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Objective: To evaluate the characteristics at admission of patients with moderate COVID-19 in Wuhan and to explore risk factors associated with the severe prognosis of the disease for prognostic prediction. Methods: In this retrospective study, moderate and severe disease was defined according to the report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on COVID-19. Clinical characteristics and laboratory findings of 172 patients with laboratory-confirmed moderate COVID-19 were collected when they were admitted to the Cancer Center of Wuhan Union Hospital between February 13, 2020 and February 25, 2020. This cohort was followed to March 14, 2020. The outcomes, being discharged as mild cases or developing into severe cases, were categorized into two groups. The data were compared and analyzed with univariate logistic regression to identify the features that differed significantly between the two groups. Based on machine learning algorithms, a further feature selection procedure was performed to identify the features that can contribute the most to the prediction of disease severity. Results: Of the 172 patients, 112 were discharged as mild cases, and 60 developed into severe cases. Four clinical characteristics and 18 laboratory findings showed significant differences between the two groups in the statistical test (P

Guanylate binding proteins (GBPs) belongs to the interferons (IFNs) induced guanylate-binding protein family (Guanosine triphosphatases, GTPases) consisting of seven homologous members, termed GBP1 to GBP7. We used multidimensional survey ways to explore GBPs expression, regulation, mutations, immune infiltration and functional networks in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patient data based on various open databases. The study provides staggered evidence for the significance of GBPs in HNSCC and its potential role as a novel biomarker. Our results showed that over expressions of 7 GBPs members and multivariate analysis suggested that N-stage, high expressions of GBP1 and low expression of GBP6/7 were linked to shorter OS in HNSCC patients. In addition, B cells of immune infiltrates stimulant the prognosis and might have a medical prognostic significance linked to GBPs in HNSCC. We assume that GBPs play a synergistic role in the viral related HNSCC. Our results show that data mining efficiently reveals information about GBPs expression in HNSCC and more importance lays a foundation for further research on the role of GBPs in cancers.

Background The death-associated protein kinase (DAPK) is a tumor suppressor gene, which is a mediator of cell death of INF-γ–induced apoptosis. Aberrant methylation of DAPK promoter has been reported in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, the results of these studies are inconsistent. Hence, the present study aimed to evaluate the association between the promoter methylation of DAPK gene and HNSCC. Methods Relevant studies were systematically searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Ovid, and Embase. The association between DAPK promoter methylation and HNSCC was assessed by odds ratio (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). To evaluate the potential sources of heterogeneity, we conducted the meta-regression analysis and subgroup analysis. Results Eighteen studies were finally included in the meta-analysis. The frequency of DAPK promoter methylation in patients with HNSCC was 4.09-fold higher than the non-cancerous controls (OR = 3.96, 95%CI = 2.26–6.95). A significant association between DAPK promoter methylation and HNSCC was found among the Asian region and the Non-Asia region (Asian region, OR = 4.43, 95% CI = 2.29–8.58; Non-Asia region, OR = 3.39, 95% CI = 1.18–9.78). In the control source, the significant association between DAPK promoter methylation and HNSCC was seen among the autologous group and the heterogeneous group (autologous group, OR = 2.71, 95% CI = 1.49–4.93; heterogeneous group, OR = 9.50, 95% CI = 2.98–30.27). DAPK promoter methylation was significantly correlated with alcohol status (OR = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.07–3.21). Conclusion The results of this meta-analysis suggested that aberrant methylation of DAPK promoter was associated with HNSCC.

BACKGROUND O6-methylguanine-DNA methyl-transferase (MGMT) gene, a DNA repair gene, plays a critical role in the repair of alkylated DNA adducts that form following exposure to genotoxic agents. MGMT is generally expressed in various tumors, and its function is frequently lost because of hypermethylation in the promoter. The promoter methylation of MGMT has been extensively investigated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, the association between the promoter methylation of MGMT and HNSCC risk remains inconclusive and inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to better clarify the association between the promoter methylation of MGMT and HNSCC risk. METHODS A systematical search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Ovid for studies on the association between MGMT promoter methylation and HNSCC. Odds ratio (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to estimate association between MGMT promoter methylation and risk of HNSCC. The meta-regression and subgroup analysis were undertaken to explore the potential sources of heterogeneity. RESULTS Twenty studies with 1,030 cases and 775 controls were finally included in this study. The frequency of MGMT promoter methylation was 46.70% in HNSCC group and 23.23% in the control group. The frequency of MGMT promoter methylation in HNSCC group was significantly higher than the control group (OR = 2.83, 95%CI = 2.25-3.56). CONCLUSION This meta-analysis indicates that aberrant methylation of MGMT promoter was significantly associated with the risk of HNSCC, and it may be a potential molecular marker for monitoring the disease and may provide new insights to the treatment of HNSCC.

BACKGROUND:Ovarian cancer is the primary cause of death in women diagnosed with gynecological malignancies worldwide. Absence of early symptoms prevents prompt diagnosis or successful therapeutic intervention. P16INK4a is a well-known tumor suppressor gene (TSG). Aberrant methylation of TSG promoter is an important epigenetic silencing mechanism leading to ovarian cancer progression. Studies have reported differences in methylation frequencies of the p16INK4a promoter between ovarian cancer and the corresponding control group. However, the association between p16INK4a promoter methylation and ovarian cancer remains unclear and controversial. Therefore, a meta-analysis was conducted to clarify the relationship between p16INK4a promoter methylation and ovarian cancer. METHODS:PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE and CNKI were searched to identify eligible studies for the evaluation of the association between p16INK4a promoter methylation and ovarian cancer. Odds ratio (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were calculated to determine the strength of association between p16INK4a promoter methylation and ovarian cancer. RESULTS:A total of 612 ovarian cancer patients and 289 controls from 12 eligible studies were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, a significant association was observed between p16INK4a methylation status and ovarian cancer risk using a fixed-effects model (OR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.39-2.94). CONCLUSION:The results of our meta-analysis show that aberrant methylation of p16INK4a promoter was significantly associated with ovarian cancer. It may represent a promising molecular marker to monitor the disease and provides new insights into the treatment of human ovarian cancer.