Pan-Cancer Analysis of the Roles and Driving Forces of RAB42.

RAB42 is a member of the RAS family. However, the roles and driving forces for RAB42 in tumors remain elusive. In this study, we performed a comprehensive pan-cancer analysis of the roles and regulatory mechanisms of RAB42 using bioinformatics and experiments. Online databases such as Sanger Box, ACLBI and TIDE were used to search for the expression levels, prognostic value and immune features of RAB42. We observed that RAB42 expression was upregulated in most tumors and was closely associated with poor prognosis. Enrichment analysis indicated that RAB42 was related to multiple biological functions, especially the immune process. RAB42 expression had a positive correlation with immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint gene expression. RAB42 had a high predictive value for immunotherapy efficiency. Our study screened out susceptible drugs for the RAB42 protein by sensitivity analysis and virtual screening. Many key driver genes such as TP53 contributed to RAB42 expression. DNA methylation, super-enhancer and non-coding RNAs were the epigenetic factors responsible for RAB42 expression. In brief, RAB42 could serve as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in many tumor types. RAB42 might be a predictive biomarker and a new target for immunotherapy. Genetic and epigenetic factors were essential for RAB42 overexpression in tumors.

Systematic Analysis of the Oncogenic Role of WDR62 in Human Tumors.

BACKGROUND: Emerging studies support the oncogenic role of WD repeat domain 62 (WDR62) in few tumors, while no pan-cancer analysis is available. In this study, we analyzed systematically the oncogenic role of WDR62 across a series of human tumors based on bioinformatic data mining. METHODS: The expression level of WDR62 was analyzed via GEPIA2, TIMER, UALCAN, and StarBase databases. The prognostic role was analyzed via GEPIA2, TIMER, UALCAN, StarBase, TISIDB, TCGA portal, Kaplan-Meier Plotter, and PrognoScan databases. Then, we explored the causes for WDR62 abnormal expression via TCGA portal and UALCAN databases. Subsequently, the STRING and GeneMANIA databases were used to find the interactive networks for WDR62. Furthermore, we analyzed the correlation between WDR62 expression and immune features via TIMER and TISIDB databases. RESULTS: We found that WDR62 was significantly upregulated in most of the tumors and correlated with poor prognosis mainly in 6 candidate tumors-BLCA, BRCA, KIRC, KIRP, LIHC, and LUAD. Abnormal WDR62 expression may be probably attributed to TP53 mutation and promoter DNA methylation. Relative network analysis demonstrated that WDR62 was mainly involved in MAPK and toll-like receptor signaling pathway. WDR62 expression was associated with various immune cell infiltrations, especially cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) and T cell regulatory (Treg) cells, and was markedly correlated with poor prognosis. Moreover, WDR62 expression was closely associated with the expression of some immunomodulators such as PD-L1 and has a significant prognostic value. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that WDR62 could serve as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for several cancers. Importantly, WDR62 was closely associated with various immune cell infiltration, and to a certain extent, it can predict the effect of immunotherapy in particular PD1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Our pan-cancer study provided useful information on the oncogenic role of WDR62, contributing to further exploring the underlying mechanisms.

Factors associated with receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy among married women with breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Adjuvant chemotherapies are recommended for most women after breast cancer surgery, and can greatly affect the patients' survival. We describe and evaluate possible factors influencing receipt of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy among breast cancer patients in China. METHODS: A total of 1,431 women diagnosed with breast cancer from 1997 to 2005 were enrolled. We reviewed medical records and abstracted information about these patients. Details on social-demographic factors and clinical-pathological characteristics of participants were collected and analyzed. To meet our objectives, the patient's age at diagnosis, comorbidities, menstrual status, rural/urban status, tumor size, lymph node status, distant metastasis, tumor stage and hormone receptor status were estimated. RESULTS: Overall, 936 of these 1,431 patients (65.41%) received adjuvant chemotherapy. Receipt of chemotherapy was significantly associated with age at diagnosis, rural-urban disparities, and lymph node status of patients, though no significant difference was found between the age <50 and age 50 to 64 groups. Moderate association was also observed between hormone receptor status and receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy, though it was still not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that age at diagnosis, rural-urban disparities and lymph node status of breast cancer patients are independent predictors for receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy among married Chinese women. Further investigations are warranted, and related public health education needs to be expanded in China.

Rural-urban disparities of breast cancer patients in China.

The purpose of this study was to examine the rural-urban disparities in breast cancer patients in China. The retrospective study was performed with a total of 2,139 breast cancer patients hospitalized in Qilu Hospital of Shandong University between the years 1997 and 2011. We applied Chi-square analysis to identify significant disparities between rural and urban populations. Logistic regression model was used to estimate factors associated with the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment. Two-fifths of patients were considered rural dwellers. Significant disparities were found in marriage age (p < 0.0001), history of breast cancer (p = 0.0187), smoking (p = 0.0025) and reason for visiting a doctor (p < 0.0001) among all demographic variables. Rural patients tend to suffer more aggressive tumor histology (p = 0.0251), larger tumor size (p < 0.0001) and more metastatic lymph nodes (p < 0.0001) than urban patients. In addition, rural-urban differences were also shown in the choice of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (p = 0.0050) and surgical procedures (p < 0.0001). With logistic regression model, we found some significant factors associated with the choice of post-adjuvant chemotherapy, including age at diagnosis, history of breast cancer, tumor histology and number of positive lymph node. Differences in rural-urban breast cancer patients exist in China. Interventions to increase early diagnosis of breast cancer among rural area are in need. Further research is needed to investigate potential attitude and perception differences between rural and urban populations with respect to breast cancer preventions and treatments.