The value of BCL2 and CK20 expression in predicting behavioral patterns of bladder cancer, a cross sectional study

A meta-analysis of UCA1 accuracy in the detection of bladder cancer

INTRODUCTION

Bladder cancer (BCa) exhibits a relatively high prevalence, yet convenient tools for its early detection are lacking. Our study aims to assess the diagnostic value of Urothelial Carcinoma-Associated 1 (UCA1) in the early detection of BCa.

METHODS

Systematic searches were performed in electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP) until 20 July 2023. QUADAS-2 was used for quality assessment, while Meta-DiSc 1.4 and STATA 14.0 were employed for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 1252 BCa patients and 779 controls, from 12 identified articles, were included. UCA1 showed strong discriminatory ability in BCa detection, with an overall sensitivity of 0.84 specificity of 0.91, and a 0.91 area under the curve (AUC). Strikingly, UCA1 expressed in urine and tissue exhibited higher diagnostic value (0.92 AUC) compared to that in blood (0.86 AUC). Furthermore, urine UCA1 demonstrated remarkable diagnostic performance with 91% sensitivity and 98% specificity. Deeks' funnel plot detected no substantial publication bias.

CONCLUSION

UCA1 could serve as a potential biomarker for BCa detection with good diagnostic performance. Besides, compared to UCA1 in blood, urine and tissue UCA1 exhibited higher diagnostic value. Further prospective clinical research is needed to corroborate the conclusion.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION

CRD42023463210.

The value of SOX10 expression in predicting perineural invasion in gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

SRY-related HMG-box 10 (SOX10) protein has a confirmed role in the regulation of neural cell proliferation and differentiation. It is now suggested that the changes in SOX10 expression may be linked to neural invasion by cancer cells. We aimed to assess the value of SOX10 expression in predicting perineural invasion in gastric cancer.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was performed on 40 patients with gastric cancer. To assess perineural invasion, Hematoxylin & Eosin stained slides were examined. The expression of SOX10 was also examined by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

Our study showed higher perineural invasion in those with SOX10 positivity as compared to those without SOX10 expression (64.0% vs. 6.7%, p=0.001). No association was revealed between other baseline variables and SOX10 positivity. The expression of this marker increased the chance of neural invasion up to 17 times as indicated by the multivariable regression modeling. Multivariable regression modeling indicated that the chance of neural invasion increased up to 17 times in cases of SOX10 positivity.

CONCLUSION

Overexpression of SOX10 is closely associated with the risk of perineural invasion in gastric cancer.

The Role of P21 Protein Expression in Predicting Progression and Biological Behaviors of Gastric Adenocarcinomas

Background: P21 protein is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor and has a crucial function as a cell cycle regulator in malignant tissues. Thus, its association with aggressive characteristics of malignant lesions is suggested. Objectives: We evaluated the expression level of P21 in gastric cancers and its association with the histopathological findings of cancer. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on gastric adenocarcinomas from radical gastrectomy. The histopathological examination was assessed by Hematoxylin & Eosin. The immunohistochemistry technique was then used to assess the expression of the P21 marker. Results: P21 positivity was revealed in 28 specimens of the cancerous lesions with an overall prevalence of 70.0% in our population. There was no association between P21 positivity and tumor-related characteristics, including tumor location, type, grade and stage, as well as the size of the cancerous lesion. P21 positivity could not be related to perineural or lymphovascular invasion of the tumor (P-value > 0.05). Conclusions: In our population, the expression of P21 may not be prognostic or predict tumor biological behavior among patients with gastric adenocarcinomas.