Our results suggest that statin use is associated with a modest reduced risk of CRC; apparent associations were found for lipophilic statin use. However, long-term statin use did not appear to significantly affect the risk of CRC.

On the basis of our meta-analysis, neutrophil CD64 expression could be a promising and meaningful biomarker for diagnosing bacterial infection. Nevertheless, more large prospective studies should be carried out before the neutrophil CD64 test is used widely in the clinical setting because of the various cut-off values.

Results of the meta-analysis suggest that chewing gum following abdominal surgery offers benefits in reducing the time of postoperative ileus.

Background and ObjectiveDue to recurrence and metastasis, the mortality of Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is high. It is well known that the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) and glycan of cell surface glycoproteins play pivotal roles in tumor metastasis. The goal of this study was to identify HCC metastasis related differential glycan pattern and their enzymatic basis using a HGF induced EMT model.MethodologyHGF was used to induce HCC EMT model. Lectin microarray was used to detect the expression of cell surface glycan and the difference was validated by lectin blot and fluorescence cell lectin-immunochemistry. The mRNA expression levels of glycotransferases were determined by qRT-PCR.ResultsAfter HGF treatment, the Huh7 cell lost epithelial characteristics and obtained mesenchymal markers. These changes demonstrated that HGF could induce a typical cell model of EMT. Lectin microarray analysis identified a decreased affinity in seven lectins ACL, BPL, JAC, MPL, PHA-E, SNA, and SBA to the glycan of cell surface glycoproteins. This implied that glycan containing T/Tn-antigen, NA2 and bisecting GlcNAc, Siaα2-6Gal/GalNAc, terminal α or βGalNAc structures were reduced. The binding ability of thirteen lectins, AAL, LCA, LTL, ConA, NML, NPL, DBA, HAL, PTL II, WFL, ECL, GSL II and PHA-L to glycan were elevated, and a definite indication that glycan containing terminal αFuc and ± Sia-Le, core fucose, α-man, gal-β(α) GalNAc, β1,6 GlcNAc branching and tetraantennary complex oligosaccharides structures were increased. These results were further validated by lectin blot and fluorescence cell lectin-immunochemistry. Furthermore, the mRNA expression level of Mgat3 decreased while that of Mgat5, FucT8 and β3GalT5 increased. Therefore, cell surface glycan alterations in the EMT process may coincide with the expression of glycosyltransferase.ConclusionsThe findings of this study systematically clarify the alterations of cell surface glycan in cancer EMT, and may provide novel insight for HCC metastasis.

BackgroundPolymorphisms of genes encoding components of the vitamin D pathway including vitamin D receptor (VDR) and vitamin D binding protein (DBP) have been widely investigated because of the complex role played by vitamin D in cancer tumorogenesis. In this study, we investigated the association between VDR and DBP gene polymorphisms and HBV-related HCC risk in a Chinese population.MethodsStudy subjects were divided into three groups: 184 HBV patients with HCC, 296 HBV patients without HCC, and 180 healthy controls. The VDR rs2228570, and rs3782905 and the DBP rs7041 polymorphisms were genotyped using PCR-RFLP and the VDR rs11568820 polymorphism was genotyped by PCR-SSP, respectively. DNA sequencing was performed to validate the genotype results.ResultsWe found that there were significant differences in the genotype and allele frequencies of the VDR rs2228570 and DBP rs7041 polymorphisms between HBV patients with HCC and healthy controls. The rs2228570 T allele was associated with a significant increased HBV-related HCC risk as compared with the C allele. The rs2228570 TT and TT/TC genotypes were correlated with a significant increased HBV-related HCC risk when compared with the wild-type CC homozygote. Similarly, the rs7041 G allele was associated with a significant increased HBV-related HCC risk as compared with the T allele. The rs7041 GG and GG/TG genotypes were correlated with a significant increased HBV-related HCC risk when compared with the wild-type TT homozygote. However, we did not observe any significant effect of VDR rs11568820, and rs3782905 polymorphisms on HBV-related HCC risk in this population. In haplotype analysis, we also did not find any significant differences in haplotype frequencies of the VDR gene between HBV patients with HCC and the healthy controls.ConclusionsWe conclude that the VDR rs2228570 and DBP rs7041 polymorphisms may contribute to increased susceptibility to HBV-related HCC in the Chinese population. Due to the marginal significance, further large and well-designed studies in diverse ethnic populations are needed to confirm our results.

Probiotics supplementation in triple therapy for H. pylori infection may have beneficial effects on eradication and therapy-related side effects, particularly diarrhea, in children.

Our meta-analysis suggests that high (e.g., highest ≥ 4 or 5 cups/day) coffee consumption may not only be associated with a reduced risk of overall prostate cancer, but also inversely associated with fatal and high-grade prostate cancer.

Adiponectin, as an important adipocytokine, plays a pivotal role in the regulation of insulin sensitivity and metabolism. It has been reported that circulating adiponectin levels were decreased in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, the results remained inconsistent. In order to derive a more precise estimation of this relationship, a large meta-analysis was performed in this study. A comprehensive systematic electronic search was conducted in electronic databases PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science up to November 30, 2013. Pooled weighted mean differences (WMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to estimate the strength of the association. A meta-analysis technique was used to study 38 trials involving 1,944 PCOS women and 1,654 healthy controls. Overall pooled adiponectin levels in women with PCOS were significantly reduced compared with healthy controls (WMD -2.67, 95% CI -3.22 to -2.13; P = 0.000), yet with significant heterogeneity across studies (I(2) = 95.9%, P = 0.000). In subgroup analysis by HOMA-IR ratio and total testosterone ratio, inconsistent results were presented. No single study was found to affect the overall results by sensitivity testing. Meta-regression suggested that BMI might contribute little to the heterogeneity between including studies. Cumulative meta-analysis demonstrated the reliability and stability of the meta-analysis results. No evidence of publication bias was observed. Our meta-analysis suggested that circulating adiponectin levels in women with PCOS were significantly lower than those in healthy controls, which indicated that circulating adiponectin might play a role in the development of PCOS.