Aim: Several studies reported the association of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and prognosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), but the results remain controversial. Therefore, we investigated the prognostic value of PLR in NPC through meta-analysis. Materials & methods: A comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Embase and Web of Science was performed. Results: A total of 9 studies comprising of 3459 patients with NPC were included. The data demonstrated that an increased PLR predicted poor overall survival, progression-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival. There was no significant association between PLR and sex, age, T stage, N stage, tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage or intensity-modulated radiotherapy. Conclusion: This meta-analysis revealed that PLR might be a potential predicative biomarker of poor prognosis in patients with NPC.

Introduction: FOXD2-AS1 is known to promote the development of several cancers. However, its role in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is unclear.Methods: Expression of FOXD2-AS1 and miR-30a-3p in PAAD patients was analyzed with RT-qPCR. A follow-up study was performed to analyze the prognostic value of FOXD2-AS1 for PAAD. Overexpression assays were performed to analyze the crosstalk between FOXD2-AS1 and miR-30a-3p. Cell invasion and migration were analyzed by transwell assays.Results: Analysis of the TCGA dataset revealed that FOXD2-AS1 was upregulated in PAAD tissues compared to the non-cancer tissues (1.89 vs. 0.2 TPM), indicating potential involvement of FOXD2-AS1 in PAAD. Our own data also showed FOXD2-AS1 was overexpressed in PAAD. Moreover, high FOXD2-AS1 levels predicted poor survival. It is predicted that miR-30a-3p can bind FOXD2-AS1, while their overexpression did not affect each other's expression. Correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation between FOXD2-AS1 and COX-2. In addition, FOXD2-AS1 overexpression increased COX-2 level, while miR-30a-3p played an opposite role. FOXD2-AS1 and COX-2 overexpression increased PAAD cell invasion and migration. MiR-30a-3p played an opposite role and inhibited the effects of FOXD2-AS1 and COX-2 overexpression. Conclusion:FOXD2-AS1 may promote PAAD cell invasion and migration by sponging miR-30a-3p to upregulate COX-2.