Overexpression of circRNA chr7:154954255-154998784+ in cancer-associated pancreatic stellate cells promotes the growth and metastasis of pancreatic cancer by targeting the miR-4459/KIAA0513 axis.

Purpose: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been reported to act as important regulators in pancreatic cancer. Abnormal expression of circRNAs in pancreatic cancer cells (PCCs) can promote the development of pancreatic cancer; however, the role of circRNAs in cancer-associated pancreatic stellate cells (CaPSCs) remains unclear.

Patients And Methods: In this study, we isolated CaPSCs from pancreatic cancer tissues from 5 pancreatic cancer patients and NaPSCs from normal pancreatic tissue from 5 patients with benign pancreatic disease.

A modified method for isolating human quiescent pancreatic stellate cells.

Background: This study explored a simple, high-yield method for isolating quiescent human pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) to provide sufficient and reliable raw materials for PSC-related studies.

Materials And Methods: Single-cell suspensions were prepared from normal human pancreatic tissue specimens using the gentleMACS tissue processor, which enhanced the yield and viability of the suspensions. Percoll density gradient centrifugation was then performed to isolate quiescent normal PSCs (NPSCs).

Upregulated FFAR4 correlates with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and an unfavorable prognosis in human cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: Free fatty acid receptor 4 (FFAR4) is associated with the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) and is involved in the progression of several types of cancer. However, the role of FFAR4 in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) remains unclear.

Objective: The present study evaluated the diagnosis and prognosis of CCA using FFAR4 as a biomarker.

Role of palliative radiotherapy in unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: population-based analysis with propensity score matching.

Background: This population-based study evaluated the overall (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) benefit from palliative radiotherapy (RT) in patients with unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC).

Methods: We queried The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database for the patients with unresectable ICC diagnosed from 1973 to 2013. Propensity score-matched analysis was performed to reduce the impact of the selection bias between the palliative RT group and the nonpalliative RT group.