Cancers
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The Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) has been introduced to provide preoperative bladder cancer staging and has proved to be reliable in assessing the presence of muscle invasion in the pre-TURBT (trans-urethral resection of bladder tumor). We aimed to assess through a systematic review and meta-analysis the inter-reader variability of VI-RADS criteria for discriminating non-muscle vs. muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC, MIBC). PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Embase were searched up until 30 July 2020. ⋯ Heterogeneity was present among the studies (Q = 185.92, d.f. = 7, p < 0.001; I2 = 92.7%). Meta-regression analyses showed that the relative % of MIBC diagnosis and cumulative reader's experience to influence the estimated outcome (Coeff: 0.019, SE: 0.007; p= 0.003 and 0.036, SE: 0.009; p = 0.001). In the present study, we confirm excellent pooled inter-reader agreement of VI-RADS to discriminate NMIBC from MIBC underlying the importance that standardization and reproducibility of VI-RADS may confer to multiparametric magnetic resonance (mpMRI) for preoperative BCa staging.
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Initiation and progression of cancer are under both genetic and epigenetic regulation. Epigenetic modifications including alterations in DNA methylation, RNA and histone modifications can lead to microRNA (miRNA) gene dysregulation and malignant cellular transformation and are hereditary and reversible. miRNAs are small non-coding RNAs which regulate the expression of specific target genes through degradation or inhibition of translation of the target mRNA. miRNAs can target epigenetic modifier enzymes involved in epigenetic modulation, establishing a trilateral regulatory "epi-miR-epi" feedback circuit. ⋯ In addition, the application of bioinformatics tools to study these networks and the use of therapeutic miRNAs for the treatment of cancer are also reviewed. A comprehensive interpretation of these mechanisms and the interwoven bond between miRNAs and epigenetics is crucial for understanding how the human epigenome is maintained, how aberrant miRNA expression can contribute to tumorigenesis and how knowledge of these factors can be translated into diagnostic and therapeutic tool development.