Background and Objectives: Transient receptor potential melastatin 7 (TRPM7) is a unique channel protein, and functionally responsible for transportation of calcium and magnesium. Physiologically, the TRPM7 channel is involved in homeostasis of calcium and magnesium, and cell survival. TRPM7 expression is up-regulated in many cancers as malignant behaviors of cancer cells, and its deficiency suppresses their growth. Materials and Methods: In this study, we aimed to analyze clinical and prognostic characteristics of TRPM7 expression in colorectal cancers (CRC) using The Cancer Genome Atlas. Results: High expression of TRPM7 was observed in younger patients with rectal cancer (p = 0.0002). By quantitative correlation analysis, TRPM7 was negatively correlated with age (R = −0.239, p = 0.003) and p53 (R = −0.240, p = 0.002). Furthermore, it was positively correlated with APC expression (R = 0.534, p < 0.001) and KRAS expression (R = 0.319, p < 0.001). In colon cancer, there were no variables that showed a significant correlation with TRPM7. Survival analysis found that TRPM7 expression did not have any prognostic value in colon and rectal cancers. Conclusions: Our study highlights that TRPM7 expression in CRC, particularly in rectal cancer, may be a potential marker. Future studies are needed to provide deeper insights into the role of TRPM7 in rectal cancer.

Background and Objectives: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is histologically divided into adenocarcinoma (AD) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). While Checkpoint kinase 1 (CHEK1) regulates the DNA damage response, its subtype-specific clinical impact in NSCLC remains unclear. We investigated the association of CHEK1 expression with clinicopathologic features and prognosis in AD and SCC. Materials and Methods: Transcriptomic and clinical data from 980 patients (492 AD, 488 SCC) were analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Patients were stratified by median CHEK1 mRNA expression. Relationships between expression and clinicopathologic variables were evaluated via Chi-square tests, and overall survival (OS) was assessed using Kaplan–Meier analysis. Results: In AD, high CHEK1 expression significantly correlated with advanced T stage (p < 0.001), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.025), younger age (p = 0.017), and shorter OS (p = 0.025). Conversely, CHEK1 expression in SCC did not reach statistical significance for survival outcomes, although a borderline trend was observed (p = 0.067). Conclusions: CHEK1 is a subtype-specific prognostic biomarker for AD but not for SCC. These findings suggest that CHEK1 overexpression reflects tumor aggressiveness in AD, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target for this specific population.

This study aimed to analyze the correlation between smoking and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity by region and gross domestic product (GDP). The regions were categorized by continent and GDP rankings. Studies conducted between June 3, 2020 and March 27, 2023 were searched to compare the severity of COVID-19 between smokers and non-smokers according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Compared with never-smokers, the smokers’ COVID-19 severity scores were 1.48 (confidence interval [CI]: 1.25–1.75) in Asia, 1.24 (CI: 1.05–1.46) in the Middle East, 1.32 (1.21–1.45) in Europe, 1.39 (1.30–1.49) in North America, 1.69 (1.22–2.34) in South America, and 2.87 (1.82–4.53) in Africa. By GDP, the smokers’ COVID-19 severity scores were higher than those of never-smokers: 1.42 (1.32–1.53) in high-GDP countries, 1.33 (1.25–1.41) in middle-GDP countries (11th–50th), and 1.53 (0.85–2.76) in low-GDP countries. The COVID-19 severity in smokers was significantly higher in low-GDP countries than in high- and middle-income countries. The high COVID-19 death rate among smokers in the African continent and low-GDP countries is thought to stem from the lack of medical management systems compared with other countries. In addition to medical treatment, environmental or socioeconomic factors can increase the severity.

Background and objectives: TSC1 is a crucial component of the mTOR pathway, impacting cell growth, proliferation, and autophagy, while TSC2 is a tumor suppressor gene that regulates cell growth and is associated with the mTOR signaling pathway. In the present study, we analyzed TSC1 and TSC2 mRNA expression levels in rectal cancer, and evaluated the clinicopathological and prognostic characteristics of TSC1 and TSC2. Materials and Methods: TSC1 and TSC2 mRNA expression was examined in various cancer types. We further evaluated survival to determine the prognostic significance of TSC1 and TSC2 mRNA in CRC using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data. Results: The study focused on rectal cancer, as it exhibited the most promising results. The patients were split into two subgroups, each comprising 50% of the total, based on the TSC gene expression levels. This division was made to assess the clinical characteristics associated with the expression of TSC1 and TSC2 genes. In the study, lower TSC1 expression was linked to venous invasion in rectal cancer patients, and there was also a related trend with lymphatic invasion, although it didn't reach statistical significance. Lower TSC2 expression was observed in younger patients and had some associations with sex and M stage, but these correlations were not statistically significant. When it came to survival analysis, TSC1 expression did not significantly impact overall survival, while higher TSC2 expression was associated with a poorer prognosis in rectal cancer. To enhance our comprehension, additional research, especially in larger case studies, is needed to explore the molecular mechanisms and clinical characteristics of TSC genes in colorectal cancer.

Background and Objectives: Von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) disease is caused by mutations in the VHL gene and can develop various cancers. Hypoxia-inducible factors 1 and 2 alphas, regulated by the VHL gene, can increase the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor, thereby activating cancer progression. Here, we demonstrated clinical and prognostic values of VHL expression in rectal cancer (RC). Materials and Methods: Von Hippel–Lindau mRNA expression was examined in 60 patients with RC. Furthermore, we evaluated survival to determine the prognostic significance of VHL mRNA expression levels in RC using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data. Results: Lower VHL expression was correlated with the recurrence (p = 0.058) and lymphatic invasion (p = 0.078), although it was not statistically significant. In TCGA data, VHL expression level was correlated with the M stage (p = 0.044); however, it had a possible association with lymphatic invasion (p = 0.068) and N stage (p = 0.104). Survival analysis showed that lower VHL gene expression predicted poorer survival in both patients with RC and TCGA data. Conclusions: This study identified a significant correlation between VHL gene expression and RC for the first time using patient tissues and TCGA data, suggesting that the VHL gene expression level could be a potential biomarker or candidate for the treatment of RC. Further studies are required to identify the molecular pathogenesis and clinical characteristics of VHL disease in RC.

Background and Objectives: A disintegrin and metalloproteinase 10 (ADAM10) is a membrane-anchored metalloprotease involved in ectodomain shedding and cancer progression. However, its molecular and prognostic significance across major histological subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. This study evaluated the clinical and molecular relevance of ADAM10 in NSCLC, focusing on lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Materials and Methods: Transcriptomic and clinicopathological data from 980 patients with NSCLC, including 491 patients with LUAD and 489 patients with LUSC, were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas through the OncoLnc database. Patients in each cohort were classified into ADAM10-high and ADAM10-low groups according to the median ADAM10 mRNA expression level. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed to evaluate the prognostic significance of ADAM10 expression. Results: ADAM10 expression was not significantly associated with baseline clinicopathological characteristics in the overall cohort or within the LUAD and LUSC subgroups. However, ADAM10 expression showed distinct molecular associations according to histologic subtype. In LUAD, ADAM10 expression was positively correlated with KRAS expression (ρ = 0.286, p < 0.001), BRAF expression (ρ = 0.145, p = 0.001), and EGFR expression (ρ = 0.187, p < 0.001), while it was negatively correlated with TP53 expression (ρ = −0.12, p = 0.005), whereas in LUSC, it was positively correlated with PIK3CA. High ADAM10 expression was associated with significantly poorer EFS and OS in the overall NSCLC cohort. In multivariate analyses, high ADAM10 expression remained an independent predictor of shorter EFS (HR = 1.352, 95% CI = 1.041–1.755, p = 0.024) and OS (HR = 1.335, 95% CI = 1.089–1.636, p = 0.005), independent of clinicopathological factors. Conclusions: High ADAM10 expression was independently associated with poorer survival outcomes in NSCLC, with a more pronounced prognostic impact in LUAD than in LUSC. These findings suggest that ADAM10 may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker in NSCLC, particularly in LUAD.