About
87
Publications
6,390
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
754
Citations
Citations since 2017
Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (87)
Objectives:
To evaluate the predictive role of pre-nephroureterectomy (NU) hydronephrosis on post-NU renal function (RF) change and preserved eligibility rate for adjuvant therapy in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).
Patients and methods:
This retrospective study collected data of 1018 patients from the Taiwan UTUC Collabora...
Background
Endoscopic management of upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC) is an important treatment option for low risk UTUC. Although Taiwan is an endemic area for UTUC, endoscopic treatment outcomes in Taiwan are frequently under- reported.
Methods
This study retrospectively reviewed the treatment outcomes of endoscopic management for clinically...
Purpose
Taiwan has a high incidence of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). This study aimed to compare the surgical outcomes following transperitoneal hand-assisted laparoscopic nephroureterectomy (TP-HALNU) and transperitoneal pure laparoscopic nephroureterectomy (TP-LNU) from the Taiwan nationwide UTUC collaboration database using different...
Aims
Phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (PDE5is) inhibit the hydrolysis of cyclic guanosine 5′-monophosphate in smooth muscle cells and are a widely known treatment for erectile dysfunction. Accumulating evidence also suggests that PDE5is exhibit potential benefits in cardiovascular and chronic kidney diseases. In this study, we examined the therapeuti...
Purpose
We compared intraureteral stent placement (CIU-SP) with conventional stent placement (C-SP) regarding the stent-related symptoms.
Methods
We randomized patients who underwent ureteroscopic lithotripsy into two groups. In CIU-SP group, a 16-cm or 18-cm stent was placed with its distal end above the ureterovesical junction. In C-SP group, a...
Purpose:
To evaluate the safety and the efficacy of a radiation-free 2-step tract dilation technique in totally ultrasound-guided percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).
Materials and methods:
From Oct 2018 to Mar 2020, we prospectively and consecutively enrolled 18 patients with 19 kidney units with urolithiasis. The nephrostomy tract was establis...
Purpose
We aimed to evaluate the impact of preoperative local symptoms on prognosis after radical nephroureterectomy in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).
Methods
This retrospective study consisted of 2,662 UTUC patients treated at 15 institutions in Taiwan from 1988 to 2019. Clinicopathological data were retrospectively collec...
PurposeLaparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy (LNU) has gradually become the new standard treatment for localized upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC). With more blunt dissection and tactile sensation, hand-assisted LNU might shorten the operative time compared with the pure laparoscopic approach. However, whether the use of the hand-assisted or t...
Background
The advantage of adjuvant chemotherapy for upper urinary tract urothelial cancer (UTUC) has been reported, whereas its impact on upper tract cancer with variant histology remains unclear. We aimed to answer the abovementioned question with our real-world data.
Design, Setting, and Participants
Patients who underwent radical nephroureter...
Purpose
This study aimed to compare the oncological outcomes of patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) without clinical lymph node metastasis (cN0) undergoing lymph node dissection (LND) during radical nephroureterectomy (NU).
Methods
From the updated data of the Taiwan UTUC Collaboration Group, a total of 2726 UTUC patients were id...
The clinical efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is unclear. We aimed to assess the therapeutic outcomes of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with advanced UTUC (pT3-T4) after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). We retrospectively reviewed the data of 2108 patients from the Taiwan UTUC Collaboration Group betw...
Background
Taiwan is one of the endemic regions where upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) accounts for approximately a third of all urothelial tumors. Owing to its high prevalence, extensive experience has been accumulated in minimally invasive radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). Although a variety of predictive factors have been explored in nume...
Background
Dysfunctional transcription machinery with associated dysregulated transcription characterizes many malignancies. Components of the mediator complex, a principal modulator of transcription, are increasingly implicated in cancer. The mediator complex subunit 10 (MED10), a vital kinase module of the mediator, plays a critical role in bladd...
Diabetic individuals have a higher incidence of urinary tract infection (UTI) than non-diabetic individuals, and also require longer treatment. We evaluated the effects of insulin pretreatment on the regulation of JAK/STAT transduction pathways in UPEC-infected bladder cells in a high-glucose environment. A bladder cell model with GFP-UPEC and fluo...
Background:
Erectile dysfunction (ED) remains an emotional wrench to patients and a therapeutic challenge to urologists in andrology clinics worldwide. This is, in part, related to refraction to, or transient effect of phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (PDE5i), coupled with patients' dissatisfaction with this treatment modality. Low-intensity extraco...
Purpose
This study aimed to compare the oncological outcomes and surgical complications of patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) treated with different minimally invasive techniques for nephroureterectomy.
Methods
From the updated data of the Taiwan UTUC Collaboration Group, a total of 3,333 UTUC patients were identified. After exc...
Background:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to affect countries worldwide. To inhibit the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), testing of patients, contact tracing, and quarantine of their close contacts have been used as major non-pharmaceutical interventions. The advantages of a...
Tumor multifocality and location are prognostic factors for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). However, confounding effects can appear when these two factors are analyzed together. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the impact of tumor distribution on the outcomes of multifocal UTUC after radical nephroureterectomy. From the 2780 UTUC patient...
Background:
Despite its widespread use, the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) alone as a screening biomarker for prostate cancer (PCa) leads often to unwarranted prostate biopsy, over-diagnosis, and consequently, over-treatment, because of its limited specificity. There are reports that the apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage (AIM), secreted ma...
Background To evaluate the safety and the efficacy of a radiation-free 2-step tract dilation technique in totally ultrasound-guided percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).
Methods From Oct 2018 to Mar 2020, we prospectively and consecutively enrolled 18 patients with 19 kidney units with urolithiasis. The nephrostomy tract was established by the foll...
Purpose:
Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), affecting over 90% of patients with symptomatic prostatitis, remains a therapeutic challenge and adversely affects patients' quality of life (QoL). This study probed for likely beneficial effects of ESWT, evaluating its extent and durability.
Patients and methods:
Standardized...
Background:
prostate cancer (PCa) is a principal cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality. Castration resistance and metastasis are clinical challenges and continue to impede therapeutic success, despite diagnostic and therapeutic advances. There are reports of the oncogenic activity of genetic suppressor element (GSE)1 in breast and gastri...
To assess the predictive value of tumor burden on the biochemical response, and radiological response in Taiwanese metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients receiving enzalutamide. The mCRPC patients treated with enzalutamide were recruited from three hospitals. High tumor burden (HTB) was classified as metastases at either a...
Background: Testosterone plays a critical role in prostate development and pathology. However, the impact of the molecular interplay between testosterone-associated genes on therapy response and susceptibility to disease relapse in PCa patients remains underexplored. Objective: This study investigated the role of dysregulated or aberrantly expresse...
Our aim was to analyze the clinical and survival differences among patients who underwent the two main treatment modalities, endoscopic ablation and radical nephroureterectomy. This study examined all patients who had undergone endoscopic management and RNU between Jul. 1988 and Mar. 2019 from the Taiwan UTUC registry. The inclusion criteria were l...
Background
A high incidence of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma has been reported in the southwestern area of Taiwan, where arsenic water contamination was considered the main cause. However, there is no definite proof to show a correlation between arsenic water contamination and upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma. To investigate the...
We sought to examine the effect of tumor location on the prognosis of patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) treated with radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). This retrospective study came from the Taiwan UTUC Collaboration Group, which consisted of 2658 patients at 15 institutions in Taiwan from 1988 to 2019. Patients with kidney-spari...
The p16/Ki67 dual immunostaining was performed on anal cytology specimens; this is an anal cancer screening method. A literature search was performed in the BioMed Central, Cochrane Library, Embase, Google Scholar, and PubMed electronic databases for relevant articles. We included studies that discussed the efficacy of p16/Ki67 dual immunostaining...
Background
UPEC can internalize clonally in prostate to form biofilm-like intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs) for recurrent or chronic infection. We previously indicated that the exposure of prostate cells to testosterone could suppress UPEC invasion and their persistent survival within cells by effectively inhibiting the JAK/STAT1 signaling...
Background
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the key regulator of angiogenesis in the development of various cancers. Previous studies have examined the relationship between VEGF gene promoter polymorphisms such as −2578C/A and −460C/T and bladder cancer risk; however, these results are inconclusive. Therefore, we performed this meta-ana...
Signaling elicited by the stem cell factors SOX2, OCT4, KLF4, and MYC not only mediates reprogramming of differentiated cells to pluripotency but has also been correlated with tumor malignancy. In this study, we found SOX2 expression signifies poor recurrence-free survival and correlates with advanced pathological grade in bladder cancer. SOX2 sile...
Acute urinary retention (AUR) is associated with hormone imbalance in men. However, limited studies focused on exploring the complications of AUR in patients with prostate cancer (PC) who receive androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Therefore, we aim to evaluate the subsequent risk of AUR in ADT-treated PC patients. We collected data from 24,464 mal...
Background/purpose:
Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is an inflammatory cytokine and plays important role in development of cancers. We conducted a meta-analysis to explore the association between IL-8 rs4073 polymorphism and risk of prostate cancer.
Methods:
PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched for only case-control...
Background
Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have higher incidence and more severe urinary tract infections (UTIs) for longer duration than those of the patients without DM. It causes more complicated etiologies during uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) infection. However, studies regarding the molecular mechanism are scarce.
Methods
The pre...
The current study aimed to investigate whether low testosterone predicted the recurrence and clinical outcomes after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in males. From June 2015 through August 2017, the study prospectively enrolled 110 male AIS patients. All received detailed evaluations at admission and were followed for at least 1 year. The cumulative in...
Aims:
We aimed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic total extraperitoneal (TEP) inguinal hernia repair in patients with the continuation of their antithrombotic agents.
Settings and design:
This was prospective cohort study.
Materials and methods:
A total of 115 patients who underwent TEP inguinal hernia repair between Januar...
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an inflammatory cytokines that plays a role in the development of cancer. Several studies have examined the relationship between the IL-6 -174G>C polymorphism and bladder cancer, but these results are inconclusive. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to explore the association between IL-6 -174G>C polymorphism and bladde...
Cigarette smoking and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke are well-known risk factors for urothelial carcinoma (UC). We conducted a hospital-based case-control study involving 287 UC cases and 574 cancer-free controls to investigate the joint effects of cigarette smoking and polymorphisms of inflammatory genes on UC risk. Tumor necrosis factor...
Objective:
Previous studies have suggested an association between bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) and endometriosis. However, no nation-wide population study has yet reported an association between them. In this study, we examined the risk of BPS/IC among subjects with endometriosis during a 3-year follow-up in Taiwan using a...
Background/Objective: To report the initial experience and the early outcomes of a modified U-shaped ileal neobladder, which was developed to facilitate the neobladder-urethral anastomosis by minimizing the anastomotic tension.
Patients and Methods: Between June 2015 and December 2016, two male and two female patients (median age: 65.5 years, range...
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180244.].
Background:
Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is derived from the urothelium of the urinary tract, and includes cancers of the bladder, renal pelvis and ureter. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and demographic features among patients with bladder cancer and urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract (UTUC) in Taiwan.
Methods:
T...
Prostatitis is a common condition in adult men of all ages. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are most frequent pathogen involved in bacterial prostatitis by refluxing the infected urine into prostatic ducts and resulting in an ascending urethral infection. However, the study about the mechanisms of UPEC to invade, replicate and persist in norm...
Objective: Tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) offers several advantages over standard PCNL, including a shorter hospital stay, less analgesic requirement, and less postoperative pain. Using a fibrin sealant to seal the nephrostomy tract had become a widely accepted technique at the conclusion of tubeless PCNL. Our objective is to evaluate...
Introduction:
Although testosterone deficiency has a well-known association with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the threshold remains to be determined.
Aim:
To investigate whether there is a discriminatory testosterone level below which the CVD risk increases.
Methods:
The study included 876 men 45 to 74 years old who underwen...
Previous studies have investigated the association between TNF-α -308 G/A polymorphism and bladder cancer risk in various populations. However, these findings remain inconclusive. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to explore the relationship between TNF-α -308 G/A polymorphism and bladder cancer risk. A literature search in PubMed was perform...
The intriguing phenomenon that cancer cells have biological features similar to stem cells suggests that cancer and stem cells may share the same regulatory signaling pathway. We found that SOX2, a master transcriptional factor controlling self-renewal of stem cells, was highly expressed in a subgroup of transitional cell carcinoma of bladder cance...
Previous studies have investigated the association between TNF-α-308 G/A polymorphism and bladder cancer risk in various populations. However, these findings remain inconclusive. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to explore the relationship between TNF-α-308 G/A polymorphism and bladder cancer risk. A literature search in PubMed was performed...
End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients commonly have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases than general population. Chronic kidney disease is an independent risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF); however, little is known about the AF risk among ESRD patients with various modalities of renal replacement therapy. We used the Taiwan...
Introduction:
Testosterone deficiency increases the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.
Aim:
To evaluate the effect of erectile dysfunction (ED), sexual frequency and hypogonadal symptoms on CVD risk.
Methods:
A total of 395 hypogonadal men aged 45-74 years were surveyed using the Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male and the International Inde...
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) was the tenth leading cause of death in Taiwan. as the fifth stage of progressive CKD. Various therapeutic modalities including hemodialysis (HD),peritoneal dialysis (PD) and renal transplantation (RT) modify the risks of systemic chronic diseases in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients remains unclear.
A total of 18...
Human lymphotoxin-β receptor (LTβR), a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, plays an essential role in secondary lymphoid organ development, host defense, chemokine secretion, and apoptosis. In our study, LTβR activations by different stimulations were all found to induce RANTES secretion. Overexpression of LTβR or stimulation...
While the epidemiology of testosterone deficiency has been well described in men with previously known type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), it was less reported in those with untreated, newly diagnosed T2DM.
The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and the risk factors of testosterone deficiency of men with newly diagnosed T2DM.
The cros...
Background/Purpose
Cigarette smoking is the main risk factor for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB). Glutathione S-transferase omega 1 (GSTO1) and sulfotransferase 1A1 (SULT1A1) have been reported to be associated with the metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and aromatic amines. The aim of the present study was to investiga...
Cigarette smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, and arsenic exposure are well known risk factors for developing urothelial carcinoma (UC). We investigated the combined effects of cigarette smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, and the presence of urinary total arsenic on the risk of developing UC.
We conducted a hospital-based, case-control study...
