Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to serve as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of cancers, which play vital roles in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Several studies have been performed to explore diagnostic value of lncRNA H19 in cancer detection and diagnosis. However, there are still inconsistent results in diagnostic accuracy and reliability in individual studies. Therefore, the present study was performed to summarize the overall diagnostic performance of lncRNA H19 in cancer detection and diagnosis. A total of eight studies with 770 cases and 815 controls were included in this pooled analysis. The pooled diagnostic results were as follows: sensitivity, 0.69 (95%CI=0.62-0.76), specificity, 0.79 (95% CI=0.70-0.86), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), 3.31 (95%CI=2.29-4.78), negative likelihood (NLR), 0.39 (95%CI=0.31-0.49), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), 8.53 (95%CI=4.99-14.60), and area under the curve (AUC), 0.79 (95%CI=0.76-0.83). Deeks’ funnel plot asymmetry test (P=0.13) suggested no potential publication bias. Our results indicated that lncRNA H19 had a relatively moderate accuracy in cancer detection and diagnosis. Further comprehensive prospective studies with large sample sizes are urgently required to validate our findings.

Several epidemiological studies have reported that polymorphisms in microRNA-196a2 (miR-196a2) were associated with various cancers. However, the results remained unverified and were inconsistent in different cancers. Therefore, we carried out an updated meta-analysis to elaborate the effects of rs11614913 polymorphism on cancer susceptibility. A total of 84 articles with 35,802 cases and 41,541 controls were included to evaluate the association between the miR-196a2 rs11614913 and cancer risk by pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The results showed that miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism is associated with cancer susceptibility, especially in lung cancer (homozygote comparison, OR =0.840, 95% CI =0.734–0.961; recessive model, OR =0.858, 95% CI =0.771–0.955), hepatocellular carcinoma (allelic contrast, OR =0.894, 95% CI =0.800–0.998; homozygote comparison, OR =0.900, 95% CI =0.813–0.997; recessive model, OR =0.800, 95% CI =0.678–0.944), and head and neck cancer (allelic contrast, OR =1.076, 95% CI =1.006–1.152; homozygote comparison, OR =1.214, 95% CI =1.043–1.413). In addition, significant association was found among Asian populations (allele model, OR =0.847, 95% CI =0.899–0.997, P=0.038; homozygote model, OR =0.878, 95% CI =0.788–0.977, P=0.017; recessive model, OR =0.895, 95% CI =0.824–0.972, P=0.008) but not in Caucasians. The updated meta-analysis confirmed the previous results that miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism may serve as a risk factor for patients with cancers.

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Background: Evidence regarding the relationship between anemia and perioperative prognosis is controversial. The study was conducted to highlight the specific relationship between anemia and perioperative mortality in noncardiac surgery patients over 18 years of age. Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of the electronic medical records of 90,784 patients at the Singapore General Hospital from January 1, 2012 to October 31, 2016. Multivariate regression, propensity score analysis, doubly robust estimation, and an inverse probability-weighting model was used to ensure the robustness of our findings. Results: We identified 85,989 patients, of whom75, 163 had none or mild anemia (Hemoglobin>90g/L) and 10,826 had moderate or severe anemia (Hemoglobin≤90g/L). 8,857 patients in each study exposure group had similar propensity scores and were included in the analyses. In the doubly robust model, postoperative 30-day mortality rate was increased by 0.51% (n = 219) in moderate or severe anemia group (Odds Ratio, 1.510; 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.049 to 2.174) compared with none or mild anemia group (2.47% vs.1.22%, P<0.001). Moderate or severe anemia was also associated with increased postoperative blood transfusion rates (OR, 5.608; 95% CI, 4.026 to 7.811, P < 0.001). There was no statistical difference in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission rate among different anemia groups within 30 days after surgery (P=0.104). Discussion: In patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery over 18 years old, moderate or severe preoperative anemia would increase the occurrence of postoperative blood transfusion and the risk of death, rather than ICU admission within 30 days after surgery.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women. Breast cancer research is currently based mainly on animal models and traditional cell culture. However, the inherent species gap between humans and animals, as well as differences in organization between organs and cells, limits research advances. The breast cancer organoid can reproduce many of the key features of human breast cancer, thereby providing a new platform for investigating the mechanisms underlying the development, progression, metastasis and drug resistance of breast cancer. The application of organoid technology can also promote drug discovery and the design of individualized treatment strategies. Here, we discuss the latest advances in the use of organoid technology for breast cancer research.