Aim: The role of circRNAs in esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) remains unclear. Materials & methods: Here we profiled six pair plasma circRNA in ESCC based on RNA sequencing, and then verified...

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide in females. Sex hormones may play a protective effect in CRC pathogenesis. Ovarian sex steroid levels are reduced in premenopausal women after hysterectomy. Prospective studies have revealed an 80% decrease in serum oestradiol levels after bilateral oophorectomy in premenopausal women. We aimed to elucidate the relationship between hysterectomy or oophorectomy and risk of CRC. We estimated relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) with the meta-analysis. Cochran's Q test and Higgins I2 statistic were used to check for heterogeneity. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed as were Egger's and Begg's tests and the "trim-and-fill" method for publication bias analysis. Risk of CRC was increased 30% for women undergoing oophorectomy relative to the general population and 24% with hysterectomy relative to no surgery. The risk was increased 22% with hysterectomy with bilateral salpingoo-ophorectomy as compared with simple hysterectomy. On subgroup analysis, risk of rectal cancer was increased 28% and colon cancer 19% with hysterectomy. Europeans seem to be sensitive to the risk of CRC, with 27% increased risk after hysterectomy. The risk of CRC after oophorectomy gradually increased with age at oophorectomy. The risk was greater with bilateral oophorectomy, with 36% increased risk, than unilateral oophorectomy, with 20% increased risk. Risk was increased 66% with time since oophorectomy 1-4 years as compared with 5-9 and ≥ 10 years. Risk of CRC was increased for women undergoing hysterectomy or oophorectomy. Women with susceptibility genes for ovarian cancer or metrocarcinoma should choose oophorectomy or hysterectomy. For women not at high risk for these cancers, oophorectomy or hysterectomy should not be recommended for increasing the subsequent risk of CRC.

The role of neoadjuvant therapy combined with surgery for treating esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains controversial. We performed a network meta-analysis to synthesize direct and indirect evidence to identify the optimal therapeutic method for ESCC. We identified 15 randomized controlled trials that compared any of the following 4 therapeutic measures: surgery alone (S), preoperative chemotherapy followed by surgery (CTS), preoperative radiotherapy followed by surgery (RTS), and preoperative chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery (CRTS). The main outcomes were 5-year survival, rate of radical resection, operative mortality and postoperative complications. Network meta-analysis showed that CRTS was associated with improved survival as compared with S (OR = 1.50 [95% CI 1.21 to 1.97]) and decreased occurrence of complications as compared with RTS (OR = 0.50 [95% CI 0.22 to 0.99]). Direct evidence revealed CRTS associated with improved survival (OR = 1.61 [95% CI 1.01 to 2.57]) and radical resection (OR = 4.01 [95% CI 1.66 to 9.69]) as compared with S. In terms of radical resection, CTS was more effective than S (OR = 1.73 [95% CI 1.09 to 2.76]). Findings for CTS and RTS did not differ for 5-year survival, operative mortality and postoperative complications. Overall, CRTS might be the best choice for resectable ESCC because it could increase the radical resection rate and lower the occurrence of complications, thereby prolonging survival time.

Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most prevalent types of upper gastrointestinal malignancies. Here, we used ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-NMR) to identify potential serum biomarkers in patients with early stage ESCC. Methods: Sixty-five serum samples from early stage ESCC patients (n = 25) and healthy controls (n = 40) were analysed using ¹H-NMR spectroscopy. We distinguished between different metabolites through principal component analysis, partial least squares-discriminant analysis, and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) using SIMCA-P+ version 14.0 software. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to verify potential biomarkers. Results: Using OPLS-DA, 31 altered serum metabolites were successfully identified between the groups. Based on the area under the ROC curve (AUROC), and the biomarker panel with AUROC of 0.969, six serum metabolites (α-glucose, choline, glutamine, glutamate, valine, and dihydrothymine) were selected as potential biomarkers for early stage ESCC. Dihydrothymine particularly was selected as a new feasible biomarker associated with tumor occurrence. Conclusions: ¹H-NMR spectroscopy may be a useful tumour detection approach in identifying useful metabolic ESCC biomarkers for early diagnosis and in the exploration of the molecular pathogenesis of ESCC.