Next‐generation sequencing (NGS) technology is currently used to establish mutational profiles in many heterogeneous diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mutational spectrum in Taiwanese patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) to help clinicians identify the best treatment method. Whole‐exome sequencing was conducted in 32 surgical tumor tissues from patients with CRC. DNA libraries were generated using the Illumina TruSeq DNA Exome, and sequencing was performed on the Illumina NextSeq 500 system. Variants were annotated and compared to those obtained from publicly available databases. The analysis revealed frequent mutations in APC (59.38%), TP53 (50%), RAS (28.13%), FBXW7 (18.75%), RAF (9.38%), PIK3CA (9.38%), SMAD4 (9.38%), and SOX9 (9.38%). A mutation in TCF7L2 was also detected, but at lower frequencies. Two or more mutations were found in 22 (68.75%) samples. The mutation rates for the WNT, P53, RTK‐RAS, TGF‐β, and PI3K pathways were 78.13%, 56.25%, 40.63%, 18.75%, and 15.63%, respectively. RTK‐RAS pathway mutations were correlated with tumor size ( P = 0.028). We also discovered 23 novel mutations in NRAS , PIK3CA , SOX9 , APC , SMAD4 , MSH3 , MSH4 , PMS1 PMS2 , AXIN2 , ERBB2 , PIK3R1 , TGFBR2 , and ATM that were not reported in the COSMIC, The Cancer Genome Atlas, and dbSNP databases. In summary, we report the mutational landscape of CRC in a Taiwanese population. NGS is a cost‐effective and time‐saving method, and we believe that NGS will help clinicians to treat CRC patients in the near future.

Long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have various functions, including chromatin remodeling and the regulation of gene expression at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. However, few lncRNAs have been investigated comprehensively, with the majority being uncharacterized. In the present study, a bioinformatics pipeline was established to identify novel lncRNA sequences similar to the 3'-untranslated regions (3'‑UTRs) of protein-coding genes. These pairs of lncRNAs and coding genes contained the same microRNA (miRNA) target sites; the lncRNA CR933609 matched the 3'‑UTR of INO80 complex subunit D (INO80D) mRNA. The expression levels of CR933609 and INO80D were significantly decreased in non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and other cancer tissues. The expression levels of CR933609 and INO80D were decreased in CR933609-knockdown NSCLC cells, but only expression levels of INO80D decreased in INO80D knockdown cells. It was shown that there are independent promoters in CR933609 and INO80D. It was also found that the expression levels of INO80D were downregulated by endogenous miRNA‑5096 in A549 cells, but not in CR933609-overexpressing A549 cells. Furthermore, the lncRNA CR933609 acted as a decoy to protect INO80D from downregulation by miRNA‑5096 in NSCLC cells. A protocol was established to identify novel lncRNAs in the 3'‑UTR and the existence of novel lncRNAs was confirmed.

Head and neck cancer has poor overall survival. Patients with head and neck cancer more frequently develop second primary tumors than do patients with other cancers, leading to a poor prognosis. In this study, we used next-generation sequencing to analyze and compare mutations between first tumors and second tumors in oral cancer. We retrieved tumor tissues collected from 13 patients who were diagnosed twice as having cancer. We used driver gene and trunk mutations to distinguish between recurrent cancer and primary cancer in oral cancer. We observed unique driver gene mutations in three patients with an initial clinical diagnosis of recurrent cancer; hence, we believe that the corresponding patients had primary cancer. Four patients with an initial clinical diagnosis of primary cancer were found to actually have recurrent cancer according to our results. Genetic testing can be used to enhance the accuracy of clinical diagnosis.