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The Hippo signaling pathway, one of the most conserved in humans, controlling dimensions of organs and tumor growth, is frequently deregulated in several human malignancies, including ovarian cancer (OC). The alteration of Hippo signaling has been reported to contribute to ovarian carcinogenesis and progression. However, the prognostic roles of individual Hippo genes in OC patients remain elusive. Herein we investigated the expression level and prognostic value of key Hippo genes in OC using online databases, followed by a qRT-PCR validation step in an additional patient cohort. Using the GEPIA database, we observed an increased level for TP53 and reduced expression level for LATS1, LATS2, MST1, TAZ, and TEF in tumor tissue versus normal adjacent tissue. Moreover, LATS1, LATS2, TP53, TAZ, and TEF expression levels have prognostic significance correlated with progression-free survival. The qRT-PCR validation step was conducted in an OC patient cohort comprising 29 tumor tissues and 20 normal adjacent tissues, endorsing the expression level for LATS1, LATS2, and TP53, as well as for two of the miRNAs targeting the TP53 gene, revealing miR-25-3p upregulation and miR-181c-5p downregulation. These results display that there are critical prognostic value dysregulations of the Hippo genes in OC. Our data demonstrate the major role the conserved Hippo pathway presents in tumor control, underlying potential therapeutic strategies and controlling several steps modulated by miRNAs and their target genes that could limit ovarian cancer progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prostate cancer represents the most encountered urinary malignancy in males over 50 years old, and the second most diagnosed after lung cancer globally. Digital rectal examination and prostatic specific antigen were the long-time standard tools for diagnosis but with a significant risk of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Magnetic resonance imaging recently entered the diagnosis process, but to this date, there is no specific biomarker that accurately indicates whether to proceed with the prostate biopsy. Research in this area has gone towards this direction, and recently, serum, urine, imagistic, tissue biomarkers, and Risk Calculators promise to help better diagnose and stratify prostate cancer. In order to eliminate the comorbidities that appear along with the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, there is a constant need to implement new diagnostic strategies. Important uro-oncology associations recommend the use of novel biomarkers in the grey area of prostate cancer, to better distinguish the next step in the diagnostic process. Although it is not that simple, they should be integrated according to the clinical policies, and it should be considered that statistical significance does not always equal clinical significance. In this review, we analyzed the contribution of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based biomarkers (PHI, PHID, 4Kscore, STHLM3), imagistic techniques (mp-MRI and mp-US), and combined tests in the early diagnosis process of localized prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]