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Male Genitourinary Tumors: Molecular and Cellular Mechanism

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 3275

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Dr. Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, University of Frankfurt, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Interests: penile carcinomas

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Genitourinary tumors represent a wide range of morphologies, and relevant molecular data have been collected. This Special Issue aims to encapsulate and expand currently known data on these tumors.

Penile carcinomas and their precursors are rare forms of tumors in Europe, and thus, information on this debilitating disease is limited. Early diagnosis and treatment are necessary, but many patients consult a physician after they have reached a late tumor stage. Therefore, treatment options must be enhanced, and research should be facilitated to gain deeper insights into this disease. Molecular insights and cellular mechanisms will be gathered and summarized.

Dr. Ria Winkelmann
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • penile carcinoma
  • tumor biology
  • immune modulator
  • HPV
 

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1540 KiB  
Article
Gene Expression Profiling of the Peritumoral Immune Cell Infiltrate of Penile Squamous Cell Carcinomas
by Ria Winkelmann, Nina Becker, Regina Leichner, Peter J. Wild, Melanie Demes, Severine Banek, Claudia Döring and Julia Bein
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(22), 12142; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252212142 - 12 Nov 2024
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Abstract
Penile carcinomas are rare tumors in Europe and need further investigations due to their inferior prognosis in late tumor stages. The presence of disparate immune cell infiltrates was observed in these tumors, which were subsequently demonstrated to give rise to divergent tumor prognoses. [...] Read more.
Penile carcinomas are rare tumors in Europe and need further investigations due to their inferior prognosis in late tumor stages. The presence of disparate immune cell infiltrates was observed in these tumors, which were subsequently demonstrated to give rise to divergent tumor prognoses. The objective was to further characterize this immune cell infiltrate with the use of immunohistochemistry and RNA expression. A total of twelve well-characterized cases of penile squamous cell carcinomas with known infection status by human papillomavirus (HPV) and p16 status were assessed. The cases were classified according to their morphological characteristics, including those exhibiting a pronounced peritumoral immune cell infiltrate and those with less peritumoral immune cell infiltration. The generation of RNA expression data was conducted using the nCounter® PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel. Computational models were employed to calculate the proportions of immune cells. To corroborate the findings, an immunohistochemical analysis was conducted using antibodies against CD20, CD3, CD4, CD8, MUM1, CD68, and CD117. Our cases were clustered according to the immune cell infiltrate detected via histology in a group with less immune cell infiltrate density and in a group with increased immune cell infiltrate density. Generally, all immune cells showed an increased amount in the group with pronounced immune cell infiltrate density. The clusters were found to relate to cell functions, the complement system, cytotoxicity, pathogen defense, regulation, and T-cell functions. In cases exhibiting a pronounced immune cell infiltrate, the top three genes that exhibited the greatest upregulation were GZMA, MICB, and GNLY. No relationship to HPV infection status was demonstrated. Immunohistochemistry validated the data gained via RNA expression and showed a correlation with EPIC and Cibersort. The clustering of cases based on immune cell infiltrate density revealed significant distinctions between groups with lower and higher immune cell infiltrate density. The group with increased immune cel infiltrate density showed a greater abundance of immune cells, aligning with key functions like cytotoxicity, pathogen defense, and T-cell regulation. Among these cases, the genes GZMA, MICB, and GNLY were significantly upregulated, suggesting their involvement in an increased immune response. The role of HPV infection status in our cases with regard to the peritumoral immune cell infiltrate remains inconclusive. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Male Genitourinary Tumors: Molecular and Cellular Mechanism)
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14 pages, 2830 KiB  
Article
Radiogenomics Map-Based Molecular and Imaging Phenotypical Characterization in Localised Prostate Cancer Using Pre-Biopsy Biparametric MR Imaging
by Chidozie N. Ogbonnaya, Basim S. O. Alsaedi, Abeer J. Alhussaini, Robert Hislop, Norman Pratt, J. Douglas Steele, Neil Kernohan and Ghulam Nabi
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(10), 5379; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25105379 - 15 May 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1540
Abstract
To create a radiogenomics map and evaluate the correlation between molecular and imaging phenotypes in localized prostate cancer (PCa), using radical prostatectomy histopathology as a reference standard. Radiomic features were extracted from T2-weighted (T2WI) and Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) images of clinically localized [...] Read more.
To create a radiogenomics map and evaluate the correlation between molecular and imaging phenotypes in localized prostate cancer (PCa), using radical prostatectomy histopathology as a reference standard. Radiomic features were extracted from T2-weighted (T2WI) and Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) images of clinically localized PCa patients (n = 15) across different Gleason score-based risk categories. DNA extraction was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples. Gene expression analysis of androgen receptor expression, apoptosis, and hypoxia was conducted using the Chromosome Analysis Suite (ChAS) application and OSCHIP files. The relationship between gene expression alterations and textural features was assessed using Pearson’s correlation analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was utilized to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the model. A significant correlation was observed between radiomic texture features and copy number variation (CNV) of genes associated with apoptosis, hypoxia, and androgen receptor (p-value ≤ 0.05). The identified radiomic features, including Sum Entropy ADC, Inverse Difference ADC, Sum Variance T2WI, Entropy T2WI, Difference Variance T2WI, and Angular Secondary Moment T2WI, exhibited potential for predicting cancer grade and biological processes such as apoptosis and hypoxia. Incorporating radiomics and genomics into a prediction model significantly improved the prediction of prostate cancer grade (clinically significant prostate cancer), yielding an AUC of 0.95. Radiomic texture features significantly correlate with genotypes for apoptosis, hypoxia, and androgen receptor expression in localised prostate cancer. Integration of these into the prediction model improved prediction accuracy of clinically significant prostate cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Male Genitourinary Tumors: Molecular and Cellular Mechanism)
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