Identification and diagnostic potential of hsa_circ_101303 in colorectal cancer: unraveling a regulatory network.

BACKGROUND: The role of novel circular RNAs (circRNAs) in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains to be determined. This study aimed to identify a novel circRNA involved in CRC pathogenesis, assess its diagnostic value, and construct a regulatory network. METHODS: Differential expression analysis was conducted using circRNA datasets to screen for differentially expressed circRNAs. The expression of selected circRNAs was validated in external datasets and clinical samples. Diagnostic value of plasma circRNA levels in CRC was assessed. A competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was constructed for the circRNA using TCGA dataset. RESULTS: Analysis of datasets revealed that hsa_circ_101303 was significantly overexpressed in CRC tissues compared to normal tissues. The upregulation of hsa_circ_101303 in CRC tissues was further confirmed through the GSE138589 dataset and clinical samples. High expression of hsa_circ_101303 was associated with advanced N stage, M stage, and tumor stage in CRC. Plasma levels of hsa_circ_101303 were markedly elevated in CRC patients and exhibited moderate diagnostic ability for CRC (AUC = 0.738). The host gene of hsa_circ_101303 was also found to be related to the TNM stage of CRC. Nine miRNAs were identified as target miRNAs for hsa_circ_101303, and 27 genes were identified as targets of these miRNAs. Subsequently, a ceRNA network for hsa_circ_101303 was constructed to illustrate the interactions between the nine miRNAs and 27 genes. CONCLUSIONS: The study identifies hsa_circ_101303 as a highly expressed circRNA in CRC, which is associated with the progression of the disease. Plasma levels of hsa_circ_101303 show promising diagnostic potential for CRC. The ceRNA network for hsa_circ_101303 provides valuable insights into the regulatory mechanisms underlying CRC.

lncRNA SNHG4 inhibits ferroptosis by orchestrating miR-150-5p/c-Myb axis in colorectal cancer.

LncRNAs have shown to regulate ferroptosis in colorectal cancer (CRC), but the mechanism remains largely unknown. This study unveiled the mechanism of SNHG4 underlying ferroptosis in CRC. RNA-seq and RT-PCR assay confirmed SNHG4 was decreased after Erastin treatment in CRC cells. Overexpression of SNHG4 inhibited and silence promoted CRC cells ferroptosis. SNHG4 was positively correlated to c-Myb in CRC tissues and both located in cytoplasm of CRC cells. RIP and RNA pull-down assays verified the interaction between SNHG4 and c-Myb. Silence of c-Myb alleviated the suppressing effect on ferroptosis by SNHG4 in CRC cells. Dual-luciferase reporter assay revealed that SNHG4 sponging miR-150-5p in CRC cells. Overexpression of SNHG4 decreased the miR-150-5p and increased c-Myb expression. c-Myb was a direct target gene of miR-150-5p in CRC cells. Moreover, effect of CDO1 on ferroptosis was regulated transcriptionally by c-Myb, overexpression of c-Myb reduce CDO1 expression and enhance the GPX4 levels. The animal models confirmed that regulatory effect of SNHG4 on miR-150-5p and c-Myb after inducing ferroptosis. We concluded that SNHG4 inhibited Erastin-induce ferroptosis in CRC, this effect is via sponging miR-150-5p to regulate c-Myb expression, and activated CDO1/GPX4 axis. These findings provide insights into the regulatory mechanism of SNHG4 on ferroptosis.

SNHG4-mediated PTEN destabilization confers oxaliplatin resistance in colorectal cancer cells by inhibiting ferroptosis.

Oxaliplatin resistance poses a significant challenge in colorectal cancer (CRC) therapy, necessitating further investigation into the underlying molecular mechanisms. This study aimed to elucidate the regulatory role of SNHG4 in oxaliplatin resistance and ferroptosis in CRC. Our findings revealed that treatment with oxaliplatin led to downregulation of SNHG4 expression in CRC cells, while resistant CRC cells exhibited higher levels of SNHG4 compared to parental cells. Silencing SNHG4 attenuated oxaliplatin resistance and reduced the expression of resistance-related proteins MRD1 and MPR1. Furthermore, induction of ferroptosis effectively diminished oxaliplatin resistance in both parental and resistant CRC cells. Notably, ferroptosis induction resulted in decreased SNHG4 expression, whereas SNHG4 overexpression suppressed ferroptosis. Through FISH, RIP, and RNA pull-down assays, we identified the cytoplasmic localization of both SNHG4 and PTEN, establishing that SNHG4 directly targets PTEN, thereby reducing mRNA stability in CRC cells. Silencing PTEN abrogated the impact of SNHG4 on oxaliplatin resistance and ferroptosis in CRC cells. In vivo experiments further validated the influence of SNHG4 on oxaliplatin resistance and ferroptosis in CRC cells through PTEN regulation. In conclusion, SNHG4 promotes resistance to oxaliplatin in CRC cells by suppressing ferroptosis through instability of PTEN, thus serves as a target for patients with oxaliplatin-base chemoresistance.

SPINK4 promotes colorectal cancer cell proliferation and inhibits ferroptosis.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the role of serine peptidase inhibitor Kazal type 4 (SPINK4) in colorectal cancer (CRC) and ferroptosis. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of SPINK4 on CRC pathogenesis and ferroptosis. METHODS: SPINK4 expression was analyzed in public datasets and examined using immunohistochemistry. The biological function of SPINK4 in CRC cell lines and its effect on ferroptosis were tested. An immunofluorescence assay was performed to determine the location of SPINK4 in cells, and mouse models were established to determine the effects of SPINK4 in vivo. RESULTS: CRC datasets and clinical samples analysis revealed that SPINK4 mRNA and protein levels were significantly reduced in CRC tissues compared to control tissues (P < 0.05). Two CRC cell lines (HCT116 and LoVo) were selected, and the in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that overexpression of SPINK4 greatly promotes the proliferation and metastasis of CRC cells and tumor growth (P < 0.05). The immunofluorescence assay indicated that SPINK4 is mainly located in the nucleoplasm and nucleus of CRC cells. Furthermore, SPINK4 expression was reduced after cell ferroptosis induced by Erastin, and overexpression of SPINK4 greatly inhibited ferroptosis in CRC cells. The results of mouse model further demonstrated that SPINK4 overexpression inhibited CRC cell ferroptosis and facilitated tumor growth. CONCLUSIONS: SPINK4 was decreased in CRC tissues and promoted cell proliferation and metastasis; overexpression of SPINK4 inhibited CRC cell ferroptosis.

Integrative Analysis Revealed Stemness Features and a Novel Stemness-Related Classification in Colorectal Cancer Patients.

Cancer stem cells play crucial roles in colorectal cancer (CRC) tumorigenesis and treatment response. This study aimed to determine the value of the mRNA stemness index (mRNAsi) in CRC and introduce a stemness-related classification to predict the outcome of patients. mRNAsi scores and RNA sequence data of CRC patients were analyzed. We found that high mRNAsi scores were related to early-stage CRC and a better patient prognosis. Two stemness-based subtypes (subtype I and II) were identified. Patients in subtype I presented a significantly better prognosis than those in subtype II. Patients in these two subtype groups presented significantly different tumor immunity scores and immune cell infiltration patterns. Genomic variations revealed that patients in subtype I had a lower tumor mutation burden than those in subtype II. A three-gene stemness subtype predictor was established, showing good diagnostic value in discriminating patients in different subtypes. A prognostic signature based on five stemness-related genes was established and validated in two independent cohorts and clinical samples, showing a better predictive performance than other clinical parameters. We concluded that mRNAsi scores were associated with the clinical outcome in CRC patients. The stemness-related classification was a promising prognostic predictor for CRC patients.

Systematic Analysis of the Clinical Significance of Hyaluronan-Mediated Motility Receptor in Colorectal Cancer.

Background: The role of hyaluronan-mediated motility receptor (HMMR) in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear. The present study aimed to explore the association of HMMR with the development and prognosis of CRC using sequence datasets, clinical tissues, blood samples, and cell lines. Methods: CRC datasets were downloaded from TCGA and GEO databases. Forty CRC tissue samples, 120 CRC blood samples, and 100 healthy controls were collected. Four CRC cell lines (HCT116, HT-29, LoVo, and SW480) and one normal human colon mucosal epithelial cell line (NCM460) were cultured. RT-qPCR was used to determine the expression of HMMR in the tissues and cell lines. ELISA was used to measure HMMR levels in the blood samples. Results: The expression of HMMR was significantly increased in CRC tissues than in corresponding adjacent tissues based on TCGA and GEO datasets, and clinical CRC tissues. No associations were found between the expression of HMMR and the TNM stage or other clinical parameters. The expression of HMMR varied in different CRC cell lines. The blood levels of HMMR tended to be higher in patients with CRC than in healthy controls. TCGA and GEO datasets showed inconsistent results regarding the association of HMMR expression with the survival of patients with CRC. Conclusion: The expression of HMMR is increased in CRC tissues but not in the blood. The expression of HMMR is independent of CRC development and has no prognostic significance in patients with CRC.

Clinical significance and prognostic value of C-reactive protein/albumin ratio in gastric cancer.

PURPOSE: This study was aimed to evaluate the clinical significance and prognostic value of CRP/albumin ratio (CAR) in patients with gastric cancer. METHODS: The data of 205 gastric cancer patients who underwent surgery was analyzed retrospectively. The association of CAR with the clinical features and prognostic value in gastric cancer was analyzed. The data of this study was combined with previous studies to further determine the prognostic value of CAR in patients with gastric cancer using a meta-analysis method. RESULTS: Cox analysis revealed that preoperative CAR was an independent prognosis indicator in patients with gastric cancer. High expression of CAR indicated a shorter survival time than in those with lower expression. CAR has a higher prognostic value in the 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival in patients with gastric cancer. CAR showed significant difference regarding the gastric cancer patients' age, M stage, and clinical stage. The discriminate value of CAR in M stage of gastric cancer was high (area under the curve, 0.809). A meta-analysis combining previous data and our data showed that preoperative CAR demonstrated a significant association with the overall survival of patients with gastric cancer. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that preoperative CAR could serve as an important prognostic indicator in patients with gastric cancer.

Diagnostic and Predictive Value of Immune-Related Genes in Crohn's Disease.

Abnormal immune cell infiltration is associated with the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD). This study aimed to determine the diagnostic and predictive value of immune-related genes in CD. Seven Gene Expression Omnibus datasets that analyzed the gene expression in CD tissues were downloaded. Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was used to estimate the infiltration of the immune cells in CD tissues. Immune-related genes were screened by overlapping the immune-related genes with differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was used to identify key immune-related DEGs. Diagnostic value of CD and predictive value of anti-TNFα therapy were analyzed. Immunohistochemical (IHC) assay was used to verify gene expression in CD tissues. There were significant differences among CD tissues, paired CD tissues, and normal intestinal tissues regarding the infiltration of immune cells. AQP9, CD27, and HVCN1 were identified as the key genes of the three sub-clusters in the PPI network. AQP9, CD27, and HVCN1 had mild to moderate diagnostic value in CD, and the diagnostic value of AQP9 was better than that of CD27 and HVCN1. AQP9 expression was decreased in CD after patients underwent anti-TNFα therapy, but no obvious changes were observed in non-responders. AQP9 had a moderate predictive value in patients who had undergone treatment. IHC assay confirmed that the expression of AQP9, CD27, and HVCN1 in CD tissues was higher than that in normal intestinal tissues, and AQP9, CD27 was correlated with the activity of CD. Immune-related genes, AQP9, CD27, and HVCN1 may act as auxiliary diagnostic indicators for CD, and AQP9 could serve as a promising predictive indicator in patients who underwent anti-TNF therapy.

Construction of a long noncoding RNA-based competing endogenous RNA network and prognostic signatures of left- and right-side colon cancer.

BACKGROUND: Cancers located on the right and left sides of the colon have distinct clinical and molecular characteristics. This study aimed to explore the regulatory mechanisms of location-specific long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) in colon cancer and identify potential prognostic biomarkers. METHOD: Differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs), miRNAs (DEMs), and genes (DEGs) between right- and left-side colon cancers were identified by comparing RNA sequencing profiles. Functional enrichment analysis was performed for the DEGs, and a ceRNA network was constructed. Associations between DELs and patient survival were examined, and a DEL-based signature was constructed to examine the prognostic value of these differences. Clinical colon cancer tissues and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets were used to validate the results. RESULTS: We identified 376 DELs, 35 DEMs, and 805 DEGs between right- and left-side colon cancers. The functional enrichment analysis revealed the functions and pathway involvement of DEGs. A ceRNA network was constructed based on 95 DEL-DEM-DEG interactions. Three DELs (LINC01555, AC015712, and FZD10-AS1) were associated with the overall survival of patients with colon cancer, and a prognostic signature was established based on these three DELs. High risk scores for this signature indicated poor survival, suggesting that the signature has prognostic value for colon cancer. Examination of clinical colon cancer tissues and GEO dataset analysis confirmed the results. CONCLUSION: The ceRNA regulatory network suggests roles for location-specific lncRNAs in colon cancer and allowed the development of an lncRNA-based prognostic signature, which could be used to assess prognosis and determine treatment strategies in patients with colon cancer.

Percentage of Natural Killer (NK) Cells in Peripheral Blood Is Associated with Prognosis in Patients with Gastric Cancer: A Retrospective Study from a Single Center.

BACKGROUND Natural killer (NK) cells are important for the prognosis of multiple cancers, but their prognostic value remains to be evaluated in patients with gastric cancer. Thus, this retrospective study was conducted at a single center to investigate the association between percentage of NK cells in the peripheral blood and prognosis in patients with gastric cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS The data of 180 gastric cancer patients were collected. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were applied to screen candidate prognostic factors. A time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve was employed to evaluate the ability of NK cells as a prognostic marker. Furthermore, we determined the correlation between the NK cells percentage and other parameters and their clinical significance. RESULTS Patients with a higher percentage of NK cells survived longer than those with a lower percentage of NK cells. Cox analysis revealed that NK cells could be used as an independent indicator for patients with gastric cancer. The percentage of NK cells was positively correlated with lymphocyte count and albumin, but was negatively correlated with CA125 and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio. The area under the curve for NK cells in predicting the 5-year survival rate for gastric cancer was 0.792. This increased to 0.830 upon combining NK cells with neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio. Patients at early T, N, and clinical stages possessed a significantly higher percentage of NK cells compared to those at advanced T, N, and clinical stages of gastric cancer. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that a higher percentage of NK cells predicts is associated with longer survival of gastric cancer patients and could serve as an independent prognostic biomarker.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of plasma heat shock protein 90alpha in gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: The role of plasma heat shock protein 90alpha (Hsp90α) in gastric cancers remains unclear. This study aimed to clarify the diagnostic and prognostic value of plasma Hsp90α in gastric cancer. METHODS: Data regarding 976 gastric cancer, 50 gastric inflammatory diseases, and 100 healthy controls were collected. Plasma Hsp90α levels in gastric cancer were compared to those in controls. Its correlation with tumor biomarkers and immune cells was examined. The association of plasma Hsp90α with clinical features and the diagnostic and prognostic value in gastric cancer were also determined. RESULTS: Plasma Hsp90α levels were remarkably increased in gastric cancer, compared to those in gastric inflammatory diseases and healthy controls. Moreover, plasma Hsp90α was correlated with CEA, CA125, CA153, CA199, T cells, Th/Ts ratio, and B cells. Plasma Hsp90α was also associated with the metastasis stage. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that Hsp90α, B cells, and T cells were significantly associated with gastric cancer. Plasma Hsp90α has a moderate diagnostic value, which increased when combined with B cell, T cells. Finally, plasma Hsp90α was not associated with the survival of gastric cancer patients. CONCLUSION: Plasma Hsp90α was elevated in gastric cancer and correlated with tumor biomarkers and immune cells. Plasma Hsp90α was associated with the metastasis stage and had moderate diagnostic performance but little prognostic value in gastric cancer.

Comprehensive analysis of location-specific hub genes related to the pathogenesis of colon cancer.

The molecular mechanisms underlying colon cancer lesions at different sites are not entirely clear. Herein, we aimed to explore location-specific gene profiles related to the pathogenesis of colon cancer and to identify their function. The robust rank aggregation (RRA) method was used to integrate colon cancer microarray datasets and screen differentially expressed gene (DEG) profiles between left- and right-sided colon cancers. Then, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to cluster the DEGs into modules and identify hub genes. The selected hub genes were validated using The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset and clinical tissues. We assessed the association of selected hub genes with the methylation status in immune cells. In total, 905 DEGs were identified by RRA; five gene modules and 18 hub genes were related to the clinical traits of colon cancer by WGCNA. Four hub genes were selected and shown to be associated with colon cancers on different sides and distant metastasis in the validation analysis. The four hub genes showed a low methylation status, and their expression was significantly associated with methylation status. Positive correlations were observed between the four hub genes and tumor purity and among the four types of immune cells. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that the four hub genes were mainly involved in two cancer-related pathways. In conclusion, this study identified a set of location-specific genes related to the pathogenesis of colon cancer. These four hub genes may act as novel candidate targets for the treatment of colon cancer.

Clinical Significance and Prognostic Value of miR-28-5p in Colon Cancer.

BACKGROUND: The association of miR-28-5p with colon cancer remains to be elucidated. This study aimed to determine the clinical significance and prognostic value of miR-28-5p in colon cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data of miR-28-5p in colon adenocarcinoma data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and the data was divided into cancer group and normal group, respectively. Forty colon cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues were collected and tested by qRT-PCR methods. The difference of the miR-28-5p expression between colon cancer and normal tissues was compared. The clinical significance of miR-28-5p in colon cancer and the association with the survival were determined. The predictive value of miR-28-5p in clinical features was determined using receiver operating characteristic curve. The target genes of miR-28-5p were identified, and the functional of target genes was performed using bioinformatics analysis. RESULTS: : The expression of miR-28-5p was increased in colon cancer tissues compared with normal controls (p = 0.037). The expression of miR-28-5p was significantly increased in tissues with distant metastases compared with that without distant metastases (p = 0.026). Patients with high expression of miR-28-5p have a shorter survival time than those with low expression (p = 0.004). Cox analysis showed that miR-28-5p was an independent predictor for the survival of patients (p = 0.014). Combination of miR-28-5p with TNM stage and clinical stage can improve the prognostic value for the patients (p < 0.05). miR-28-5p has a moderate predictive value in predicting the TNM stage and clinical stage (T stage: AUC = 0.515; N stage: AUC = 0.523, M stage: AUC = 0.572; clinical stage: AUC = 0.539). 711 potential target genes of miR-28-5p were screened; their function and pathways were identified. CONCLUSIONS: : This study demonstrated that miR-28-5p was increased in colon cancer and can be an independent indicator for the overall survival in patients with colon cancer.

Prognostic value of AKAP13 methylation and expression in lung squamous cell carcinoma.

Aim: This study aimed to analyze the prognostic value and clinical significance of AKAP13 mRNA expression and AKAP13 methylation in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Materials & methods: The mRNA expression and methylation of AKAP13 data of LUSC patients were downloaded from the Broad GDAC Firehose database and analyzed. Results:AKAP13 mRNA expression was downregulated and methylation was upregulated in LUSC tissue. Three CpG sites of AKAP13 were associated with overall survival. Combination of AKAP13 mRNA and methylation revealed 11 CpG sites associated with overall survival of LUSC patients. AKAP13 mRNA expression was associated with distant metastasis of LUSC, no associations were found between methylation status of CpG sites and clinical features. Conclusion:AKAP13 mRNA and its methylated CpG sites are potential prognostic indicators in LUSC patients.

Prognostic value of peripheral blood natural killer cells in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: The association between natural killer (NK) cells and survival in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients remains controversial. This study aimed to clarify the prognostic value of peripheral blood NK cells in CRC patients. METHODS: A total of 447 CRC patients who underwent radical surgery and chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. Cox regression analyses were used to identify independent prognostic indicators. Correlation between NK cell percentage and other clinicopathological features (gender, age, histological grade, tumor stage, immune cells, and inflammatory indicators) was analyzed. The prognostic values of the combinations of NK cell percentage and other clinicopathological features were also determined. RESULTS: Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that NK cell percentage in the peripheral blood was an independent prognostic indicator in CRC patients. A higher percentage of NK cells indicated a longer survival time than a lower percentage. NK cell percentage was positively correlated to the T and B lymphocyte counts and negatively correlated to the patients' age and albumin levels. With an area of 0.741 under a receiver operating characteristic curve, NK cells have a moderate predictive value for 3rd-year survival in CRC. This area increased to 0.851 by combining NK cell percentage with the B lymphocyte count. Elderly patients and those at an advanced clinical stage presented a lower percentage of NK cells than younger patients and those at an early clinical stage. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that NK cells in the blood were an independent predictor of survival in CRC patients, and the combined count of NK cells and B lymphocytes could increase the prognostic value.

C-reactive protein/albumin ratio is a prognostic indicator in Asians with pancreatic cancers: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) in pancreatic cancer remains controversial. This study aimed to determine the potential role of CAR as a prognostic indicator in pancreatic cancer. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search up to December 2018 was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, and other databases. The hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was employed to quantitatively assess CAR as a prognostic indicator in patients with pancreatic cancer. RESULTS: Eleven studies with 2047 pancreatic cancer patients were selected for the analysis. Ten out of 11 studies included only Asian patients. The pooled results showed that a higher CAR value was significantly associated with a poor overall survival of pancreatic cancer patients (random-effects model: HR = 1.86; 95% CI = 1.53-2.26). Sensitivity analysis indicated the stability of the overall pooled results. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression analysis revealed that the country under study, cut-off value of CAR, treatment of patients, and the period of follow-up did not affect the prognostic value of CAR in pancreatic cancer patients (P > .05). No publication bias was noted across the studies (P = .933). CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis suggests that CAR is associated with the survival of pancreatic cancer patients of Asian ethnicity, and a higher CAR may be a potential prognostic indicator in pancreatic cancers.

Hypermethylation of N-Acetyltransferase 1 Is a Prognostic Biomarker in Colon Adenocarcinoma.

Background: The N-acetyltransferase 1 (NAT1) gene is downregulated in several cancers and associated with patient survival. In this study, we sought to examine the prognostic value and clinical significance of NAT1 methylation in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD). Methods: Data relating to NAT1 mRNA expression and methylation and clinicopathological features of COAD were extracted from the database of The Cancer Genome Atlas. We compared the mRNA expression and methylation of NAT1 between COAD and normal tissues and performed correlation analysis to assess the association between NAT1 mRNA expression and methylation. Furthermore, we assessed patient survival based on CpG sites in the promoter region of NAT1 and analyzed the association between the NAT1 mRNA expression and CpG site methylation and clinicopathological features. An independent Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset was used to validate the results. Results: We found that the expression of NAT1 mRNA was reduced in COAD compared with normal tissues and that mean methylation of the eight CpG sites in the promoter region of NAT1 was higher in COAD tissues than in normal tissues. Furthermore, five CpG sites were demonstrated to be significantly negatively correlated with NAT1 mRNA expression in COAD. Survival analysis indicated that NAT1 mRNA expression and the cg15797286 and cg18509990 sites were associated with the overall survival of COAD patients. Combined survival analysis revealed that combinations of NAT1 mRNA expression with five CpG sites were significantly associated with the overall survival of COAD patients. Both NAT1 mRNA and cg15797286 were associated with the T, N, and clinical stages of COAD. The GEO data indicated that cg15797286 was hypermethylated in recurrent colorectal adenomas. Conclusions: Methylation of NAT1 is associated with the development of COAD, and may serve as prognostic and treatment biomarkers for COAD.

Genome-wide analysis to identify a novel distant metastasis-related gene signature predicting survival in patients with gastric cancer.

This study designed to identify a potential novel distant metastasis-related gene (DMGs) signature that predicting prognosis in patients with gastric cancer. DMGs was screened by overlapping the differentially expressed genes between M0 and M1 stage, and between tumor and adjacent normal tissue of gastric cancer by analyzing The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. There were 83 DMGs were identified, the integrative analysis revealed these DMGs were involved in several biological process and pathway. A six-DMGs prognostic signature was developed based on the risk score obtained from Cox analysis. Patients with low risk score presented significantly shorter survival time. This prognostic signature has a moderate predictive value for the overall survival in gastric cancer patients, with an area under curve of 0.604. The DMGs prognostic signature also significantly associated with the overall survival of gastric cancer patients, and showed a better performance for predicting prognosis than traditional clinical indicators. The joint effect of risk score with clinical features could remarkably increased the predictive value as compared with single variable. The results from 60 gastric cancer tissues verified the prognostic value of the six-DMGs prognostic signature. In conclusions, the present study identified a novel six-DMGs prognostic signature that could serve as a biomarker for the prognosis prediction of patients with gastric cancer.

Impact of primary colorectal Cancer location on the KRAS status and its prognostic value.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) originating from the right-sided or left-sided colon is distinct clinicopathological entity. The KRAS status and its prognostic value in CRC remain controversial. This study aimed to investigate the association of KRAS status with clinicopathological features and prognostic value in CRC. METHODS: 178 colon cancer and 145 rectal cancer patients were enrolled. KRAS mutation test was performed on paraffin-embedded tumor samples using PCR methods. The colon cancer was divided into right-sided colon cancer (RCC) and left-sided colon cancer (LCC). Studies that reported the association of KRAS mutation with CRC clinical features and prognosis in databases were searched prior to 2018. The data of the present study was combined with the data of published studies using meta-analysis methods. RESULTS: No significant difference between colon cancer and rectal cancer regarding the KRAS status. The KRAS mutation was much frequent in RCC than in LCC (p = 0.010). 17 studies with 11,385 colon cancer patients were selected, the pooled results of our data and previous published data showed that KRAS mutation was more frequent in RCC compared with in LCC (p < 0.01); KRAS mutation was not associated with the prognosis in RCC patient; however, KRAS mutation indicated a poor prognosis in LCC patients compared with KRAS wild type (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: KRAS status has no difference between colon cancer and rectal cancer. KRAS mutation was more frequent in RCC than in LCC, and associated with a poor prognosis in LCC patients, but not in RCC patients.

In vivo and in vitro effects of microRNA-221 on hepatocellular carcinoma development and progression through the JAK-STAT3 signaling pathway by targeting SOCS3.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as the third leading cancer-caused deaths, prevails with high mortality, and affects more than half a million individuals per year worldwide. A former study revealed that microRNA-221 (miR-221) was involved in cell proliferation of liver cancer and HCC development. The current study aims to evaluate whether miR-221 targeting SOCS3 affects HCC through JAK-STAT3 signaling pathway. A series of miR-221 mimic, miR-221 inhibitor, siRNA against SOCS3, and SOCS3 plasmids were introduced to SMMC7721 cells with the highest miR-221 expression assessed. The expression of JAK-STAT3 signaling pathway-related genes and proteins was determined by Western blot analysis. Cell apoptosis, viability, migration, and invasion were evaluated by means of flow cytometry, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide, and transwell assays, respectively. HCC xenograft in nude mice was performed to measure HCC tumor growth. miR-221 was found to be highly expressed but SOCS3 was poorly expressed in HCC tissues. miR-221 expression was correlated with lymph node metastasis (LNM) and tumor node metastasis (TNM) of HCC, and SOCS3 expression was correlated with LNM, differentiation and TNM of HCC. SOCS3 is a target gene of miR-221. MiR-221 mimic or si-SOCS3 exposure was found to induce cell viability, migration, and invasion, and reduce apoptosis. MiR-221 inhibitor was observed to have inhibitory effects on HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Moreover, the expression of JAK-STAT3 signaling pathway was suppressed by miR-221 inhibitor. Downregulated miR-221 expression could promote its target gene SOCS3 to inhibit the proliferation, invasion and migration of HCC cells by repressing JAK-STAT3 signaling pathway.