Objectives: The relationship between immunity and trace elements levels is well known. We aimed to estimate the association of serum trace elements with severity and outcomes in the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients.

Background: HPV infection can cause cancer, and standard treatments often result in recurrence. The extent to which liquid biopsy using HPV circulating tumor DNA (HPV ctDNA) can be used as a promising marker for predicting recurrence in HPV‐related cancers remains to be validated. Here we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis to assess its effectiveness in predicting treatment response.Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search of online databases, including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library, up to December 2022. The goal was to identify survival studies that evaluated the potential of plasma HPV ctDNA at baseline and end‐of‐treatment (EoT) in predicting recurrence of related cancers. Hazard ratios were estimated directly from models or extracted from Kaplan–Meier plots.Results: The pooled effect of HPV ctDNA presence on disease recurrence was estimated to be HR = 7.97 (95% CI: [3.74, 17.01]). Subgroup analysis showed that the risk of recurrence was HR = 2.17 (95% CI: [1.07, 4.41]) for baseline‐positive cases and HR = 13.21 (95% CI: [6.62, 26.36]) for EoT‐positive cases. Significant associations were also observed between recurrence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HR = 12.25 (95% CI: [2.62, 57.36])) and cervical cancer (HR = 4.60 (95% CI: [2.08, 10.17])) in plasma HPV ctDNA‐positive patients.Conclusions: The study found that HPV ctDNA detection can predict the rate of relapse or recurrence after treatment, with post‐treatment measurement being more effective than baseline assessment. HPV ctDNA could be used as a surrogate or incorporated with other methods for detecting residual disease.

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway is involved in primary tumor progression and in promoting metastasis in a considerable proportion of human cancers such as colorectal cancer (CRC). Therefore, blockage of TGF-β pathway signaling via an inhibitor could be a valuable tool in CRC treatment.

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disorder primarily affecting the Mediterranean populations. It is characterized by recurrent attacks of fever and inflammation of serosal membranes and gradual development of nephropathic amyloidosis. More than 70 disease-associated mutations have been identified in the Mediterranean fever gene (MEFV) responsible for FMF. The aim of this study was to determine the mutation carrier rate in the Iranian Azeri Turkish population. A cohort of 200 unrelated healthy individuals was screened for the five most common MEFV mutations (M694V, V726A, M680I, M694I, and E148Q) using the amplification refractory mutation system for the first four and by polymerase chain reaction–restriction-digestion testing for E148Q. Genotyping revealed that the carrier rate in the Azeri Turkish population was 25.5%, with E148Q being the most common mutation (11.5%) followed by V726A (1.75%). The remaining common mutations were not found in this cohort. Our data indicate that the FMF carrier rate and E148Q mutation frequency are high in the Iranian Azeri Turkish population.