Upregulation of leukemia-induced non-coding activator RNA (LUNAR1) predicts poor outcome in pediatric T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL) accounts for around 10-15% of all lymphoblastic leukemia in children. Previous studies have proven that dysregulation of Leukemia-induced non-coding activator RNA-1 (LUNAR1) expression promotes T-ALL cell growth by enhancing the NOTCH1/IGF-1R signaling pathway. We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of LUNAR1 in pediatric T-ALL, in addition, to find out its association with NOTCH1 and IGF-1R.

Circulating miRNAs and tissue iron overload in transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia major: novel predictors and follow-up guide.

Tissue iron overload is a life-threatening scenario in children with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia major, miRNAs that are involved in iron hemostasis could serve as therapeutic targets for control of iron overload. We aimed to find out the association between three iron-related miRNAs "miR-let-7d, miR-122, and miR-200b" and excess iron in tissues, in transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia major patients. Circulating miRNA expressions are measured in peripheral blood (PB) samples using qPCR of transfusion-dependent (TDT) β-thalassemia patients (n = 140) and normalized to non-transfusion-dependent (NTDT) β-thalassemia (n = 45).

COVID-19 in Children With Cancer: A Single Low-Middle Income Center Experience.

Background: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) could be associated with morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised children.

Objective: The objective of this study was to measure the frequency of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among hospitalized children with cancer and to detect the associated clinical manifestations and outcomes.

Methodology: A prospective noninterventional study including all hospitalized children with cancer conducted between mid-April and mid-June 2020 in Ain Shams University Hospital, Egypt.

In vitro knock-out of miR-155 suppresses leukemic and HCV virus loads in pediatric HCV-4-associated acute lymphoid leukemia: A promising target therapy.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major public health problem, having a high prevalence in Egypt. Leukemia and lymphoma have been associated with HCV infection. MicroRNA-155 (miR-155) has been reported to play a regulatory role in cancer, inflammation, and immune response to infection.

Interaction between 12p chromosomal abnormalities and Lnc-HOTAIR mediated pathway in acute myeloid leukemia.

Objectives: To investigate the correlation of homeobox (HOX) transcript antisense RNA expression with clinicopathological features and the clinical prognosis of the patients with chromosome 12p abnormalities associated acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We also investigate the association of 12p chromosomal on the expression of HOTAIR, miRNA-193a, and c-kit gene as targeting genes for HOTAIR in AML.

Methods: AML patients with 12p chromosomal abnormalities were recruited and compared to AML with other chromosomal abnormalities rather than 12p.

The prognostic significance of the long non-coding RNAs "CCAT1, PVT1" in t(8;21) associated Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) is recently linked to various types of cancers, CCAT and PVT1 are two LncRNAs linked to t(8;21) associated Acute Myeloid Leukemia, the interplay between CCAT, PVT1 and the MYC proto-oncogene implicated in t(8;21) could present an opportunity for using LncRNA as prognostic biomarker or a target for therapy, We investigated the expression levels of LncRNAs in 70 patients; 30 with t(8;21) positive AML and 40 with t(8;21) negative AML, We found that CCAT1 and PVT1 are expressed in higher levels in t(8;21) positive -AML by 5.3 folds compared to t(8;21) negative group; the expression values were significantly associated with high-risk clinical criteria; moreover, they are associated with lower overall survival (OS) rate and leukemia-free survival (LFS), however we didn't find a statistically significant cut-off value of LncRNAs using the Cox regression analysis for Lnc_PVT1 except with LFS, we conclude that high expression levels of CCAT1 and PVT1 are associated with poor prognosis while being poor prognostic biomarkers in t(8;21) associated AML.

Dysregulation of miR-125b predicts poor response to therapy in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most well-known sort of leukemia in children. In spite of favorable survival rates, some patients relapse and achieve a poor outcome.

Methods: We analyzed miR-125b and Bcl-2 expressions in pediatric patients with ALL and evaluated their clinical utility as molecular markers for the prediction of disease outcomes.