Combination of theoretical analysis and experiments: Exploring the role of PLA2G7 in human cancers, including renal cancer.

Background: The pivotal role of phospholipase A2 group VII (PLA2G7) has been identified in specific human cancers, such as prostate cancer, diffuse large B cell lymphoma, and melanoma. Given PLA2G7's significant involvement in established tumors, exploring its role in other cancers is highly relevant. Methods: In this study, we acquired and analyzed data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database, the UCSC XENA website, and other online platforms including Gene Set Cancer Analysis, cBioPortal, Tumor Immune Estimation Resource, and TISIDB to investigate PLA2G7's role in human cancers, including renal cancer. Furthermore, in vitro experiments, including immunofluorescence, western blotting, and CCK-8 assays, were conducted to elucidate PLA2G7's role in renal cancer. Finally, the relationship between PLA2G7 and various drug sensitivity was explored. Results: Our findings demonstrate that PLA2G7 is highly expressed and may serve as a valuable candidate biomarker in pan-cancer. PLA2G7 exhibits distinct alteration frequencies across human cancers and is correlated with tumor mutation burden, tumor microenvironment, DNA stemness score, RNA stemness score, tumorigenesis, tumor immunity, and microsatellite instability in pan-cancer. Immunofluorescence and western blotting revealed a relative high level of PLA2G7 protein in renal cancer cell lines (ACHN and 786-O), predominantly localized in the cytoplasm. Treatment with a PLA2G7 gene inhibitor (darapladib) significantly decreased the viability of ACHN and 786-O cell lines. Additionally, we observed an association between PLA2G7 mRNA levels and various drug sensitivity. Conclusions: Our study suggests that PLA2G7 has the potential to serve as a valuable biomarker and therapeutic target for cancer, particularly in the context of renal cancer.

Standardized lymph node dissection for gallbladder cancer under laparoscopy: en-bloc resection technique.

PURPOSE: Positive lymph node (LN) is a key prognostic factor in radically resected gallbladder cancer (GBCA). However, only a few underwent an adequate lymphadenectomy, and the number and extent of lymph node dissection (LND) have not been standardized. This study aims to develop an en bloc and standardized surgical procedure of LND for GBCA under laparoscopy. METHODS: Data of patients with GBCA underwent laparoscopic radical resection using a standardized and en bloc technique for LND were collected. Perioperative and long-term outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 39 patients underwent laparoscopic radical resection using standardized and en bloc technique for LND except one case (open conversion rate: 2.6%). Patients with stage T1b had significantly lower LNs involved rate than patients with stage T3 (P = 0.04), whereas median LN count in stage T1b was significantly higher than that in stage T2 (P = 0.04), which was significantly higher than that in stage T3 (P = 0.02). Lymphadenectomy with ≥ 6 LNs accounted for 87.5% in stage T1b, up to 93.3% in T2 and 81.3% in T3, respectively. All the patients in stage T1b were alive without recurrence at this writing. The 2-year recurrence-free survival rate was 80% for T2 and 25% for T3, and the 3-year overall survival rate was 73.3% for T2 and 37.5% for T3. CONCLUSION: The standardized and en bloc LND permits complete and radical removal of lymph stations for patients with GBCA. This technique is safe and feasible with low complication rates and good prognosis. Further studies are required to explore its value and long-term outcomes compared to conventional approaches.

A Systematic Analysis of the Role of Unc-5 Netrin Receptor A (UNC5A) in Human Cancers.

Unc-5 netrin receptor A (UNC5A), a netrin family receptor, plays a key role in neuronal development and subsequent differentiation. Recently, studies have found that UNC5A plays an important role in multiple cancers, such as bladder cancer, non-small cell lung carcinoma, and colon cancer but its pan-cancer function is largely unknown. Herein, the R software and multiple databases or online websites (The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), The Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER), The Gene Set Cancer Analysis (GSCA), Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), and cBioPortal etc.) were utilized to examine the role of UNC5A in pan-cancer. UNC5A was found to be highly expressed across multiple human cancer tissues and cells, was linked to clinical outcomes of patients, and was a potential pan-cancer biomarker. The mutational landscape of UNC5A exhibited that patients with UNC5A mutations had poorer progress free survival (PFS) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) and prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD). Furthermore, UNC5A expression was associated with tumor mutation burden (TMB), neoantigen, tumor microenvironment (TME), tumor microsatellite instability (MSI), immunomodulators, immune infiltration, DNA methylation, immune checkpoint (ICP) genes, and drug responses. Our results suggest the potential of UNC5A as a pan-cancer biomarker and an efficient immunotherapy target, which may also guide drug selection for some specific cancer types in clinical practice.