Hepcidin is a crucial peptide for regulating cellular iron efflux. Because iron is essential for cell survival, especially for highly active cells, such as tumor cells, it is imperative to understand how tumor cells manipulate hepcidin expression for their own metabolic needs. Studies suggest that hepcidin expression and regulation in tumor cells show important differences in comparison with those in non-tumorous cells. These differences should be investigated to develop new strategies to fight cancer cells. Manipulating hepcidin expression to starve cancer cells for iron may prove to be a new therapy in the anticancer arsenal.

Aims Tocilizumab has emerged as an important therapy in treating patients with coronavirus disease (COVID‐19). Our purpose was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab versus standard care/placebo in patients with COVID‐19. Methods We searched a variety of sources from 1 January 2020 to 5 May 2021. All randomized controlled trials that reported tocilizumab efficacy as a primary agent in COVID‐19 patients were considered. RCTs had to include mortality events, incidence of mechanical ventilation and serious adverse events. Two reviewers were independently responsible for data extraction. Assessment of bias and certainty of evidence was carried out using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and GRADE methodology. RR for mortality events was evaluated using a fixed‐effects model. Results A total of 6837 patients were included from 10 RCTs, of which nine were peer‐reviewed. Pooled risk ratio (RR) for all‐cause mortality in patients with tocilizumab administration was RR = 0.88 (95% CI: 0.81–0.95, P = .0009). RR for incidence of mechanical ventilation at 28–30 days was 0.79 (95% CI: 0.71–0.88). Serious adverse events (SAE) with tocilizumab use were associated with lower RR (RR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.76–1.09) but the certainty of evidence was downgraded to moderate due to serious risk of bias. Conclusion In COVID‐19 patients with moderate to critical COVID‐19, use of tocilizumab reduces all‐cause mortality and progression to mechanical ventilation. This efficacy was not associated with higher number of serious adverse events.

Background: Thyroid carcinomas are the most common endocrine tumors – they account for 95% of all endocrine tumors. Thyroid carcinomas are more vascular than normal thyroid tissue. For the tumor to grow and subsequently metastasize it is crucial that it induces angiogenesis. This requires a change in the balance between certain angiogenic factors such as the vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) and the inhibitors of angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of VEGF-A expression in thyroid carcinomas. Materials and methods: The present prospective study included 80 cases, of which 60 were patients with thyroid cancer including papillary, follicular, medullary and anaplastic carcinoma, and 20 patients (controls) with benign thyroid tissue (thyroid goiter). All cases were examined using the immunohistochemical staining for VEGF-A. Results: VEGF-A expression in thyroid carcinoma was significantly higher than in benign thyroid tissues (p<0.001). VEGF-A expression values in thyroid carcinoma did not associate with tumor necrosis degree (p=1.000). Furthermore, VEGF-A expression values in thyroid carcinoma were not associated with other prognostic factors such as tumor hemorrhage, angioinvasion, atypical mitosis, and lymphatic invasion. Conclusion: Our data showed that the VEGF-A expression is upregulated in thyroid cancers compared with benign thyroid tissue. Therefore, it would be useful to perform IHC staining for VEGF-A expression as a valuable diagnostic tool in TC.

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