BACKGROUND MicroRNAs (miRNAs) negatively regulate the gene expression and act as tumor suppressors or oncogenes in oncogenesis. The association between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in miR-196a2 rs11614913 and the susceptibility of digestive system cancers was inconsistent in previous studies. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS An updated meta-analysis based on 15 independent case-control ...

BACKGROUND Dysregulation of the immune function in autoimmune diseases could potentially lead to cancer development and there is definite evidence linking some autoimmune mechanisms with cancer. We analyzed systematically the occurrence of histology-specific digestive tract cancers in patients diagnosed with 33 different autoimmune diseases in order to address the question of shared susceptibil...

Carcinomas of an epithelial-origin account for the majority of all malignant cancers worldwide. As the most common pancreatic cancer, Pancreatic Ductal Adeno Carcinoma (PDAC) is a carcinoma with an extremely high lethality [1-3]. Compared to other cancers originating in the digestive system, the therapeutic outcome of PDAC treatment is the least promising, largely resulting from a lack of sympt...

two basic and clinical researches accomplished during the recent years on embryonic and adult stem cells constituted a mutation in regenerative therapy. these cells can be used for treating some degenerative diseases. between them, age-related functional defects, hematopoietic and immune system disorders, heart failures, chronic liver injuries, diabetes, parkinson’s and alzheimer’s diseases, ar...

Household air pollution (HAP) from solid fuel combustion contributes to 2.6% of the global burden of disease. HAP emissions are an established lung carcinogen; however, associations with other cancer sites have not been fully explored. We conducted a meta-analysis of 18 case-control studies. Using fixed-effects models, utilizing the adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI...

It is difficult to detect pancreatic cancer or biliary-tract cancer at an early stage using current diagnostic technology. Utilizing microRNA (miRNA) markers that are stably present in peripheral blood, we aimed to identify pancreatic and biliary-tract cancers in patients. With "3D-Gene", a highly sensitive microarray, we examined comprehensive miRNA expression profiles in 571 serum samples obt...

The aim of this study is to evaluate the significance of grand multiparous (GM) status in the mortality from cancers of the digestive system among a cohort of GM women in Taiwan during the period 1978-2008. The study cohort consisted of 144,922 women with at least five children (GM women) in the Taiwan Birth Register between 1 January 1978 and 31 December 2003. Standardized mortality ratios (SM...

INTRODUCTION Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) frequently co-occur. PSC is associated with increased risk for colorectal cancer (CRC). However, whether PSC is associated with increased risk of extraintestinal cancers or affects mortality in an IBD cohort has not been examined previously. METHODS In a multi-institutional IBD cohort of IBD, we established...