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Cervical cancer (CC) is the third most common carcinoma and the fourth leading cause of cancer-associated mortality in women. The deregulation of fatty acid metabolism plays a crucial role in the progression of various tumors. This study is aimed at exploring the prognostic values of fatty acid metabolism- (FAM-) related long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in CC. FAM-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and lncRNAs were screened in CC specimens based on TCGA datasets. Univariate analysis was carried out on differentially expressed lncRNAs to screen the survival-related lncRNAs. Multivariate assays were performed on the resulting lncRNAs to create a novel risk model. Survival assays were applied to examine the prognostic abilities of our model. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the accuracy of the new model. The association between risk model and immune responses was analyzed. In this study, we screened 9 differently expressed lncRNAs associated with the clinical outcome of CC patients. A nine-lncRNA signature comprising SCAT1, AC119427.1, AC009097.2, MIR100HG, AC010996.1, AL583856.2, MIAT, AP003774.2, and AC004540.2 was established to predict overall survival of CC. Survival assays revealed that patients’ high risk score showed a shorter overall survival than those with low risk score. Multivariate assays demonstrated that the nine-gene signature was an independent prognostic factor in CC. In addition, we observed that APC_co_stimulation, CCR, and parainflammation were distinctly different between low-risk and high-risk groups. Our group observed a distinct difference in the expressions of CD44, TNFRSF8, CD276, LAG3, TNFRSF14, TMIGD2, VTCN1, TNFRSF25, CD80, NRP1, TNFRSF18, CD70, TNFSF9, and LGALS9 between the two groups of patients. Overall, our findings indicated that the 9 FAM-related lncRNA signature might be a promising prognostic factor for CC and can promote the management of FAM-related therapy in clinical practice.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the main cause of deaths worldwide in female reproductive system malignancies. Growing studies have indicated that eRNAs could regulate cellular activities in various tumors. Yet the potential roles of eRNAs in OC progression have not been elucidated. Thus, comprehensive assays were needed to screen the critical eRNAs and to explore their possible function in OC. We used Kaplan–Meier methods to identify survival-associated eRNAs in OC based on TCGA datasets. The levels of ZFHX4-AS1 were examined using TCGA datasets. Further exploration was carried out based on the following assays: clinical and survival assays, GO terms, and KEGG assays. TIMER was applied to delve into the relationships between ZFHX4-AS1 and tumor immune infiltration. In this research, we observed 71 survival-related eRNAs in OC patients. ZFHX4-AS1 was highly expressed in OC specimens and predicted a poor prognosis of OC patients. In addition, high ZFHX4-AS1 expression was positively related to the advanced stages of OC specimens. Multivariate assays revealed that ZFHX4-AS1 was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival of OC patients. KEGG analysis indicated that ZFHX4-AS1 may play a regulatory effect on TGF-beta signaling, PI3K-Akt signaling, and proteoglycans in cancer. The pan-cancer validation indicated that ZFHX4-AS1 was related to survival in eight tumors, namely, UCEC, STAD, SARC, OV, ACC, KICH, KIRC, and BLCA. The expression of ZFHX4-AS1 was correlated with the levels of B cells, T cell CD8+, neutrophil, macrophage, and myeloid dendritic cells. Simultaneously, ZFHX4-AS1 may be a prognostic biomarker and a distinctly immunotherapy-related eRNA in OC.

Objective • This meta-analysis aims to assess the efficacy of combining clotrimazole and metronidazole in the treatment of mixed infectious vaginitis (VA). The goal is to provide clinical guidance for future medication strategies. Methods • We conducted a comprehensive search of the literature database for studies involving the use of clotrimazole combined with metronidazole in the treatment of mixed infectious VA. After rigorous screening, eligible studies were subjected to meta-analysis using RevMan 5.3 software. Outcome measures included cure rates, recurrence rates, and the incidence of adverse reactions. Results • Six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included, comprising 160 patients in the test group (treated with clotrimazole combined with metronidazole) and 160 patients in the control group (treated with alternative regimens). All selected studies were of high quality and possessed significant reference value. Metaanalysis results indicated that, in comparison to the control group, the test group exhibited a comparable incidence of adverse reactions (P > .05), higher cure rates, increased treatment satisfaction, and a lower recurrence rate (P < .05). Conclusions • The combination of clotrimazole and metronidazole is an effective treatment option for mixed infectious vaginitis, thus warranting recommendation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]