Clinicopathological Value Research Articles

The clinicopathological and prognostic value of the pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in small cell lung cancer: A meta-analysis.

Although many scholars have recently studied the relationships between the pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and prognosis in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC), the conclusions have been inconsistent. Accordingly, in this meta-analysis, we attempted to assess the clinicopathological and prognostic value of the pretreatment NLR in SCLC. Related literature was searched using PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang databases. Each eligible study was extracted, and a meta-analysis was performed using hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) to assess the prognostic value of NLR. Evaluation of the clinicopathological significance of NLR in SCLC used odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). We included a total of 20 studies with 21 outcomes (5141 patients) in this meta-analysis. The results showed that high pretreatment NLR was closely related to poorer progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) (PFS, HR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.27–1.88, P < 0.0001; I2 = 0%; OS, HR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.26–1.55, P < 0.00001; I2 = 64%). In addition, pretreatment NLR was significantly associated with clinical stage of SCLC (OR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.35–3.39, P = 0.001). Our meta-analysis showed that high levels of pretreatment NLR were significantly associated with a more serious clinical stage and poorer PFS and OS in SCLC.

The prevalence and prognostic and clinicopathological value of PD-L1 and PD-L2 in renal cell carcinoma patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis involving 3,389 patients.

BackgroundThe research of the prognostic and clinicopathologic values of programmed cell death ligand 1/2 (PD-L1/2) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients has been mired by a dearth of studies and considerable controversy. We thus conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to report the prevalence and prognostic and clinicopathological value of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and programmed cell death-legend 2 (PD-L2) in RCC patients.MethodsThe PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE databases were searched to find human studies limited to English language literature published through October 1, 2019. Using random or fixed effects models, hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were evaluated to explore the prognostic value of PD-Ls expression, while odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs were evaluated to investigate clinicopathological parameters. The protocol of the study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42019135199).ResultsAfter pooling all 16 eligible studies comprising 3,389 patients, we found that the overall prevalence of PD-L1 and PD-L2 in RCC patients was 27% and 39%, respectively. Furthermore, PD-L1 over-expression was a strong negative predictor for overall survival (OS), disease-free survival/progression-free survival (DFS/PFS), and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in renal cell carcinoma patients (HR =2.86, 95% CI: 1.83–4.47, P<0.001; HR =2.64, 95% CI: 1.99–3.52, P<0.001; HR =2.78, 95% CI: 2.17–3.56, P<0.001). Meanwhile, PD-L2 over-expression was only a weak negative predictor for CSS (HR =1.66, 95% CI: 1.05–2.65, P<0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that Caucasians had worse OS (HR =3.60, 95% CI: 1.77–7.33, P<0.001), PFS (HR =3.56, 95% CI: 2.44–5.18, P<0.001), and CSS (HR =3.13, 95% CI: 2.37–4.14, P<0.001) than Asians. PD-L1 was a strong indicator for worse prognosis (P<0.05 for all), while PD-L2 over-expression was only associated with sarcomatoid features (presence vs. absence, OR =1.80, 95% CI: 1.13–2.86, P=0.014). Notably, PD-L1 overexpression was more prevalent in women (male vs. female, OR =0.68, 95% CI: 0.51–0.90, P=0.006).ConclusionsHigher PD-L1 expression is more closely associated with poor prognosis and more advanced clinicopathological features in RCC patients than PD-L2, especially in women and Caucasian patients. PD-L2 was a weak negative predictor of poor CSS of RCC and was not a prompt for the metastasis of RCC.

Clinicopathological and prognostic value of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α in breast cancer: a meta-analysis including 5177 patients.

Mounting studies have investigated the clinicopathological and prognostic value of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in breast cancer (BC), yet conclusions remain controversial. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to clarify this issue. All relevant studies were searched using Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, and EMBASE online databases. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were applied to evaluate the clinicopathological and prognostic value of HIF-1α, respectively. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed to investigate heterogeneity and stability of the results. Begg's funnel plot and Egger's test were used to examine publication bias. A total of 31 eligible studies including 5177 subjects were enrolled. Of these, 25 studies assessed the prognostic role of HIF-1α and included 4546 individuals. Twenty-three studies involving 3277 individuals evaluated the clinicopathological significance of HIF-1α. High expression level of HIF-1α was correlated with poor overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.40-1.80, P < 0.001), disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.53-2.28, P < 0.001), relapse-free survival (HR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.07-1.73, P = 0.001), and cancer-specific survival (HR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.10-2.19, P = 0.012). Pooled data from studies using multivariate survival analysis also showed that HIF-1α expression was associated with worse OS (HR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.32-1.92, P < 0.001) and DFS (HR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.39-1.84, P < 0.001). Additionally, high HIF-1α expression was associated with advanced tumor-node-metastasis stage, positive lymph-node status, negative ER status, ductal type, advanced histologic grade, high Ki67 expression, and strong VEGF expression. HIF-1α might serve as an independent prognostic biomarker and a promising therapeutic target for BC. Future large-scale prospective randomized trials are needed to confirm our findings.

Clinicopathological value of ErbB2 gene and protein expression in osteochondroma.

The aim of this study was to investigate ErbB2 expression in osteochondroma and its relationship with clinicopathologic features of osteochondroma, so as to identify a new biomarker for the malignant transformation potential of osteochondroma. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were used to investigate the expression status of ErbB2 protein and gene in 30 osteochondroma tissues and 20 non-neoplastic bone tissues. The association of ErbB2 gene and protein expression with clinicopathological parameters of osteochondroma was analyzed by using the χ2 test and Fishers exact test. ErbB2 protein was found to be over-expressed in 4 of 30 (13.3%) osteochondromas and 1 of 20 (5%) non-neoplastic bone samples, which were not statistically significant (p=0.336). However, 13 of the 30 (43.3%) osteochondromas showed ErbB2 gene amplification, which was failed to be observed in any of the non-neoplastic bone tissue. ErbB2 gene amplification in osteochondroma was significantly higher compared with that in non-neoplastic bone tissue (p=0.001). In addition, the ErbB2 gene amplification was closely associated with clinical pathological parameters of osteochondroma, including high expression of cellularity (p=0.001), presence of binucleated cells (p=0.001), nuclear pleomorphism (p=0.003), calcification (p=0.002), nodularity (p=0.002), necrosis (p=0.009) and cartilage thickness (p=0.026). The association of the gene amplification with other clinicopathological parameters of osteochondroma, including permeation of trabecular bone, cystic/mucoid changes, mitosis, radiographic appearance, cap volume and subtype of osteochondroma was not observed. The over-expression of ErbB2 protein was not found to be associated with the above stated clinical pathological parameters of osteochondroma. ErbB2 gene amplification was associated with adverse clinicopathological status of osteochondroma and could serve as an index for malignant conversion of osteochondroma. Further research is required to verify the predictive values of ErbB2 for osteochondroma. Level IV, Diagnostic Study.

Prognostic and clinicopathological value of high expression of TIM‐3 in different cancer types: A meta‐analysis

AbstractBackgroundThis meta‐analysis was performed to clarify the prognostic role of the expression of T‐cell immunoglobulin mucin‐3 (TIM‐3) in different cancer types.MethodsRelated articles were searched from PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science up to December 31, 2019. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were utilized to explore their associations. In addition, we conducted subgroup analyses stratified by various factors.ResultsEventually, a total of 33 studies including 4223 patients were enrolled in this study. Results showed that patients with high TIM‐3 expression had shorter overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.37‐2.04) and progression‐free survival (HR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.14‐2.83), but subgroup analyses indicated there were no relationship between TIM‐3 expression and disease‐free survival or recurrence‐free survival. It was reassuring that high TIM‐3 expression may be associated with poor prognosis in osteosarcoma, gastric cancer, liver cancer, esophageal cancer, and lymphoma, while no prognostic significance was detected of TIM‐3 expression in lung cancer, kidney cancer, or breast cancer. Furthermore, we did not find association of TIM‐3 with any clinicopathological parameters.ConclusionsHigh TIM‐3 expression might be a potential biomarker which can be used to predict the poor prognosis of different cancer types, especially osteosarcoma, gastric cancer, liver cancer, esophageal cancer, and lymphoma.

Prognostic Value of LncRNA HOTAIR in Colorectal Cancer: A Meta-analysis.

: HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) is one of the most studied long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and is aberrantly expressed in colorectal cancer (CRC). We thus performed a comprehensive study based on meta-analysis and validation of the TCGA database to investigate clinicopathological and prognostic value of HOTAIR in CRC. Six studies enrolling 629 CRC patients were included in the analysis. The results indicated that high HOTAIR expression predicted worse OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.46, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.82-3.32, P < 0.01) and RFS (HR = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.27-3.05, P < 0.01) for CRC patients. High HOTAIR expression was also significantly associated with venous invasion (OR = 2.53, 95% CI: 1.12-5.68, P = 0.02), advanced tumor infiltration (OR = 3.35, 95% CI: 1.34-8.42, P = 0.01) and distant metastasis (OR = 5.52, 95% CI: 1.22-25.01, P = 0.03). Then, the results were validated by the TCGA database, showing that the up-regulated expression of HOTAIR was significantly related to poor OS (P = 0.01) and RFS (P = 0.04) in CRC. Our meta-analysis indicated that high HOTAIR expression was closely associated with poor clinical outcomes and could be a reliable prognostic biomarker for CRC patients.

Clinicopathological features and prognostic value of SOX11 in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is marked by aberrant transcriptional features that alter cell differentiation, self-renewal, and proliferative features. We sought to identify the transcription factors exhibiting altered and subtype-specific expression patterns in B-ALL and report here that SOX11, a developmental and neuronal transcription factor, is aberrantly expressed in the ETV6-RUNX1 and TCF3-PBX1 subtypes of acute B-cell leukemias. We show that a high expression of SOX11 leads to alterations of gene expression that are typically associated with cell adhesion, migration, and differentiation. A high expression is associated with DNA hypomethylation at the SOX11 locus and a favorable outcome. The results indicate that SOX11 expression marks a group of patients with good outcomes and thereby prompts further study of its use as a biomarker.

Clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic value of POLE mutations in endometrial cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background:The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the clinicopathological features and to confirm prognostic value of POLE exonuclease domain mutations (EDM) in endometrial carcinoma patients.Methods:The PubMed, Web of Science, the data of China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wan fang Medical Network were systematically searched for relevant articles without a cut-off date. The keywords for the search were “endometrial cancer,” “endometrial carcinoma,” “EC,” “POLE mutations,” “POLE exonuclease domain mutations,” “POLE-mutant,” “clinical characteristics” “prognostic.” Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by using Review manager 5.3 and Stata 14.0 statistical software.Results:Six cohort studies assessing 179 EC patients with POLE EDMs were included. The results indicated a favorable progression-free survival in POLE-mutant patients (HR = 0.32; 95% CI: = [0.09–1.18]). Furthermore, the overall survival was great in patients with POLE-mutant (HR = 0.68; 95% CI = [0.41–1.13]). It was shown that a significantly higher incidence of POLE mutations with Federation of International of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO) I group compared to FIGO II-IV group (pooled ORs: 0.34, 95% CI: [0.12–0.94], P = .04), POLE-mutant EC was not significantly associated with histology (OR = 0.56,95% CI: 0.29–1.23), tumor grade (OR = 1.22,95% CI:0.85–1.74), lymph-vascular space invasion (OR = 0.40,95% 0.06–2.42), depth of myometrial invasion (OR = 0.70,95% CI: 0.41–1.18), lymph node status (OR = 0.41, 95% 0.04–4.50), and European Society for Medical Oncology risk groups (OR = 0.68,95% CI: 0.37–1.26).Conclusion:This meta-analysis has confirmed POLE EDMs may serve as a predictive biomarker of favorable prognosis. Further studies are needed to explore the appropriate clinical utility of POLE EDMs in EC.

The clinicopathological and prognostic value of CD44 expression in bladder cancer: a study based on meta-analysis and TCGA data

ABSTRACT CD44 is reported to be involved in tumor invasion and metastasis. However, the role of cancer stem cell marker CD44 in bladder cancer still remains controversial. Hence, the correlations between CD44 expression and the clinicopathological features and the prognosis of bladder cancer were investigated. Publications using immunohistochemical methods were identified. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data were also analyzed. The odds ratios (ORs) or hazard ratios (HRs) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. 14 studies involving 1107 tissue samples were included. CD44 expression in bladder cancer was lower than in non-tumor tissue samples (OR = 0.14, P = 0.005), which was consistent with TCGA data. CD44 expression was correlated with advanced T stage (OR = 1.76, P = 0.029) and lymph node metastasis (OR = 4.09, P < 0.001). Multivariate survival analysis showed that CD44 expression was not linked to tumor-specific survival, overall survival, and recurrence/relapse-free survival, but was associated with disease failure (HR = 2.912, 95% CI = 1.51–5.61). No relationships of CD44 expression with the clinicopathological features and overall survival were found from TCGA data. Our finding suggested that CD44 expression may be correlated with progression, metastasis, and disease failure of bladder cancer. However, further large-scale studies are needed. Abbreviations: CD44: Cluster of Differentiation 44; CIs: Confidence Intervals; CSCs: Cancer Stem Cells; EMT: Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition; HRs: Hazard Ratios; ORs: Odds Ratios; TCGA: The Cancer Genome Atlas

Clinicopathological and Prognostic Value of Long Noncoding RNA SNHG15 in Human Cancers: a Meta-Analysis and Bioinformatics.

Recently, accumulating evidence has suggested that the long noncoding RNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 15 (lncRNA SNHG15) was elevated in various malignancies and correlated to poor clinical outcome of patients. However, the prognosis value of SNHG15 in tumors remains not well understood. The PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Ovid, Cochrane Library databases were used to search for eligible articles. Stata MP14.0 software was applied in the systematic meta-analysis. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset was adopted to verify the results. A total of 13 studies including 1,190 patients were enrolled in this meta-analysis. SNHG15 high expression predicted shorter overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.34, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.75 - 3.12, p < 0.001) with no statistical heterogeneity, which was validated by the data of TCGA. The subgroup analyses stratified according to OS analysis method, cancer type, sample size, and follow-up time showed similar results. Additionally, SNHG15 expression was positively associated with TNM stage (III + IV vs. I + II, odds ratio (OR) = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.14 - 4.38, p = 0.020) and poor differentiation (low + undifferentiated vs. well + moderate, OR = 2.89, 95% CI: 1.89 - 4.42, p < 0.001). IncRNA SNHG15 may act as a useful and potential biomarker for prognosis and clinical parameters in human cancers.

Clinicopathological associations and prognostic values of IDH1 gene mutation, MGMT gene promoter methylation, and PD-L1 expressions in high-grade glioma treated with standard treatment

Introductionthe objective was to evaluate the impact of IDH1 R132H mutation, MGMT methylation and PD-L1 expression in high grade glioma that received standard therapy (surgery, radiation and chemotherapy) to overall survival (OS).Methodsthis is a retrospective study of 35 high grade glioma cases. Genotyping of IDH1 gene alteration on the mutation hotspot R132 (Sanger sequencing method with Applied Biosystems 3500 Genetic Analyzer), EZ DNA Methylation-Gold kit (Zymo Research) is used to study the methylation, Cell line BT549 (ATCC HTB-122) and HCT-116 (ATCC CCL-247) were used as unmethylated control and partially methylated control respectively. Anti-human PD-L1 antibody clone E1L3N®from Cell Signalling Technology (USA) and Rabbit XP®were used to see PDL-1 expression.Resultsanaplastic astrocytoma cases had more MGMT promoter methylation (50%) than glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) (20%), more IDH1 R132H mutation (42%) than GBM (4.3%). Immunohistochemistry tumor proportion score method (TPS) identified 17% and 8.7% were PD-L1 positive in AA and GBM groups, respectively. Cases with IDH1 R132H mutation and MGMT methylation still showed better OS although with high PD-L1 expression.ConclusionIDH1 R132H mutation and MGMT methylation were good prognostic markers. High expression of PD-L1 apparently might not indicate poor overall survival in the presence of IDH1 R132 mutation and MGMT methylation.

Clinicopathological and Prognostic Value of Immunohistochemical Expression of CD44 (Stem Cell Marker) and Ki67 in Serous Ovarian Cancer

Clinicopathological and Prognostic Value of Immunohistochemical Expression of CD44 (Stem Cell Marker) and Ki67 in Serous Ovarian Cancer

Diagnostic, clinicopathologic, therapeutic and prognostic value of Plasma Heat Shock Protein 90 levels in patients with advanced Gastrointestinal Carcinoma.

Purpose: Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is a critical molecular chaperone for protein folding, intracellular disposition and regulation of tumor biological behavior in the extracellular space. HSP90 has received much attention due to its specific effect in gastrointestinal cancer. This clinical study sought to determine whether HSP90 in plasma may serve as a biomarker in patients with advanced gastrointestinal carcinoma.Methods: Using human plasma samples of advanced gastrointestinal carcinoma, we investigated the specific value of HSP90 in gastrointestinal cancer from a clinical perspective.Results: In summary, plasma levels of HSP90 were shown to be higher in patients with gastric cancer (GC) or colorectal cancer (CRC) than in controls with benign gastrointestinal diseases. In both GC and CRC patients, HSP90 was significantly associated with live metastasis. Higher HSP90 levels were more frequent in CRC patients with hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption habits. Patients with RAS mutations had higher HSP90 levels in CRC. Compared with Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) and Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), HSP90 benefited patients by enhancing diagnostic sensitivity and the Youden index. The levels of HSP90 were inversely associated with short-term efficacy in GC patients who had received fluorouracil/platinum-based advanced first-line treatment. When first-line therapy failed, plasma HSP90 levels in patients with GC were significantly increased. In terms of progression-free survival (PFS), patients with GC or CRC who had low levels of HSP90 were not significantly different from those with high levels of HSP90. Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that HSP90 was not an independent prognostic predictor for GC and CRC patients with PFS. However, RAS mutation was an independent prognostic factor for poor PFS in CRC patients.Conclusions: Plasma HSP90 levels have potential diagnostic value in advanced gastrointestinal carcinoma and therapeutic predictive value in GC.

Prognostic and clinicopathological significance of systemic immune-inflammation index in colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis.

Background:Previous studies on the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), which is based on platelet, neutrophil and lymphocyte counts, as a prognostic marker in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) yielded inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic and clinicopathological role of SII in CRC via meta-analysis.Methods:A comprehensive literature survey was performed on PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and the Cochrane Library databases to include studies published up to 6 April 2020. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed to estimate the prognostic and clinicopathological value of SII in CRC.Results:A total of 12 studies published between 2016 and 2019 were included in our meta-analysis. The combined analysis showed that high SII levels were significantly associated with worse overall survival (OS; HR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.21–2.13, p = 0.001) and progression-free survival (HR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.26–2.39, p = 0.001) in CRC. Moreover, elevated SII was also correlated with poor tumor differentiation (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.27–2.02, p < 0.001), presence of distant metastasis (OR = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.10–4.67, p = 0.026), ECOG PS of 1–2 (OR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.39–2.84, p < 0.001) and tumor size ⩾5 cm (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.18–1.88, p = 0.001). However, high SII was not significantly associated with sex, tumor location, lymph node metastasis, or age in patients with CRC.Conclusion:Our meta-analysis indicated that high SII levels predicted poor prognosis in CRC. In addition, an elevated SII was also associated with clinical factors, implying higher malignancy of the disease.

Prognostic and clinicopathological values of tissue expression of MFAP5 and ITM2A in triple-negative breast cancer: an immunohistochemical study.

IntroductionTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a markedly aggressive molecular subtype of breast cancer; there is an urgent need to clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying the progression and metastases of BLBC, in order to find a novel targeted therapy. Microfibrillar-associated protein 5 (MFAP5) plays an essential role in the regulation of cell behaviour and survival. Integral membrane protein 2A (ITM2A) is a type II transmembrane protein, which is a member of a family of autophagy related proteins.The aim of this study was to assess the expression of MFAP5 and ITM2A proteins in tissues of BLBC using immunohistochemistry, in order to correlate the expression with clinicopathological and prognostic parameters of such aggressive cancer.Material and methodsThe present study included sections from archived paraffin blocks retrieved from 120 patients with TNBC. We collected cases from three years, i.e. from 2016 to 2019. We assessed expression of MFAP5 and ITM2A using immunohistochemistry.ResultsHigh expression of MFAP5 and low expression of ITM2A was associated with advanced stage (p = 0.007), higher grade of tumour (p = 0.005 and p = 0.004, respectively), the presence of lymph nodes metastases (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively), lower three-year RFS rate (p < 0.001 and p = 0.016, respectively), and lower three-year OS rate (p < 0.001).ConclusionsMFAP5 and ITM2A are novel prognostic biomarkers for breast cancer and might be considered as promising therapeutic targets for patients with breast cancer, particularly TNBC molecular subtype, in the future.

Clinicopathological characteristics of gastric cancer with carbohydrate antigen 19-9 expression occurring in elderly individuals: An autopsy study.

The clinicopathological significance of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) in gastric cancer (GC) remains obscure. Therefore, the current study aimed to clarify the clinicopathological value of CA19-9 in GC utilizing autopsy cases. We examined the expression of CA19-9 and mucin core proteins in GC immunohistochemically, and analyzed serum CA19-9 levels and clinicopathological variables or complications. We also investigated whether fucosyltransferases 2 and 3 (FUT2/3) allelic variants influence CA19-9 expression in GC. Compared to GC cases with negative CA19-9 expression (tCA19-9-N), those with positive CA19-9 expression (tCA19-9-P) demonstrated significant differences in characteristic features such as lymph node and distant organ metastases, lymphatic and venous permeation, and higher Tumor, Node, Metastasis (TNM) stages. Moreover, compared to GC cases with low serum CA19-9 levels (sCA19-9-L), those with high serum CA19-9 levels (sCA19-9-H) were related to venous permeation, higher proportion of lymph node and distant organ metastases, and higher TNM stages. Both tCA19-9-P GC and sCA19-9-H GC cases were significantly associated with coagulation abnormalities. sCA19-9-H GC cases correlated significantly with MUC1 and MUC5AC expression. FUT2/3 genotypes were not associated with CA19-9 expression in GC. These results suggest that CA19-9 can predict the risk of lymph node and distant metastases as well as of coagulation abnormalities.

Low expression of KIF7 indicates poor prognosis in epithelial ovarian cancer.

The aim of the present study was to investigate kinesin family member 7 (KIF7) expression in epithelial ovarian cancer tissues (paraffin-embedded tissues and fresh) and to explore its expression, association with clinicopathological parameters and prognostic value in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. A total of 113 paraffin-embedded tumor tissues of epithelial ovarian cancer patients diagnosed and operated at the memorial hospital of Sun Yat-sen University Between December 2009 and March 2017 and 41 paratumor tissues were collected for the present study and were assessed for KIF7 expression using immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, 22 fresh epithelial ovarian cancer tissues and their matched paratumor tissues were collected from the Integrated Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, between August 2013 and March 2019 and subjected to reverse-transcription quantitative PCR analysis to detect the mRNA expression of KIF7. The expression of KIF7 was lower in cancer tissues than in paratumor tissues, and KIF7 expression was associated with recurrence-free survival and overall survival in epithelial ovarian cancer patients. Furthermore, multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that low KIF7 expression was an independent predictor of poor survival in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. In conclusion, KIF7 has a tumor suppressor role in epithelial ovarian cancer and is a useful independent prognostic predictor. It may hold important value for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer.

High SLC17A9 expression correlates with poor survival in gastric carcinoma.

Aim: To elucidate the clinicopathological significance and prognostic value of SLC17A9 expression in gastric carcinoma (GC). Methods: SLC17A9 mRNA level and its relationship with TP53 mutation was analyzed. SLC17A9 protein expression was examined by immunohistochemistry in 161 patients. Results: SLC17A9 mRNA and protein expression were higher in GC tissues than in adjacent normal tissues (p<0.01). SLC17A9 mRNA expression was higher in GC tissues having mutated TP53 than in tissues with wild-type TP53 (p<0.001). High SLC17A9 expression was also significantly associated with poor overall survival and recurrence-free survival and was also found to be an independent prognostic factor for long-term survival in GC patients.Conclusion: Our results show that SLC17A9 may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker in GC patients.

Endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer is not a distinct clinical entity among young patients: A 12-year cohort study

ObjectivesTo investigate the clinicopathological features and prognostic value of endometriosis in young patients with ovarian endometrioid carcinoma (OEC) and ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC). MethodsThe medical files and clinical follow-up data of patients aged 40 years or younger with OEC or OCCC between January 2006 and December 2017 who had undergone complete surgical staging followed by systemic chemotherapy were retrospectively reviewed. ResultsA total of 94 women were included in this study. Univariate analysis revealed that the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates of patients with endometriosis-associated ovarian carcinoma (EAOC) did not improve compared with those of patients without EAOC (5-year PFS: 80.0% vs. 75.9% and 5-year OS: 85.0% vs. 86.0%, respectively). Multivariate analyses confirmed that FIGO stage (II–IV), cytology-positive ascites or peritoneal washes and residual disease > 1 cm were independent predictors of PFS and that residual disease > 1 cm was the only predictor of OS. ConclusionsEndometriosis is not independently associated with the prognosis of OEC and OCCC among young patients. The intrinsic relationship between endometriosis and ovarian cancer warrants further investigation.

Prognostic significance of KN motif and ankyrin repeat domains 1 (KANK1) in invasive breast cancer

BackgroundKN motif and ankyrin repeat domains 1 (KANK1) plays an important role in cytoskeleton maintenance and contributes to the regulation of cell proliferation, adhesion and apoptosis. KANK1 is involved in progression of a variety of solid tumours; however, its role in invasive breast cancer (BC) remains unknown. This study aims to evaluate the clinicopathological and prognostic value of KANK1 expression in operable BC.MethodsKANK1 expression was assessed at the transcriptomic level using multiple BC cohorts; the Molecular Taxonomy of BC International Consortium cohort (METABRIC; n = 1980), The Cancer Genome Atlas BC cohort (TCGA; n = 949) and the publicly available BC transcriptomic data hosted by BC Gene-Expression Miner (bc-GenExMiner v4.0) and Kaplan–Meier plotter?. The Nottingham BC cohort (n = 1500) prepared as tissue microarrays was used to assess KANK1 protein expression using immunohistochemistry (IHC). The association between clinicopathological variables and patient outcome was investigated.ResultsIn the METABRIC cohort, high expression of KANK1 mRNA was associated with characteristics of good prognosis including lower grade, absence of lymphovascular invasion and HER2 negativity (all; p < 0.001) and with better outcome [p = 0.006, Hazards ratio, (HR) 0.70, 95% CI 0.54–0.91]. High KANK1 protein expression was correlated with smaller tumour size and HER2 negativity, and better outcome in terms of longer breast cancer-specific survival [p = 0.013, HR 0.7, 95% CI 0.536–0.893] and time to distant metastasis [p = 0.033, HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.51–0.819].ConclusionThese results supported that upregulation of KANK1 works as a tumour suppressor gene in BC and is associated with improved patients’ outcomes.