently evaluated for an image-guided biopsy and are reported with heterogeneous detection rates. The inclusion of a systematic biopsy (SB) is also still recommended with predominant sampling within the posterior/peripheral zone of the prostate. The aim of this study was (I) to evaluate PCa detection rates using a modified 10 core SB template including anterior biopsies in combination with mpMRI/ultrasound fusion-guided targeted biopsy (TB) in patients with 3 or more negative prebiopsies and (II) to compare mpMRI index lesion localization with histologically confirmed locali-zation from associated prostatectomy samples.

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Article Synopsis
  • Around 15-34% of prostate cancer patients experience biochemical recurrence (BCR) within 5 to 10 years after radical prostatectomy, identified by elevated serum PSA levels.
  • Traditional risk prediction models using clinical and pathological data lack accuracy, highlighting the need for better biomarkers.
  • This study identified five specific miRNAs as independent prognostic indicators for BCR, demonstrating improved predictive power when combined with existing clinical factors, suggesting their inclusion in future research.
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Circular RNAs (circRNAs) may act as novel cancer biomarkers. However, a genome-wide evaluation of circRNAs in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) has yet to be conducted. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify and validate circRNAs in ccRCC tissue with a focus to evaluate their potential as prognostic biomarkers.

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Background Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a nonthermal ablative method based on the formation of nanoscale defects in cell membranes leading to cell death. Clinical experience with the technique for treatment of prostate cancer remains limited. Purpose To evaluate urogenital toxicity and oncologic outcome of MRI-transrectal US fusion-guided IRE of localized prostate cancer.

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Background: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has been used as an additional imaging technique in order to clarify testicular findings. CEUS is easy and fast to perform, overcomes the limitations of B-mode US.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the assessment of unclear testicular pathologies.

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Background:  Nodal metastasis is a strong prognostic parameter in prostate cancer (PCa). We analysed the detection of micrometastases (miN + ) in initially nodal-negative (pN0) radical prostatectomy specimens from pT2a-c and pT3a PCa patients by immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Material And Methods:  A total of 2352 lymph nodes of 193 PCa patients were centrally re-examined for miN + or miN- status using IHC.

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Background: The APLNR (apelin receptor) has been shown to be an essential gene for cancer immunotherapy, with deficiency in APLNR leading to immunotherapy failure. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression of APLN (apelin) and APLNR in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and its association with clinicopathological parameters and survival.

Methods: Three well-characterised patient cohorts with RCC were used: Study cohort 1 (clear-cell RCC; APLN/APLNR mRNA expression; n = 166); TCGA validation cohort (clear-cell RCC; APLN/APLNR mRNA expression; n = 481); Study cohort 2 (all RCC subtypes; APLNR protein expression/immunohistochemistry; n = 300).

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Objectives: UBC Test measures soluble fragments of cytokeratins 8 and 18 in urine. We present results of a multicenter study using an updated version of UBC Test in bladder cancer patients, patients with urinary bladder cancer positive history, and healthy controls.

Material And Methods: In total 530 urine samples have been included in this study.

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