The development of a cSMART-based integrated model for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) generally arises from a background of liver cirrhosis (LC). Patients with cirrhosis and suspected HCC are recommended to undergo serum biomarker tests and imaging diagnostic evaluation. However, the performance of routine diagnostic methods in detecting early HCC remains unpromising.

The Landscape of Cell-Free HBV Integrations and Mutations in Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients.

Purpose: Intratumoral hepatitis B virus (HBV) integrations and mutations are related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has shown itself as a powerful noninvasive biomarker for cancer. However, the HBV integration and mutation landscape on cfDNA remains unclear.

Development of a Novel Serum Exosomal MicroRNA Nomogram for the Preoperative Prediction of Lymph Node Metastasis in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Preoperative prediction of lymph node (LN) metastasis is accepted as a crucial independent risk factor for treatment decision-making for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. Our study aimed to establish a non-invasive nomogram to identify LN metastasis preoperatively in ESCC patients. Construction of the nomogram involved three sequential phases with independent patient cohorts.

Biodiversity and richness shifts of mucosa-associated gut microbiota with progression of colorectal cancer.

The host-associated gut microbiota is considered critical for the occurrence and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC); however, systematic evaluations of the changes in the biodiversity and richness of mucosa-associated gut microbiota with the development of CRC have been limited. Twenty-three paired samples from colorectal tumor sites and the surrounding non-tumor tissues were collected from stage I to IV CRC patients. The microbial compositions of the samples were analyzed by Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene.

Obesity and pancreatic cancer: An update of epidemiological evidence and molecular mechanisms.

Despite advances in therapy and achievements in translational research, pancreatic cancer (PC) remains an invariably fatal malignancy. Risk factors that affect the incidence of PC include diabetes, smoking, obesity, chronic pancreatitis, and diet. The growing worldwide obesity epidemic is associated with an increased risk of the most common cancers, including PC.

Increased expression of the long noncoding RNA CRNDE-h indicates a poor prognosis in colorectal cancer, and is positively correlated with IRX5 mRNA expression.

Background: The long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed - h (CRNDE-h) plays important roles in the early stages of human development and cancer progression. We investigated the expression and clinical significance of lncRNA CRNDE-h in colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: The expression level of lncRNA CRNDE-h was analyzed in 142 CRC tissues and 142 paired adjacent nontumorous tissues, along with 21 inflammatory bowel diseases, 69 hyperplastic polyp, and 73 colorectal adenoma samples, using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

MicroRNA-218 is a prognostic indicator in colorectal cancer and enhances 5-fluorouracil-induced apoptosis by targeting BIRC5.

One major reason for the failure of advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment is the occurrence of chemoresistance to fluoropyrimidine (FU)-based chemotherapy. Various reports showed that ectopic expression and function of microRNAs (miRNAs) played key roles to mediate apoptosis at the post-transcriptional level. To further explore the possible mechanisms, we evaluated the prognostic effect of miR-218 in patients with CRC receiving 5-FU-based treatment and investigated the proapoptotic role of miR-218 in vitro.

Combined detection of sialic acid and hydroxyproline in diagnosis of ovarian cancer and its comparison with human epididymis protein 4 and carbohydrate antigen 125.

Background: Elevated serum sialic acid (SA) and hydroxyproline (Hyp) concentrations have been found in a variety of malignant cancers. We simultaneously detect serum concentrations of SA and Hyp (SA&Hyp) in ovarian cancer, and compare its diagnostic value with classic tumor markers-human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125).

Methods: Serum concentrations of SA&Hyp, HE4 and CA125A were detected in a total of 767 serum samples collected from 484 patients with gynecologic diseases, 180 healthy individuals, 45 pregnant women and 58 patients with renal failure using chemical colorimetry and electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA), respectively.

Overexpression of miR-223 correlates with tumor metastasis and poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer.

The purpose of the study was to investigate microRNA-223 (miR-223) expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) and its relationship with tumorigenesis and disease prognosis. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure levels of miR-223 in tumor samples and adjacent non-cancerous tissues from 62 patients undergoing radical resection for the treatment of CRC. The associations between miR-223 expression and patient age, sex, as well as clinicopathologic parameters, such as tumor size, differentiation, location, invasion depth, metastasis, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, and overall patient survival, were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Decreased expression of miR-133a correlates with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer patients.

Aim: To investigate microRNA-133a (miR-133a) expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) and its relationship with tumorigenesis and disease prognosis.

Methods: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to measure levels of miR-133a in tumor samples and adjacent non-cancerous tissues from 169 patients undergoing radical resection for CRC. The associations between miR-133a expression and patient age, sex, as well as clinicopathologic parameters, such as tumor size, differentiation, location, invasion depth, metastasis, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage and overall patient survival, were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Limited diagnostic value of microRNAs for detecting colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis.

Background: MicroRNAs have been demonstrated to play important roles in the development and progression of colorectal cancer. Several studies utilizing microRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers for colorectal cancer (CRC) have been reported. The aim of this meta-analysis was to comprehensively and quantitatively summarize the diagnostic value of microRNAs for detecting colorectal cancer.

Krüppel-like factor 8 overexpression is correlated with angiogenesis and poor prognosis in gastric cancer.

Aim: To investigate Krüppel-like factor 8 (KLF8) expression in gastric cancer and its relationship with angiogenesis and prognosis of gastric cancer.

Methods: One hundred and fifty-four patients with gastric cancer who underwent successful curative resection were retrospectively enrolled in the study. Fifty tumor-adjacent healthy gastric tissues (≥ 5 cm from the tumor margin) obtained during the original resection were randomly selected for comparative analysis.

Aberrant expression of chemokine receptor CCR4 in human gastric cancer contributes to tumor-induced immunosuppression.

The chemokine receptor CCR4 is preferentially expressed on certain immune cells and some hematological tumor cells, which play pivotal roles in suppression of host immune response. However, the reasons for the upmodulation of CCR4 and its immune functions in solid tumors remain unclear. Herein, we aimed to determine the expression profiles of CCR4 in gastric cancer cells and its role in regulating antitumor immunity.

Overexpression of Bmi-1 in uterine cervical cancer: correlation with clinicopathology and prognosis.

Introduction: B-cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1 (Bmi-1) is a member of polycomb group, which participates in axial patterning, hematopoiesis, cell cycle regulation, and senescence. Recently, overexpression of Bmi-1 has been reported in various human cancers and proved to be associated with poor survival. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of Bmi-1 protein in human uterine cervical cancer (UCC) and explore its associations with clinicopathological factors and prognosis.

RNA interference of human papillomavirus type 16 E7 increases HLA class I antigen expression in HaCaT-E7 cells.

Background: High-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are the major causative agents of cervical cancer. The E7 protein of high-risk HPV disturbs cell cycle control and down-regulates components of the antigen presentation pathway, suggesting an ideal target for development of the immunotherapy in HPV-positive cervical cancers. We previously reported that HPV16 E7 could down-regulate cell-surface HLA class I antigen accompanying decreased expression of transporter associated with antigen processing 1 (TAP-1).

[Construction of double-strand break repair protein hKu70 deficient cell strain and its biologic characters].

Objective: To construct DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair protein hKu70 deficient cell strain and to observe its biological characters for studying the functions of hKu70 gene and the effects of occupational harmfulness factors on DSB repair.

Methods: Human lung fibroblasts (HLF) were transfected with the eukaryotic expression plasmids of hKu70 gene antisense RNA (pEGFP-C1-K) to construct hKu70 protein deficient cells (named as "HLFK"). The protein expression levels of hKu70 gene in HLFC and HLFK were detected by the Western blotting to estimate the effects of antisense inhibition.