Background: Signal transducer and activator of transcription proteins (STATs) play important roles in gene regulation, cell proliferation, and cell differentiation. We aimed to establish the relationship between phosphorylated STAT3 (p-Ser-STAT3) expression and the prognosis of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed 100 patients with pathologically confirmed UTUC at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital. We quantified the expression of p-Ser-STAT3 in cancer cells by immunohistochemistry, and determined the clinicopathological significance of p-Ser-STAT3 expression and prognostic outcomes in patients with UTUC.Results: High p-Ser-STAT3 expression was detected in 52% of UTUC patients. High p-Ser-STAT3 expression was associated with poor recurrence-free survival (p = 0.018) and overall survival (p = 0.026). In advanced cancer samples (stage T3/T4), p-Ser-STAT3 expression is the only independent prognostic factor for recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio = 5.91, p = 0.01) and cancer-specific survival (hazard ratio = 8.83, p = 0.039).Conclusions: The expression of p-Ser-STAT3 can be a potential prognostic marker for cancer recurrence and survival in UTUC, especially in advanced stage cases.
The aim of this study was to compare the effects of one-step percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) by the urologist alone and two-step PCNL by cooperating with the radiologist. We included 168 patients who underwent surgery by the same surgeon, 83 who underwent two-step PCNL, in which percutaneous nephrostomy insertion was performed by the radiologists on the day before endo-surgery, and 85 who underwent one-step PCNL, which involved the creation of a nephrostomy tract and performing the PCNL at the same time in the operating room, by a urologist. We compared the perioperative and postoperative parameters between these two groups. The result revealed that there were no significant differences between one-step and two-step PCNL in the decreases in haemoglobin level and blood transfusion volume, and the hospital stay was shorter in the one-step PCNL group. In addition, the one-step PCNL group was associated with significantly lower visual analogue score (VAS), which were 2.3, 1.1, and 0.4 on the post-operative days 1, 2, and 3, respectively, compared with 3.2, 1.7, and 1.0 in the two-step PCNL group. The number of parenteral analgesic prescriptions was fewer in the one-step PCNL group (0.8 ± 1.1 amps/vials) than in the two-step PCNL group (4.1 ± 2.4 amps/vials). Furthermore, different stone locations barely affected VAS and analgesic administrations. The results indicate that the one-step PCNL by the urologist alone, compared to two-step PCNL with the radiologist, has better wound pain outcome and shorter hospital stay with comparable successful rate and complication grade.
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