There is growing interest in single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes of microRNAs (miRNAs), which could be associated with susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC) and therefore for prognosis of the disease and/or treatment response. Moreover, these miRNAs-SNPs could serve as new, low-invasive biomarkers for early detection of CRC. In the present article, we performed a thorough review of different SNPs, which were investigated for a correlation with the CRC risk, prognosis, and treatment response. We also analyzed the results from different meta-analyses and the possible reasons for reported contradictory findings, especially when different research groups investigated the same SNP in a gene for a particular miRNA. This illustrates the need for more case-control studies involving participants with different ethnic backgrounds. According to our review, three miRNAs-SNPs—miR-146a rs2910164, miR-27a rs895819 and miR-608 rs4919510—appear as promising prognostic, diagnostic and predictive biomarkers for CRC, respectively.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a group of special endogenous long non-coding RNAs which are highly stable in the circulation, and, thus, more suitable as new biomarkers of colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of our study was to explore the plasma expression levels of four circRNAs: has_circ_0001445, hsa_circ_0003028, hsa_circ_0007915 and hsa_circ_0008717 in patients with CRC and to evaluate their associations with clinicopathological characteristics and the clinical outcome of the patients. CircRNAs were extracted from patients’ plasma obtained prior to chemotherapy. Their expression levels were measured by qPCR and calculated applying the 2^−ΔΔCt method. The levels of all four circRNAs were significantly increased in the plasma of CRC patients. At the optimal cut-off values hsa_circ_0001445 and hsa_circ_0007915 in plasma could significantly distinguish between patients with or without metastatic CRC with 92.56% sensitivity and 42.86% specificity, and with 86.07% sensitivity and 57.14% specificity, respectively. The mean overall survival (OS) of patients with high/intermediate expression of hsa_circ_0001445 was 30 months, significantly higher in comparison with the mean OS of the patients with low expression—20 months (log-rank test, p = 0.034). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, the low levels of hsa_circ_0001445 were also associated with shorter survival (HR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.02–2.47, p = 0.040). A prognostic significance of hsa_circ_0001445 for patients with metastatic CRC was established.

Ameloblastoma is a rare low-grade odontogenic tumor of epithelial origin. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined malignant ameloblastoma (MA) as a histologically benign-appearing ameloblastoma that has metastasized. Treatment of the primary ameloblastoma usually consists of radical excision of the tumor and adjuvant radiotherapy. Chemotherapy should be used to treat metastases due to its indolent clinical course. Presented here is the case of a 43-year-old woman who was admitted to a hospital in 2006 with a large mass involving the neck and left mandible. The mass had formed over years and had been neglected. The woman was diagnosed with a primary ameloblastoma of the mandible. Surgical resection was performed, followed by adjuvant radiotherapy. In September 2016, she was admitted again, and the findings were consistent with metastases of the previously identified ameloblastoma to the lungs. The patient was evaluated for further chemotherapy with 6 cycles of cisplatin at a dose of 100 mg/m2 on day 1, 5-FU at a dose of 1000 mg/m2/day on day 1-4 (3 wk), and pegylated filgrastim. The current case represents the classical course of a rare disease, which in this instance involved the common presentation of MA. This case is a valid incidence of MA based on the typical histology, findings from a lung biopsy, the immunohistochemical profile of the tumor, the typical clinical features, and a history of a previous primary disease.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is ranked as the second most commonly diagnosed disease in females and the third in males worldwide. Therefore, the finding of new more reliable biomarkers for early diagnosis, for prediction of metastasis, and resistance to conventional therapies is an important challenge in overcoming the disease. The current review presents circular RNAs (circRNAs) with their unique features as potential prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers in CRC. The review highlights the mechanism of action and the role of circRNAs with oncogenic functions in the CRC as well as the association between their expression and clinicopathological characteristics of CRC patients. The comprehension of the role of oncogenic circRNAs in CRC pathogenesis is growing rapidly and the next step is using them as suitable new drug targets in the personalized treatment of CRC patients.

The relatively high incidence of recurrence of bladder cancer is a serious problem in clinical practice. At present, there are no objective microscopic criteria for evaluation of the tendency for local relapse. Besides the phenotypic properties of the tumor parenchymal cells, possible signs in regard to recurrence could also be derived from the peculiarities of the tumor stroma. The stromal reaction, manifested by inflammatory infiltration in the tumor is considered to influence the biological behavior of tumors. Also, a relationship has been reported between the number of eosinophils and the survival of patients. The aim of the present study is to analyze tumor-associated tissue eosinophilia (TATE) and to compare TATE density in the initial foci of age and gender-matched 156 cases of recurrent and non-recurrent bladder cancers; the tumors that have relapsed within six months after removal and contained statistically significant greater numbers of eosinophils in primary cancer sites. These results suggest that TATE may be one of the probable prognostic signs for local relapse of urothelial cancer.