BackgroundAlthough many studies have shown the predictive value of the high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) for various cancers, there are conflicting reports regarding their role in laryngeal cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between high NLR/PLR and laryngeal cancer prognosis with the help of meta-analysis.MethodsPubMed, Embase and other databases were used to search relevant studies. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using either the random-effect-model or fixed-effect model. Sensitivity analyses and subgroups were used to explore potential sources of heterogeneity. Publication bias was also adopted.Result5716 patients from 20 studies were involved in this meta-analysis. Pooled observed survival (OS) (HR=1.70, 95%CI, 1.41-2.04, p<0.001), progression-free survival (PFS) (HR=1.81, 95%CI, 1.47-2.23, p<0.001), and disease-free survival (DFS) (HR=1.86, 95%CI, 1.45-2.38, p<0.001) showed the prediction of high NLR for poor prognosis. It also suggested that high PLR predicted poor OS (HR=1.89, 95%CI, 1.21-2.94, p<0.001).ConclusionThis study indicated that high NLR was associated with poor OS, PFS, and DFS in laryngeal cancer patients, and high PLR was related to poor OS. Both could be potential predictors of prognosis.

Several studies have reported the value of neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for the prognosis of hypopharyngeal cancer. However, contradictory findings have also been published. We aimed to clarify the effect of NLR on the prognosis of hypopharyngeal cancer through meta‐analysis. Systematic search of PubMed and other database with study selection and data extraction. The combined hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using STATA, applying either a fixed‐effects or random‐effects model. Meta‐regression, subgroup analysis, and sensitivity analysis were used to analyze sources of heterogeneity. Publication bias were also assessed. This meta‐analysis included 2232 patients with hypopharyngeal cancer from seven studies. The combined HR (OS, HR = 1.80, 95CI%, 1.14–2.82; PFS, HR = 1.88, 95CI%, 1.26–2.79) suggested that high NLR was associated with poor overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS). Pretreatment NLR can be used as an effective serological indicator to assess the prognosis of patients with hypopharyngeal cancer.

Background: Gastric intestinal metaplasia (IM) is the key link of gastric precancerous lesions. Ferroptosis is a novel form of programmed cell death. However, its impact on IM is unclear. The focus of this study is to identify and verify ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) that may be involved in IM by bioinformatics analysis.Materials and methods: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained from microarray dataset GSE60427 and GSE78523 downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed ferroptosis-related genes (DEFRGs) were obtained from overlapping genes of DEGs and FRGs got from FerrDb. DAVID database was used for functional enrichment analysis. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis and Cytoscape software were used to screen hub gene. In addition, we built a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and verified the relative mRNA expression by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Finally, the CIBERSORT algorithm was used to analyze the immune infiltration in IM.Results: First, a total of 17 DEFRGs were identified. Second, a gene module identified by Cytoscape software was considered as hub gene: PTGS2, HMOX1, IFNG, and NOS2. Third, ROC analysis showed that HMOX1 and NOS2 had good diagnostic characteristics. qRT-PCR experiments confirmed the differential expression of HMOX1 in IM and normal gastric tissues. Finally, immunoassay showed that the proportion of T cells regulatory (Tregs) and macrophages M0 in IM was relatively higher, while the proportion of T cells CD4 memory activated and dendritic cells activated was lower.Conclusion: We found significant associations between FRGs and IM, and HMOX1 may be diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for IM. These results may enhance our understanding of IM and may contribute to its treatment.

Background Fecal DNA and occult blood testing have been gradually developed for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Comparison of different testing strategies for these methods in CRC screening is in urgent need. This study aims to examine the efficacy of different testing strategies including multi-target fecal DNA testing, qualitative and quantitative fecal immunoassay tests (FITs). Methods Fecal samples were collected from patients diagnosed by colonoscopy. Tests using fecal DNA, quantitative FIT or qualitative FIT were performed on same fecal samples. Efficiency of different testing strategies within different populations was investigated. Results For high-risk populations (CRC and advanced adenoma), the positive rate of the three methods alone was 74.3–80%; the positive predictive values (PPVs) ranged from 37.3% to 77.8%, and the negative predictive values (NPVs) ranged from 86.3% to 92.2%. For combined testing strategies, the positive rate was 71.4–88.6%, PPVs ranged from 38.3% to 86.2%, and NPVs ranged from 89.6% to 92.9%. Parallel fecal multi-target DNA test and quantitative FIT appears to be superior when using a combined testing strategy. For the normal population, no significant difference was identified in efficacy between these methods when used alone and in combination. Conclusions Single testing strategy among the three methods is more suitable for the general population screening, and the combined testing strategy is more suitable for high-risk populations screening. The use of different combination strategies may have superiority in CRC high-risk population screening, but cannot conclude significant differences which may be attributed to the small sample size, large samples controlled trials are needed.

Hearing loss is the most common sensory neural disorder in humans, and according to a WHO estimation, 5.5% (466 million) of people worldwide have disabling hearing loss. In this study, a Chinese family with prelingual sensorineural hearing loss was investigated. The affected individuals showed moderately severe hearing loss at all frequencies. Using target genome enrichment and high-throughput sequencing, the homozygous variant c.2372del; p.(Ser791fs) was identified in PDZD7. This variant lies in exon 15 of PDZD7 and results in a frame shift followed by an early stop codon. It is classified as pathogenic according to the ACMG/AMP guidelines and ClinGen specifications. Our study expands the pathogenic variant spectrum of PDZD7 and strengthens the clinical importance of this gene in patients with moderately severe hearing loss.