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H19, a maternally expressed imprinted gene transcribing a long noncoding RNA, has previously been reported to be involved in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, the association between the H19 polymorphisms and breast cancer (BC) susceptibility has remained elusive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between 2 H19 haplotype tagging SNPs (rs3741219 T>C, rs217727 C>T) and the risk of breast cancer.Our study comprised 464 BC patients and 467 cancer-free controls in China. rs3741219 and rs217727 were genotyped with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment-length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and created restriction site PCR (CRS-RFLP) assays, respectively. False-positive report probability (FPRP) was calculated to test the false-positive association.On performing univariate analysis, no significant association between H19 polymorphisms (rs3741219 and rs217727) and BC was observed. However, in further stratified analyses, CT+TT genotypes of rs217727 had a significantly lower risk of breast cancer among women with number of pregnancy >2 (OR = 0.79; 95% CI = 0.55–0.97). CT genotype of rs217727 was associated with ER positivity (OR = 2.19; 95 % CI = 1.07–4.45) and HER-2 positivity (OR = 1.34; 95 % CI = 1.05–2.12). It was proved that our results were less likely to be false positives according to false-positive report probability calculation.Our findings extend available data on the association of H19 polymorphisms and BC susceptibility. Further validation in large population or cohort studies is needed.

Background Handgrip strength (HGS) is associated with poor clinical outcomes, including all-cause, non-cardiovascular, and cardiovascular mortalities. The published cutoff points for HGS are mostly based on community populations from Western countries, lacking information on cancer patients from China. The objective of this study was to establish sex-specific cutoff points for Chinese cancer patients and investigate the effect of low HGS on cancer mortality. Methods We did a retrospective cohort study of patients who were diagnosed with malignant cancer from June 2012 to December 2018. HGS was measured using a hand dynamometer in 8257 cancer patients. Optimal stratification was used to solve threshold points. The hazard ratio (HR) of all cancer mortality and cancer-specific mortality was calculated using Cox proportional hazard regression models. Results Among all participants, there were 3902 (47.3%) women and 4355 (52.7%) men. The median age was 58 years old. The cutoff points of HGS to best classify patients with respect to time to mortality were <16.1 kg for women and <22 kg for men. Low HGS was associated with overall cancer mortality in both women and men [

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Background Although systemic inflammation is an important feature of the cancer cachexia, studies on the association between systemic inflammation and prognostic of cancer cachexia are limited. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with outcome and quality of life for patients with cancer cachexia and investigated any interaction between NLR and the clinical parameters. Methods This is a multicentre cohort study of 2612 cancer patients suffering from cachexia diagnosed between June 2012 and December 2019. The main parameters measured were overall survival (OS) time and all-cause mortality. The association between NLR and all-cause mortality was evaluated using hazard ratios (HRs) and the restricted cubic spline model with a two-sided P-value. Optimal stratification was used to solve threshold points. We also evaluated the cross-classification of NLR for each variable of survival. Results Of the 2612 participants diagnosed with cancer cachexia, 1533 (58.7%) were male, and the mean (SD) age was 58.7 (11.7) years. Over a median follow-up of 4.5 years, we observed 1189 deaths. The overall mortality rate for patients with cancer cachexia during the first 12 months was 30.2% (95%CI: 28.4%-32.0%), resulting in a rate of 226.07 events per 1000 patient-years. An increase in NLR had an inverted L-shaped dose-response association with all-cause mortality. The optimal cut-off point for NLR as a predictor of mortality in cancer patients with cachexia was 3.5. An NLR of 3.5 or greater could independently predict OS (HR, 1.51, 95%CI: 1.33-1.71). These associations were consistent across subtypes of cancer. Several potential effect modifiers were identified including gender, BMI, tumour type, KPS score and albumin in content. Increasing NLRs were independently associated with a worsening in the majority of EORTC QLQ-C30 domains. Elevated baseline NLR was associated with low response and poor survival in patients treated with immunotherapy. Conclusions The baseline NLR status was found to be a significant negative prognostic biomarker for patients with cachexia; this effect was independent of other known prognostic factors.

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Malnutrition is common in patients with cancer, which adversely affects the survival and quality of life of cancer patients. However, there is no national data on the prevalence of malnutrition in Chinese cancer patients. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition and quality of life (QOL) of Chinese patients with local regional, recurrent or metastatic cancer, to address the prognostic value of nutritional status and QOL on the survival of cancer patients in China and to validate the patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA) questionnaire in Chinese cancer patients.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> This is an observational, multi-centered, and hospital-based prospective cohort study. We aimed to recruit 50,000 cancer patients (age 18 and above) over an 8-year period. Data collection will occur within 48 hr after patients are admitted to hospital, 30-days after hospital admission, and the follow-up will be conducted 1-8 years after enrolment. The primary outcome is overall survival, and secondary outcomes are length of hospital stay and hospital costs. Factors measured are demographic characteristics, tumor characteristics, anthropometry measurements, hematological measurement, body composition, PG-SGA scores, Karnofsky performance status scores, and QLQ C30 scores. This protocol was approved by local ethical committees of all the participant hospitals.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This multi-centered, large-scale, long-time follow-up prospective study will help diagnose malnutrition in cancer patients in China, and identify the related risk factors associated with the negative outcomes. The anticipated results will highlight the need for a truly scientific appraisal of nutrition therapy, and help to improve outcomes among cancer patients in China.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Trial Registration: </strong>The trial has been registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR1800020329. Registered on 19 December 2018.<strong></strong></p>