It has been postulated that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) use leads to decreased prostate cancer (PCa) risk. In recent years, NSAIDs’ role in PCa development has been extensively studied; however, there is not yet a definitive answer. Moreover, the epidemiological results for NSAIDs’ effect on PCa-specific mortality have been inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to examine the controversy. We performed a literature database search and included all published studies conducted in the general population exposed to any NSAID, extracting an odds ratio (OR) or a hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) that compared the incidence of PCa or PCa-specific mortality with non-exposure. We derived a pooled OR or HR using random or fixed effects models, as appropriate. Subgroup analyses were also performed. Thirty-nine studies (20 case–control and 19 cohort studies) were included in this analysis. Thirty-one studies were available concerning NSAID use and PCa incidence and eight studies on PCa-specific mortality. Compared to non-use, aspirin use was statistically significantly associated with PCa incidence risk, and the association was slightly stronger for advanced PCa than for total PCa (OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.87 to 0.97 for total PCa; OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.73 to 0.89 for advanced PCa). Aspirin use seems also to be associated with a modest reduction in PCa-specific mortality (HR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.78 to 0.96 for total PCa; OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.71 to 0.92 for advanced PCa). Generally, the pooled effects for any NSAIDs, NA-NSAIDs and cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors demonstrated no adverse or beneficial effects on PCa development or PCa-specific mortality, but the results were not consistent. The effect estimates did not vary markedly when stratified by study design and study quality but varied by geographic region. Furthermore, long-term aspirin use (≥4 years) was also significantly associated with reduced PCa incidence (OR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.99). The present meta-analysis provides support for the hypothesis that aspirin use is inversely related to PCa incidence and PCa-specific mortality. The effect estimates, varying by geographic region, deserve further investigation.

Macrophage lipid metabolism plays a pivotal role in innate and adaptive immune responses. Previous studies have shown that this process plays a role in infections and contributes to the pathogenesis of diabetes, atherosclerosis, and other immunometabolic diseases. M1 macrophages, or classically activated macrophages, are key players in the defense against bacterial infections. M2 macrophages, or alternatively activated macrophages, are involved in anti-inflammatory responses. Using the multiple reaction monitoring method, we identified changes in lipid composition during the differentiation of human and murine macrophages. We detected over 300 lipid molecules in mammalian macrophages, and we observed a striking shift in the composition of glycerophospholipids (GLs) from saturated and monounsaturated to polyunsaturated during human macrophage polarization. Moreover, M2 macrophages showed a higher level of lysophospholipids (lysoGLs) than did M1 macrophages. The lysoPI species increased in human and mouse M2 macrophages, suggesting that they may be involved in M2 macrophage polarization and anti-inflammatory processes. Collectively, these results indicate that lipids may play a role in the pro- and anti-inflammatory activities of macrophages and may be markers of the macrophage activation state.

Polymorphisms of genes encoding components of the vitamin D pathway including vitamin D receptor (VDR) and vitamin D binding protein (DBP) have been widely investigated because of the complex role played by vitamin D in cancer tumorogenesis. In this study, we investigated the association between VDR and DBP gene polymorphisms and HBV-related HCC risk in a Chinese population. Study subjects were divided into three groups: 184 HBV patients with HCC, 296 HBV patients without HCC, and 180 healthy controls. The VDR rs2228570, and rs3782905 and the DBP rs7041 polymorphisms were genotyped using PCR-RFLP and the VDR rs11568820 polymorphism was genotyped by PCR-SSP, respectively. DNA sequencing was performed to validate the genotype results. We found that there were significant differences in the genotype and allele frequencies of the VDR rs2228570 and DBP rs7041 polymorphisms between HBV patients with HCC and healthy controls. The rs2228570 T allele was associated with a significant increased HBV-related HCC risk as compared with the C allele. The rs2228570 TT and TT/TC genotypes were correlated with a significant increased HBV-related HCC risk when compared with the wild-type CC homozygote. Similarly, the rs7041 G allele was associated with a significant increased HBV-related HCC risk as compared with the T allele. The rs7041 GG and GG/TG genotypes were correlated with a significant increased HBV-related HCC risk when compared with the wild-type TT homozygote. However, we did not observe any significant effect of VDR rs11568820, and rs3782905 polymorphisms on HBV-related HCC risk in this population. In haplotype analysis, we also did not find any significant differences in haplotype frequencies of the VDR gene between HBV patients with HCC and the healthy controls. We conclude that the VDR rs2228570 and DBP rs7041 polymorphisms may contribute to increased susceptibility to HBV-related HCC in the Chinese population. Due to the marginal significance, further large and well-designed studies in diverse ethnic populations are needed to confirm our results.