Identification and Validation of Common Reference Genes for Normalization of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Gene Expression Profiles.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the subtypes of esophageal cancer with Chinese characteristics, and its five-year survival rate is less than 20%. Early diagnosis is beneficial to improving the survival rate of ESCC significantly. Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction is a high-throughput technique that can quantify tumor-related genes for early diagnosis. Its accuracy largely depends on the stability of the reference gene. There is no systematic scientific basis to demonstrate which reference gene expression is stable in ESCC and no consensus on the selection of internal reference. Therefore, this research used four software programs (The comparative delta-Ct method, GeNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper) to evaluate the expression stability of eight candidate reference genes commonly used in other tumor tissues and generated a comprehensive analysis by RefFinder. Randomly selected transcriptome sequencing analysis confirmed the SPP1 gene is closely related to ESCC. It was found that the expression trend of SPP1 obtained by RPS18 and PPIA as internal reference genes were the same as that of sequencing. The results show that RPS18 and PPIA are stable reference genes, and PPIA + RPS18 are a suitable reference gene combination. This is a reference gene report that combines transcriptome sequencing analysis and only focuses on ESCC, which makes the quantification more precise, systematic, and standardized, and promotes gene regulation research and the early diagnosis of ESCC in the future.

Metabolomics of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Tissues: Potential Biomarkers for Diagnosis and Promising Targets for Therapy.

Background: The incidence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in China ranks first in the world. The early diagnosis technology is underdeveloped, and the prognosis is poor, which seriously threatens the quality of life of the Chinese people. Epidemiological findings are related to factors such as diet, living habits, and age. The specific mechanism is not clear yet. Metabolomics is a kind of omics that simultaneously and quantitatively analyzes the comprehensive profile of metabolites in living systems. It has unique advantages in the study of the diagnosis and pathogenesis of tumor-related diseases, especially in the search for biomarkers. Therefore, it is desirable to perform metabolic profiling analysis of cancer tissues through metabolomics to find potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods: HPLC-TOF-MS/MS technology and Illumina Hiseq Xten Sequencing was used for the analysis of 210 pairs of matched esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissues and normal tissues in Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province, a high-incidence area of esophageal cancer in China. Bioinformatics analysis was also performed. Results: Through metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis, this study found that a total of 269 differential metabolites were obtained in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and normal tissues, and 48 differential metabolic pathways were obtained through KEGG enrichment analysis. After further screening and identification, 12 metabolites with potential biomarkers to differentiate esophageal squamous cell carcinoma from normal tissues were obtained. Conclusions: From the metabolomic data, 4 unknown compounds were found to be abnormally expressed in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma for the first time, such as 9,10-epoxy-12,15-octadecadienoate; 3 metabolites were found in multiple abnormal expression in another tumor, but upregulation or downregulation was found for the first time in esophageal cancer, such as oleoyl glycine; at the same time, it was further confirmed that five metabolites were abnormally expressed in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, which was similar to the results of other studies, such as PE.

Status of diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer and non-coding RNA correlation research: a narrative review.

OBJECTIVE: To describe and discuss the progression of the non-coding RNA as biomarkers in early esophageal cancer. BACKGROUND: Esophageal cancer without obvious symptoms during early stages is one of the most common cancers, the current clinical treatments offer possibilities of a cure, but the survival rates and the prognoses remain poor, it is a serious threat to human life and health. Most patients are usually diagnosed during terminal stages due to low sensitivity of esophageal cancer's early detection techniques. With the development of molecular biology, an increasing number of non-coding RNAs are found to be associated with the occurrence, development, and prognosis of esophageal cancer. Some of these have begun to be used in clinics and laboratories for diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis, with the goal of reducing mortality. METHODS: The information for this paper was collected from a variety of sources, including a search of the keynote's references, a search for texts in college libraries, and discussions with experts in the field of esophageal cancer clinical treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Non-coding RNA does play a regulatory role in the development of esophageal cancer, which can predict the occurrence or prognosis of tumors, and become a new class of tumor markers and therapeutic targets in clinical applications. In this review, we survey the recent developments in the incidence, diagnosis, and treatment of esophageal cancer, especially with new research progresses on non-coding RNA biomarkers in detail, and discuss its potential clinical applications.

Association of Genetic Polymorphisms in FOXA1 with the Progression of Genetic Susceptibility to Gastric Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between polymorphism of FOXA1 gene rs12894364 and rs7144658 and susceptibility to gastric cancer. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted to select 577 cases of primary gastric cancer and 678 cases of normal control. We extracted whole blood genomic DNA and amplified the target gene fragment by PCR. The genotyping and allele was tested through a snapshot method. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the frequency distribution of genotype between the case group and control group (P > 0.05). Stratified analyses showed the SNPs were not correlated with the susceptibility of GC according to different age, gender, cigarette smoking, and alcohol drinking status. CONCLUSION: There is no significant correlation between the polymorphisms of FOXA1 gene rs12894364 and rs7144658 and the risk of gastric cancer.