MicroRNA-18a promotes cancer progression through SMG1 suppression and mTOR pathway activation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

miR-18a has been reported to be upregulated in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tissues by microarray assays. However, the roles and the underlying mechanisms of miR-18a in NPC remain poorly understood. Here we demonstrated by real-time RT-PCR that miR-18a expression is upregulated in NPC tissues, and positively correlated with tumor size and TNM stage.

Genome-Wide Association Study of Susceptibility Loci for Radiation-Induced Brain Injury.

Background: Radiation-induced brain injury is a nonnegligible issue in the management of cancer patients treated by partial or whole brain irradiation. In particular, temporal lobe injury (TLI), a deleterious late complication in nasopharyngeal carcinoma, greatly affects the long-term life quality of these patients. Although genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have successfully identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with radiation toxicity, genetic variants contributing to the radiation-induced brain injury have not yet been assessed.

A Genomic-clinicopathologic Nomogram for the Preoperative Prediction of Lymph Node Metastasis in Bladder Cancer.

Preoperative lymph node (LN) status is important for the treatment of bladder cancer (BCa). Here, we report a genomic-clinicopathologic nomogram for preoperatively predicting LN metastasis in BCa. In the discovery stage, 325 BCa patients from TCGA were involved and LN-status-related mRNAs were selected.

ADAR2 functions as a tumor suppressor via editing IGFBP7 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), one of the most aggressive cancers, is characterized by heterogeneous genetic and epigenetic changes. Recently, A-to-I RNA editing, catalyzed by adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs), was found to be aberrantly regulated during tumorigenesis. We previously reported that ADAR2 was downregulated in ESCC but its role was unclear.

New insights into the genetic mechanism of IQ in autism spectrum disorders.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) comprise a number of underlying sub-types with various symptoms and presumably different genetic causes. One important difference between these sub-phenotypes is IQ. Some forms of ASD such as Asperger's have relatively intact intelligence while the majority does not.

Quantitative association of tobacco smoking with the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a comprehensive meta-analysis of studies conducted between 1979 and 2011.

Over the years, many studies have attempted to establish a link between tobacco smoking and an increased risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), but their results have been inconsistent. To clarify this link, we first conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to integrate the findings of epidemiologic studies from the last half-century. The methodology used for this study followed the checklist proposed by the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) Group.

Functional polymorphism in the 5'-UTR of CR2 is associated with susceptibility to nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a squamous cell cancer endemic in Southern China and Southeast Asia. It has been shown that inflammatory and immune responses during EBV infection contribute to the development of NPC. The complement receptor 2 (CR2) gene plays central roles during inflammatory and immune responses and, therefore, is a good candidate susceptibility gene for NPC.

Replication study confirms link between TSPAN18 mutation and schizophrenia in Han Chinese.

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a severe psychiatric disorder associated with many different risk factors, both genetic and environmental. A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) of Han Chinese identified three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs rs11038167, rs11038172, and rs835784) in the tetraspanins gene TSPAN18 as possible susceptibility loci for schizophrenia. Hoping to validate these findings, we conducted a case-control study of Han Chinese with 1093 schizophrenia cases and 1022 healthy controls.

Developing genetic epidemiological models to predict risk for nasopharyngeal carcinoma in high-risk population of China.

To date, the only established model for assessing risk for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) relies on the sero-status of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). By contrast, the risk assessment models proposed here include environmental risk factors, family history of NPC, and information on genetic variants. The models were developed using epidemiological and genetic data from a large case-control study, which included 1,387 subjects with NPC and 1,459 controls of Cantonese origin.

An epidemiological and molecular study of the relationship between smoking, risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and Epstein-Barr virus activation.

Background: Elevated levels of antibodies against antigens in the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) lytic phase are important predictive markers for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) risk. Several lifestyle factors, including smoking, have also been associated with NPC risk. We hypothesized that some specific lifestyle factors induce transformation of EBV from the latent to the lytic stage and contribute to NPC occurrence.

Non-viral environmental risk factors for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a systematic review.

This review aims to systematically summarize the epidemiological studies on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) conducted over the past half century, covering descriptive epidemiological studies and reports on non-viral risk factors. Multiple lines of epidemiologic evidence for established risk factors are systematically presented in comprehensive tables. The potential interactions among environmental factors and genetic components, and also the impacts of parallel sequencing technology on the aetiology of NPC are discussed.

Elevated Epstein-Barr virus seroreactivity among unaffected members of families with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Serum antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antigens can be used to predict the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). To investigate whether EBV seropositivity rates were higher among healthy family members from multiplex and sporadic families with NPC (i.e.

Human genetic variants of homologous recombination repair genes first found to be associated with Epstein-Barr virus antibody titers in healthy Cantonese.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is a major risk factor for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Despite high prevalence of infection among the general population worldwide, only a small proportion of infected individuals presents with seropositivity for EBV-specific IgA antibodies. This seropositive subgroup of EBV carriers has an elevated cumulative risk for NPC during their lifetime.

Comprehensive pathway-based association study of DNA repair gene variants and the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

DNA repair plays a central role in protecting against environmental carcinogenesis, and genetic variants of DNA repair genes have been reported to be associated with several human malignancies. To assess whether DNA gene variants were associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) risk, a candidate gene association study was conducted among the Cantonese population within the Guangdong Province, China, the ethnic group with the highest risk for NPC. A 2-stage study design was utilized.

Traditional Cantonese diet and nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk: a large-scale case-control study in Guangdong, China.

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is rare in most parts of the world but is a common malignancy in southern China, especially in Guangdong. Dietary habit is regarded as an important modifier of NPC risk in several endemic areas and may partially explain the geographic distribution of NPC incidence. In China, rapid economic development during the past few decades has changed the predominant lifestyle and dietary habits of the Chinese considerably, requiring a reassessment of diet and its potential influence on NPC risk in this NPC-endemic area.

Effect of family history of cancers and environmental factors on risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Guangdong, China.

Background: Family history of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an established risk factor for this cancer, but the contributions of family history of other types of cancer and its interaction with environmental factors have not been well characterized.

Methods: A total of 1845 incident cases of NPC and 2275 matched controls from Guangdong, China were included in this study. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated from logistic regression models adjusted for smoking, consumption of alcohol, salted fish consumption, and demographic factors.

A case-control and a family-based association study revealing an association between CYP2E1 polymorphisms and nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk in Cantonese.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is rare in most parts of the world but is more prevalent in Southern China, especially in Guangdong. The cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) has been recognized as one of the critically important enzymes involved in oxidizing carcinogens and is probably to be associated with NPC carcinogenesis. To systematically investigate the association between genetic variants in CYP2E1 and NPC risk in Cantonese, two independent studies, a family-based association study and a case-control study, were conducted using the haplotype-tagging single-nucleotide polymorphism approach.

[Differentially expressed genes between upward and downward progressing types of nasopharyngeal carcinoma].

Background & Objective: Upward (local growth and invasion of the base of skull), downward (distant metastasis) and mixed progressing types of nasopharygeal carcinoma (NPC) have been observed when the disease progress to middle-late stage. The upward and downward progressing types are evidently different in clinical symptom, therapy strategy and prognosis. Identification of the molecular differences between them is very important for molecular classification, prognostic prediction and research on neoplasia and development of NPC.

Genetic polymorphisms of TLR3 are associated with Nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk in Cantonese population.

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is endemic in Southern China, displays a strong relationship with genetic susceptibility and associates with Epstein-Barr virus infection. Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) plays an important role in the antivirus response. Therefore, we examined the association between TLR3 gene polymorphisms and NPC susceptibility.

Haplotype of gene Nedd4 binding protein 2 associated with sporadic nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the Southern Chinese population.

Background: Bcl-3 as an oncoprotein is overexpressed in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Nedd4 binding protein 2 (N4BP2), which is located in the NPC susceptibility locus, is a Bcl-3 binding protein. This study is aimed to explore the association between N4BP2 genetic polymorphism and the risk of NPC.

Centromere protein H is a novel prognostic marker for nasopharyngeal carcinoma progression and overall patient survival.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to analyze the expression of Centromere protein H (CENP-H), one of the fundamental components of the human active kinetochore, in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and to correlate it with clinicopathologic data, including patient survival.

Experimental Design: Using reverse transcription-PCR and Western blot, we detected the expression of CENP-H in normal nasopharyngeal epithelial cells, immortalized nasopharyngeal epithelial cell lines, and NPC cell lines. Using immunohistochemistry, we analyzed CENP-H protein expression in 160 clinicopathologically characterized NPC cases.

[Screening for mutations in the hotspot mutation regions of PIK3CA gene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma].

Background & Objective: Recent studies showed high frequency of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic alpha polypeptide (PIK3CA) mutations in various human cancers; notably, these mutations frequently locate in the hotspot mutation regions of PIK3CA exon 9 and exon 20 with functional significance in tumorigenesis, invasion, and anti-apoptosis. This study was to screen for mutations in the hotspot mutation regions of PIK3CA in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and explore the correlation of PIK3CA mutations to tumorigenesis of NPC.

Methods: PIK3CA exon 9 and exon 20 in 46 specimens of sporadic primary NPC tissues were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-clone sequencing; those in 46 samples of matched NPC peripheral blood and 3 NPC cell lines CNE1, CNE2, and SUNE1 were directly sequenced.

Sequence variants in toll-like receptor 10 are associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common malignancy in southern China and Southeast Asia. Genetic susceptibility is a major factor in determining the individual risk of NPC in these areas. To test the association between NPC and variants in Toll-like receptor 10 (TLR10), we conducted a hospital-based case-control study in a Cantonese-speaking population in Guangdong province.

Loss of heterozygosity analysis of a candidate gastric carcinoma tumor suppressor locus at 7q31.

Gastric carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies in Asia. Although the allelic deletion of 7q has been reportedly associated with primary gastric carcinoma tumorigenesis, no predisposing genes in this region have been identified so far. Here, we report the results of genotype and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analysis on 7q in this tumor.