Although the current evidence supports a positive link between cigarette smoking and risk of gallbladder cancer, additional population-based studies, particularly cohort studies, are needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn.

In recent years, a growing number of clinical studies have shown that immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) can increase the remission rate and improve the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer. The Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score is a novel nutritional indicator that can predict the prognosis of certain malignancies. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 69 patients with advanced esophageal cancer treated with ICI and assessed the relationship between clinicopathological factors including CONUT score, systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and the prognosis. We found the CONUT score and SII, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio were an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (P<0.05). Furthermore, among patients treated with ICI, a high CONUT score was associated with a significantly worse progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival compared with a low CONUT group. In conclusion, the CONUT can be used to predict the efficacy and prognosis of ICI therapy in patients with esophageal cancer. Our studies have shown that the CONUT score can be used as an effective indicator for the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer receiving ICI.

Background: The incidence and mortality of melanoma is increasing around the world. To deeply explain the mechanism insight into it, we conducted a systematic analysis to examine the levels of regulatory genes of the common RNA epigenetic modification-N6-methyladenosine (m 6 A) in patients with melanoma compared by the healthy. Methods: We analyzed the expression of m 6 A Eraser, Writer, and Reader genes based on publicly available datasets on Oncomine and validated the results with a gene expression omnibus dataset. Hub genes were identified with Cytohubba and the frequency of copy number alterations was analyzed with the cBioPortal tool. Results: The results revealed the up-regulation of YTHDF1 and HNRNPA2B1 in melanoma. Combining the two genes improved the efficacy in diagnosing melanoma by about 10% compared to each gene alone. Hub genes identified with four analysis methods were compared and the overlapping genes were selected. These genes were enriched in several gene ontology terms. Genes related to p53-signaling consisted of CDK2, CDK1, RRM2, CCNB1, and CHEK1. All five genes were positively correlated with either YTHDF1 or HNRNPA2B1, suggesting that both genes may affect m 6 A modification by the five genes, further up-regulating their expression and facilitate their roles in inhibiting p53 to suppress tumorigenesis. We also observed major mutations in YTHDF1 and HNRNPA2B1 that led to their amplification in melanoma. Significant differences were observed in the clinical characteristics of patients with altered and unaltered m 6 A regulatory genes such as tumor stage and treatment response. Conclusions: We, for the first time, identified a combination of m 6 A regulatory genes to diagnose melanoma. We also analyzed m 6 A-related genes more comprehensively based on systematic complete data. We found that YTHDF1 and HNRNPA2B1 were altered in melanoma and might influence the development of the disease through signaling pathways such as p53.

Gastric cancer is a common malignancy, being the fifth most frequently diagnosed cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Diagnosis of gastric cancer at the early stage is critical to effectively improve the survival rate. However, a substantial proportion of patients with gastric cancer in the early stages lack specific symptoms or are asymptomatic. Moreover, the imaging techniques currently used for gastric cancer screening, such as computed tomography and barium examination, are usually radioactive and have low sensitivity and specificity. Even though endoscopy has high accuracy for gastric cancer screening, its application is limited by the invasiveness of the technique. Breath analysis is an economic, effective, easy to perform, non-invasive detection method, and has no undesirable side effects on subjects. Extensive worldwide research has been conducted on breath volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which reveals its prospect as a potential method for gastric cancer detection. Many interesting results have been obtained and innovative methods have been introduced in this subject; hence, an extensive review would be beneficial. By providing a comprehensive list of breath VOCs identified by gastric cancer would promote further research in this field. This review summarizes the commonly used technologies for exhaled breath analysis, focusing on the application of analytical instruments in the detection of breath VOCs in gastric cancers, and the alterations in the profile of breath biomarkers in gastric cancer patients are discussed as well.

Rationale: Cutaneous metastases from colorectal cancer are extremely rare and generally appear several years after diagnosis or resection of the primary colorectal tumor. Although cutaneous metastasis is unusual, it often indicates a poor prognosis. Patient concerns: We treated a 62-year-old woman with multiple cutaneous metastatic nodules on the chest, back, and armpit 7 months after resection of ascending colon cancer. Diagnoses: The patient was diagnosed with cutaneous metastasis of ascending colon cancer with BRAF V600E mutation. Interventions: After 6 cycles of fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, cetuximab, and emurafenib, most of the metastatic lesions had begun to shrink, and no new metastases were observed. Serum tests showed that the levels of several tumor markers were decreased. Outcomes: The patient responded well to treatment and survived for 6.5 months after presentation with skin metastasis. Lessons: Cutaneous metastasis of colorectal cancer with BRAF V600E mutation is a rare but important phenomenon that should not be ignored. Cutaneous metastasis of colorectal cancer frequently indicates advanced disease and poor prognosis. The SWOG 1406 program is one of the treatment options, but this needs further exploration.