Factors affecting occurrence of gastric varioliform lesions: A case-control study

AIM: To investigate the factors influencing the occurrence of gastric varioliform lesions(GVLs) and their possible link with gastric cancer.METHODS: A 1:1 matched case-control study was performed to retrospectively analyze data from 1638 chronic gastritis patients who had undergone gastroscopy at one of two Chinese hospitals between 2009 and 2014. Patients with GVLs(cases) were compared to those without such lesions(controls). Endoscopic and pathological findings were recorded, along with interview information on Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) infection, medical, drug and family histories, lifestyle and eating habits. The association between each factor and the occurrence of GVLs was estimated, and then multivariate conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the independent factors.RESULTS: The frequency and severity of glandular atrophy, intestinal metaplasia(IM) and low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia were significantly increased in the GVL group(P < 0.01). Overall analysis showed that H. pylori infection [3.051(2.157, 4.317), P <0.001], allergic respiratory diseases [3.636(2.183, 6.055), P < 0.001], work-related stress [2.019(1.568, 2.600), P < 0.001], irregular meals [2.300(1.462, 3.619), P < 0.001], high intake of spicy food [1.754(1.227, 2.507), P = 0.002] and high intake of fresh fruit [0.231(0.101, 0.529), P = 0.001] were significantly correlated with the occurrence of GVLs(positively, except for the latter). Stratified analyses indicated that pickled food consumption in patients over 50 years old [7.224(2.360, 22.115), P = 0.001] and excessive smoking in men [2.013(1.282, 3.163), P = 0.002] were also positively correlated, and that, for antral GVLs, vegetable consumption [0.491(0.311, 0.776), P = 0.002] was negatively correlated. CONCLUSION: Seven risk factors and two protective factors are determined for GVLs, which were found to be associated with premalignant abnormalities.

Comprehensive review of targeted therapy for colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer(CRC)is among the most lethal and prevalent malignancies in the world and was responsible for nearly 881,000 cancer-related deaths in 2018.Surgery and chemotherapy have long been the first choices for cancer patients.However,the prognosis of CRC has never been satisfying,especially for patients with metastatic lesions.Targeted therapy is a new optional approach that has successfully prolonged overall survival for CRC patients.Following successes with the anti-EGFR(epidermal growth factor receptor)agent cetuximab and the anti-angiogenesis agent bevacizumab,new agents blocking different critical pathways as well as immune checkpoints are emerging at an unprecedented rate.Guidelines worldwide are currently updating the recommended targeted drugs on the basis of the increasing number of high-quality clinical trials.This review provides an overview of existing CRC-targeted agents and their underlying mechanisms,as well as a discussion of their limitations and future trends.

Single cell transcriptome revealed SARS-CoV-2 entry genes enriched in colon tissues and associated with coronavirus infection and cytokine production

Dear Editor,The novel COVID-19 coronavirus(SARS-CoV-2)endangers thousands of lives.Recently,nearly 10%COVID-19 patients with symptoms of the digestive tract were subsequently diagnosed in newly discovered SARS-CoV-2 infected cases,1 which indicates that SARSCoV-2 may infect people via digestive systems.The expression profile of angiotensin-converting enzyme homolog 2(ACE2)has been analyzed in gastrointestinal tract using external datasets.Unfortunately,most data of these datasets are not from Asian adults and the expression of other SARS-CoV-2 entry genes have not been detected in human gastrointestinal tract.Therefore,to provide more implications of viral transmission in clinical diagnosis and treatment,it is urgent to explore the expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry genes in the gastrointestinal tract of Asian people.Here,we used single-cell RNA sequencing profiled~27,800 cells of intestinal tissues from six patients with basic intestinal disease of Renji hospital.