Adult Female Patient with Untreated Truncus Arteriosus Type I and Torsion of Small Bowel Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor: A Rare Case Report.

BACKGROUND Persistent truncus arteriosus is a rare congenital cyanotic heart defect characterized by a single ventricular outflow tract. Without surgical intervention, it has a poor prognosis in infancy. Here, we report an adult female patient with uncorrected truncus arteriosus type I, who presented with acute-onset abdominal pain due to torsion of a small bowel gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). CASE REPORT A 41-year-old woman came to our Emergency Department with acute-onset lower abdominal pain for 2 days. Congenital heart disease, truncus arteriosus, had been diagnosed at birth, and there had been no surgical intervention. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a 10×9×12-cm mixed-density mass in the pelvic capacity. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a 33-mm ventricular septal defect. The ascending aorta originated mainly from the right ventricle, and the pulmonary artery originated from the beginning of the aorta (type I truncus arteriosus, according to Collett and Edwards classification). After a quick and detailed preoperative workup, the patient underwent tumor resection by open surgery with general anesthesia. CONCLUSIONS This is the first case to report emergency surgery for a patient with uncorrected persistent truncus arteriosus due to torsion of a small bowel GIST. A multidisciplinary team with deep understanding of the disease entity was crucial. By considering the fixed hemodynamic and respiratory physiology, overtreatment and unrealistic goals were avoided. Eventually, the patient was discharged after being hospitalized for 2 weeks.

Development and validation of a nomogram to predict the risk of renal replacement therapy among acute kidney injury patients in intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: There are no universally accepted indications to initiate renal replacement therapy (RRT) among patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). This study aimed to develop a nomogram to predict the risk of RRT among AKI patients in intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we extracted AKI patients from Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database. Patients were randomly divided into a training cohort (70%) and a validation cohort (30%). Multivariable logistic regression based on Akaike information criterion was used to establish the nomogram. The discrimination and calibration of the nomogram were evaluated by Harrell's concordance index (C-index) and Hosmer-Lemeshow (HL) test. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was performed to evaluate clinical application. RESULTS: A total of 7413 critically ill patients with AKI were finally enrolled. 514 (6.9%) patients received RRT after ICU admission. 5194 (70%) patients were in the training cohort and 2219 (30%) patients were in the validation cohort. Nine variables, namely, age, hemoglobin, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and lactate at AKI detection, comorbidity of congestive heart failure, AKI stage, and vasopressor use were included in the nomogram. The predictive model demonstrated satisfying discrimination and calibration with C-index of 0.938 (95% CI, 0.927-0.949; HL test, P = 0.430) in training set and 0.935 (95% CI, 0.919-0.951; HL test, P = 0.392) in validation set. DCA showed a positive net benefit of our nomogram. CONCLUSION: The nomogram developed in this study was highly accurate for RRT prediction with potential application value.

Association of geriatric nutritional risk index with all-cause hospital mortality among elderly patients in intensive care unit.

Background: Malnutrition is associated with poor outcomes for geriatric patients in intensive care unit (ICU). It is important to identify patients at risk of malnutrition and provide individual nutrition support. The assessment of malnutrition risk is not easy for these patients due to their cognitive impairment. Geriatric nutrition risk index (GNRI) is a simple and objective scoring tool to evaluate the risk of malnutrition in elderly patients. In this study, we aimed to see whether GNRI score was appropriate to predict clinical outcomes among geriatric patients in the setting of ICU. Materials and methods: Elderly patients with age ≥ 65 years were extracted from Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database. Categories based on GNRI were classified as major risk (GNRI <82), moderate risk (GNRI 82 to <92), low risk (GNRI 92 to ≤98), and no risk (GNRI >98). The primary outcome was all-cause hospital mortality. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models and restricted cubic spline were used to investigate associations of GNRI with hospital mortality, respectively. A two-piecewise linear regression model was applied to examine the inflection point of GNRI on hospital mortality. To reduce selection bias, propensity score matching (PSM) was used in a 1:1 ratio. Results: A total of 3,696 geriatric patients were finally included with median age 75 (69, 81) years. The prevalence of major risk was 28.6%. In the fully adjusted model, GNRI categories featured a negative trend with hospital mortality (p for trend = 0.037). Restricted cubic spline analysis demonstrated an L-shaped relationship between GNRI and hospital mortality before and after matching. The inflection point was 78.7. At the left side of inflection point, GNRI levels were significantly negatively associated with hospital mortality (HR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.94-0.98; p < 0.001) and featured no significant relations at the right side. Multiple linear regression also showed that GNRI was negatively associated with length of stay in hospital. Conclusion: The major risk of malnutrition defined by GNRI was able to predict poor prognosis for geriatric patients admitted to ICU.

Development and validation of a prognostic nomogram among patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Acute exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (AECOPD) contributes significantly to mortality among patients with COPD in Intensive care unit (ICU). This study aimed to develop a nomogram to predict 30-day mortality among AECOPD patients in ICU. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we extracted AECOPD patients from Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database. Multivariate logistic regression based on Akaike information criterion (AIC) was used to establish the nomogram. Internal validation was performed by a bootstrap resampling approach with 1000 replications. The discrimination and calibration of the nomogram were evaluated by Harrell's concordance index (C-index) and Hosmer-Lemeshow (HL) goodness-of-fit test. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was performed to evaluate its clinical application. RESULTS: A total of 494 patients were finally included in the study with a mean age of 70.8 years old. 417 (84.4%) patients were in the survivor group and 77 (15.6%) patients were in the non-survivor group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis based on AIC included age, pO2, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), invasive mechanical ventilation and vasopressor use to construct the nomogram. The adjusted C-index was 0.745 (0.712, 0.778) with good calibration (HL test, P = 0.147). The Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed a significantly lower survival probability in the high-risk group than that in the low-risk group (P < 0.001). DCA showed that nomogram was clinically useful. CONCLUSION: The nomogram developed in this study could help clinicians to stratify AECOPD patients and provide appropriate care in clinical setting.

Prognostic Nutritional Index as a Predictor of 30-Day Mortality Among Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Unit with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is significantly associated with increased mortality. The current study aimed to investigate the predictive ability of the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) in 30-day mortality among AECOPD patients admitted to the ICU. MATERIAL AND METHODS Clinical data were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-III (MIMIC-III) database. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the tertiles of PNI. Cox proportional hazard regressions were performed to assess the association between PNI and 30-day mortality. Subgroup analyses were performed to identify the consistency of the association. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the predictive accuracy among PNI, serum albumin, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR). RESULTS A total of 494 AECOPD patients were included in this study. The mean age was 70.8±10.4 years old. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed ongoing divergence in rates of mortality among tertiles (p<0.001). After adjusting for confounders, high PNI tertile was an independent favorable predictor of 30-day mortality (HR=0.39; 95% CI, 0.19-0.80; p=0.011) compared to low tertile reference. Subgroup analysis showed that the predictive ability of PNI was especially suitable for patients aged >70 years and with mechanical ventilation. The cut-off value of PNI was 31.8 with sensitivity 62.3% and specificity 64.1%. The area under the ROC of PNI (0.642, 95% CI, 0.560 to 0.717) was better than that of serum albumin, NLR, and PLR. CONCLUSIONS PNI could serve as a simple and reliable prognostic biomarker for AECOPD patients in the ICU.

Favorable Outcomes of Anticoagulation With Unfractioned Heparin in Sepsis-Induced Coagulopathy: A Retrospective Analysis of MIMIC-III Database.

Backgrounds: Anticoagulation in sepsis-associated disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate whether unfractioned heparin (UFH) could improve clinical outcomes in patients with sepsis-induced coagulopathy (SIC). Methods: Septic patients with SIC were identified from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-III database. Cox-proportional hazards model, logistic regression model and linear regression were used to assess the associations between UFH administration and 28-day mortality, hospital mortality, occurrence of bleeding complications and length of stay, respectively. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was used to match the imbalance between patients in the UFH group and the control group. Patients were further stratified according to SIC score and Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS II). Results: A total of 1,820 septic patients with SIC were included in the data analysis. After PSM, 652 pairs of patients were matched between the patients in the UFH group and the control group. UFH was significantly associated with reduced 28-day mortality (HR, 0.323, 95% CI, 0.258-0.406; p < 0.001) and hospital mortality (HR, 0.380, 95% CI, 0.307-0.472; p < 0.001) without increasing the risks of intracranial hemorrhage (OR, 1.480, 95% CI, 0.955-2.294; p = 0.080) or gastrointestinal bleeding (OR, 1.094, 95% CI, 0.503-2.382; p = 0.820). For subgroup analysis, it didn't change the favorable results of UFH on mortality and UFH didn't increase the risk of hemorrhage in patients with severe disease. Conclusions: The analysis of MIMIC-III database indicated that anticoagulant therapy with UFH may be associated with a survival benefit in patients with SIC.

Incidence of chronic kidney disease after orthotopic liver transplantation in a Chinese cohort.

BACKGROUND: Kidney dysfunction frequently occurred after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Chronic renal disease (CKD) is a complicated problem and is associated with increased mortality. The aim of this study is to find the risk factors for the incidence of CKD at 1 year after OLT in China. METHODS: From January 2017 to December 2017, we retrospectively assessed 280 recipients in our single center. Chronic renal failure was defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 for 3 months, regardless of the presence or absence of structural kidney damage. Cox proportional hazard model was used to identify the factors to the incidence of CKD after liver transplantations. Kaplan-Meier plots with log-rank test were presented to evaluate patient survival time in those with and without CKD. RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 17.4 months, 48 patients developed CKD after liver transplantations, representing 17.1% of the cohort. The cox-regression model showed that recipients age (HR = 1.097, P < 0.01), AKI (HR = 1.542, P < 0.01) and MELD score (HR = 1.077, P < 0.01) were significantly associated with the development of post-transplant CKD at 1 year. Recipient survival at 1 year was significantly worse in recipients with CKD compared to those without CKD (P < 0.01) after adjustment by age and gender. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested that age, AKI and MELD score were associated with the incidence of CKD 1 year after OLT in a Chinese cohort. Recipients with CKD were associated with worse survival.

The efficacy of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in liver transplantation from non-heart-beating donors: A systemic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: A systematic review and meta-analysis was made to see whether extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in liver transplantation could improve non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) recipients' outcomes compared with donors after brain death (DBDs) recipients. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for eligible studies. The study eligible criteria are cohort or case-control studies using ECMO in all NHBDs; studies involved a comparison group of DBDs; and studies evaluated 1-year graft and patient survival rate in NHBDs and DBDs groups. RESULTS: Four studies with 704 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The pooled odds ratio (OR) of 1-year patient survival rate in NHBDs recipients compared with DBDs recipients was 0.8 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41-1.55). The pooled OR of 1-year graft survival rate in NHBDs recipients compared with DBDs recipients was 0.46 (95% CI, 0.26-0.81). NHBDs recipients were at greater risks to the occurrence of primary nonfunction (PNF) (OR = 7.12, 95% CI, 1.84-27.52) and ischemic cholangiopathy (IC) (OR = 9.46, 95% CI, 2.76-32.4) than DBDs recipients. CONCLUSIONS: ECMO makes 1-year patient survival acceptable in NHBDs recipients. One-year graft survival rate was lower in NHBDs recipients than in DBDs recipients. Compared with DBDs recipients, the risks to develop PNF and IC were increased among NHBDs recipients.

Tuberculosis screening using IGRA and chest computed tomography in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: A retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence and potential risk factors of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in Chinese patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and to evaluate the role of chest computed tomography (CT) in the screening of LTBI. METHODS: A single-center retrospective study was conducted and all IBD patients who had been screened for LTBI by T-SPOT.TB between December 2011 and January 2016 were enrolled in the study. Both inpatient and outpatient records were collected and comprehensively reviewed. RESULTS: Altogether 534 IBD patients were included. The positivity rate of T-SPOT.TB was 18.0% overall, 31.9% in IBD unclassified, 22.5% in ulcerative colitis and 13.0% in Crohn's disease patients, respectively. Age, history of TB and the administration of immunosuppressants were significantly associated with T-SPOT.TB positivity. Among 123 patients who underwent serial testing, the conversion and reversion rate of T-SPOT.TB was 10.2% and 42.9%, respectively. Furthermore, 102 of 447 (22.8%) patients who underwent chest computed tomography (CT) were found with abnormal CT findings suggestive of LTBI. The concordance rate was 75% between the T-SPOT.TB and chest CT with a kappa value of 0.25 (95% CI 0.15-0.35). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of LTBI in IBD patients is high in China. Chest CT is recommended as an alternative to IGRA for screening LTBI of IBD patients before commencing immunosuppressive therapy in high-prevalence regions.

Noncoding Transcribed Ultraconserved Region (T-UCR) uc.261 Participates in Intestinal Mucosa Barrier Damage in Crohn's Disease.

BACKGROUND: To date, 481 ultraconserved regions (UCRs) have been discovered in human genome. We aimed to investigate the transcribed UCR (T-UCR) characteristics in Crohn's disease (CD ) and determine whether T-UCR uc.261 participated in intestinal mucosa barrier damage. METHODS: T-UCRs were screened in active CD mucosa using the Arraystar Human T-UCR Microarray and validated with quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR, together with tight junction proteins (TJPs) including junctional adhesion molecule-A, occludin, claudin-1, and zonula occluden-1. T-UCR uc.261 in active CD mucosa was validated by RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization. Caco2 and T84 cells were employed to determine transepithelial electrical resistance. Cdc42, protein kinase C ζ, PAR3, and PAR6 were assessed with quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR and Western blotting. The assembly of TJPs was detected using cell immunofluorescence assay. RESULTS: Four T-UCRs were significantly upregulated (uc.290-, uc.144-, uc.261-, and uc.477+) and 4 T-UCRs were downregulated (uc.166-, uc.141-, uc.478+, and uc.479+). Uc.261 was inversely correlated with transepithelial electrical resistance during tight junction formation. The levels of TJPs were diminished in active CD mucosa. Most uc.261s were located in the cytoplasm of colonic epithelial cells. Overexpression of uc.261 reduced transepithelial electrical resistance, inhibited the expression and assembly of TJPs, activated Cdc42, and suppressed protein kinase C ζ. Silencing of uc.261 in TNF-α-treated cells reversed the tight junction damage. CONCLUSIONS: Overexpression of uc.261 participates in intestinal mucosa barrier damage. Suppression of uc.261 reverses the damage to tight junction in inflammation. Attenuation of uc.261 overexpression might be a rational strategy to manage patients with CD.

Usefulness of spectral computed tomography for evaluation of intestinal activity and severity in ileocolonic Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND: Assessment of intestinal activity and severity of Crohn's disease (CD) is crucial to guide treatment. In this study, we aimed to investigate the accuracy of spectral computed tomography (CT) in this assessment and make a comparison with conventional CT. METHODS: A total of 50 patients with ileocolonic CD underwent spectral CT scanning. Conventional CT and spectral CT images were reconstructed. Endoscopic lesions were classified as absent, mild lesions and severe lesions. Qualitative and quantitative findings in CT images were compared in these segments. Logistic regressions were established, based on conventional and spectral CT parameters, to predict intestinal activity and severity. Comparisons were made by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: The results showed that bowel wall hyperenhancement, ulcers on CT images, comb sign, bowel wall thickness, normalized iodine concentration (NIC) and slope of HU curve (λHU) increased significantly (p < 0.01) with endoscopic severity. In predicting intestinal activity, spectral CT demonstrated higher accuracy (99.6% versus 94.7%), sensitivity (99.1% versus 93.4%) and specificity (99.9% versus 94.4%) than conventional CT. In predicting intestinal severity, spectral CT also had higher accuracy (96.5% versus 91.9%), sensitivity (96.5% versus 92.1%) and specificity (95.8% versus 89.8%) than conventional CT. Besides, both NIC and λHU correlated significantly with Simple Endoscopic Score for CD (r = 0.833 and r = 0.771; both p < 0.001), but their correlations with C-reactive protein (r = 0.578 and r = 0.513; both p < 0.01) and Harvey-Bradshaw Index (r = 0.545 and r = 0.522; both p < 0.01) were moderate. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with conventional CT, spectral CT had higher accuracy in detecting intestinal activity and severity of CD, which could be an alternative choice in evaluation of CD.

The impact of Clostridum difficile on surgical rate among ulcerative colitis patients: A systemic review and meta-analysis.

There is growing recognition of the impact of Clostridum difficile infection (CDI) on patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Clostridium difficile infection causes greater morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of C. difficile on surgical risk among ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. We searched the following databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ACP Journal Club, DARE, CMR, and HTA. Studies were included if fulfilled the following criteria: (1) Cohort or case-control studies, which involved a comparison group that lacked CDI, (2) Patients were given a primary diagnosis of UC, (3) Comorbidity of CDI was evaluated by enzyme immunoassay of stool for C. difficile toxin A and B or C. difficile stool culture, (4) Studies evaluated surgical rate, and (5) Studies reported an estimate of odds ratio, accompanied by a corresponding measure of uncertainty. Five studies with 2380 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Overall, meta-analysis showed that UC with CDI patients had a significant higher surgical rate than patients with UC alone. (OR=1.76, 95% CI=1.36-2.28). C. difficile infection increased the surgical rate in UC patients. However, results should be interpreted with caution, given the limitations of this stud.

Seasonal variation in onset and relapse of IBD and a model to predict the frequency of onset, relapse, and severity of IBD based on artificial neural network.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has yielded conflicting data as to whether the natural history of inflammatory bowel disease follows a seasonal pattern. The purpose of this study was (1) to determine whether the frequency of onset and relapse of inflammatory bowel disease follows a seasonal pattern and (2) to establish a model to predict the frequency of onset, relapse, and severity of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with meteorological data based on artificial neural network (ANN). METHOD: Patients with diagnosis of ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) between 2003 and 2011 were investigated according to the occurrence of onset and flares of symptoms. The expected onset or relapse was calculated on a monthly basis over the study period. For artificial neural network (ANN), patients from 2003 to 2010 were assigned as training cohort and patients in 2011 were assigned as validation cohort. Mean square error (MSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) were used to evaluate the predictive accuracy. RESULTS: We found no seasonal pattern of onset (P = 0.248) and relapse (P = 0.394) among UC patients. But, the onset (P = 0.015) and relapse (P = 0.004) of CD were associated with seasonal pattern, with a peak in July and August. ANN had average accuracy to predict the frequency of onset (MSE = 0.076, MAPE = 37.58%) and severity of IBD (MSE = 0.065, MAPE = 42.15%) but high accuracy in predicting the frequency of relapse of IBD (MSE = 0.009, MAPE = 17.1%). CONCLUSION: The frequency of onset and relapse in IBD showed seasonality only in CD, with a peak in July and August, but not in UC. ANN may have its value in predicting the frequency of relapse among patients with IBD.

Primary lymphomas in the gastrointestinal tract.

Primary gastrointestinal (GI) lymphomas are uncommon diseases that can involve the whole GI tract. The etiologies of the disease remain unclear, and potential risk factors include celiac disease, Helicobacter pylori infection, use of immunosuppressive agents, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and inflammatory bowel disease, etc. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma are the most common subtypes of GI lymphomas. B-cell lymphomas of the GI tract are more common in Western countries, while in Asia-Pacific region T-cell lymphomas are more frequently reported. In this review, lymphomas in the esophagus, stomach and intestine are described, including their epidemiology, histology, clinical manifestations, endoscopic findings, radiological features and treatment.

Helicobacter pylori regulates TLR4 and TLR9 during gastric carcinogenesis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigated the influence of H. pylori on TLR4 and TLR9 in gastric mucosa during gastric carcinogenesis. METHODS: Gastric biopsy specimens were taken from 148 patients and divided into five groups, including normal group (n = 10), chronic superficial gastritis group (n = 35), atrophy/intestinal metaplasia group (n = 35), dysplasia group (n = 34) and gastric carcinoma group (n = 34). Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of TLR4 and TLR9. Geimsa staining and rapid urea test were used for determine H. pylori infection. RESULTS: TLR4 was detected in gastric epithelium and monocytes/macrophages in superficial gastritis, atrophy/intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia or carcinoma. TLR9 was mainly accentuated in monocytes/macrophages. TLR4 positive cells in epithelium and in monocytes/macrophages with H. pylori infection were much more than those without H. pylori infection. Similar results were also found in TLR9. When gastric epithelium was accompanied with H. pylori infection, TLR4 was significant higher in superficial gastritis and atrophy/intestinal metaplasia groups compared with dysplasia and carcinoma groups. When gastric epithelium was infected by H. pylori, TLR9 was significant higher in carcinoma group compared with superficial gastritis, atrophy/intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia. TLR4 and TLR9 show significant correlation with the severity of inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: H. pylori infection was associated with increased expression of TLR4 and TLR9 in gastric mucosa. In superficial gastritis and atrophy/intestinal metaplasia the inflammation was predominately mediated by TLR4, while in gastric cancer the inflammation was mainly mediated by TLR9.

Novel agents in the future: Therapy beyond anti-TNF agents in inflammatory bowel disease.

Anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α agents emerge as the hot spot in the last decade for treating patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The effect of anti-TNF-α agents is satisfactory; however, some patients fail to achieve clinical response. Fortunately, in recent years, great efforts have been made and multiple novel therapies have been developed in the treatment for IBD. In this article, we aim to introduce anti-TNF-α drugs as well as other novel treatments currently undergoing clinical trials for IBD.

Transcribed ultraconserved region in human cancers.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcripts longer than ~200 nucleotides with little or no protein-coding capacity. Growing evidence shows that lncRNAs present important function in development and are associated with many human diseases such as cancers, Alzheimer disease, and heart diseases. Transcribed ultraconserved region (T-UCR) transcripts are a novel class of lncRNAs transcribed from ultraconserved regions (UCRs). UCRs are absolutely conserved (100%) between the orthologous regions of the human, rat, and mouse genomes. The UCRs are frequently located at fragile sites and at genomic regions involved in cancers. Recent data suggest that T-UCRs are altered at the transcriptional level in human tumorigenesis and the aberrant T-UCRs expression profiles can be used to differentiate human cancer types. The profound understanding of T-UCRs can throw new light on the pathogenesis of human cancers.