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Background The neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are representative blood markers of systemic inflammatory responses. However, the clinical significance of the combination of these markers is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the NLR and PLR in patients with advanced gastric cancer treated with chemotherapy and assess the clinical utility of a new blood score combining the NLR and PLR (NLR-PLR score) as a predictor of tumor response and prognosis. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 175 patients with gastric cancer receiving chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. These patients were categorized into progressive disease (PD) and non-PD groups according to tumor response. The NLR and PLR before treatment were examined, and the cut-off values were determined. The NLR-PLR score ranged from 0 to 2 as follows: score of 2, high NLR (> 2.461) and high PLR (> 248.4); score of 1, either high NLR or high PLR; score of 0, neither high NLR nor high PLR. Results With regard to tumor response, 64 and 111 patients had PD and non-PD, respectively. The NLR-PLR score was significantly higher in patients with PD than in those with non-PD ( p = 0.0009). The prognosis was significantly poorer in patients with a higher NLR-PLR score than in those with a lower NLR-PLR score ( p <  0.0001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the NLR-PLR score was an independent prognostic factor for prediction of overall survival ( p = 0.0392). Conclusion Low-cost stratification according to the NLR-PLR score might be a promising approach for predicting tumor response and prognosis in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Although CD133 has been shown to be a marker for cancer stem cells in various tumours, its expression in pancreatic cancer has not yet been clinically reported. In this study, we investigated the relationship between CD133 expression and clinicopathological factors in pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic head carcinoma specimens from 80 patients who underwent surgical resection were immunohistochemically assessed for CD133, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C, CXCR4, CD34, Ki-67, and cytokeratin (CK) expressions. Sixty percentage (48/80) of specimens were CD133-positive, with less than 15% cells per specimen expressing the marker. CD133-positive cells were found at the peripheral site of adenocarcinoma glandular structures and were negative for CK. There was a significant correlation between CD133 expression and clinicopathological factors, including histological type, lymphatic invasion, and lymph node metastasis (P ¼ 0.0215, 0.0023, and 0.0024, respectively). Vascular endothelial growth factor-C expression was also significantly correlated with CD133 expression (P ¼ 0.0002). Consequently, the 5-year survival rate of CD133-positive patients was significantly lower than that of CD133-negative patients (P ¼ 0.0002) and multivariate analysis revealed that CD133 expression was an independent prognostic factor (P ¼ 0.0103). These results suggest that CD133 expression in pancreatic cancer was significantly associated with lymphatic metastasis, VEGF-C expression, and prognosis.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal malignancies. Patients with PDAC are often asymptomatic, and many have lymph node and distant metastases as well as vessel invasion upon diagnosis. Surgery and current chemotherapy have limited efficacy for improving prognosis, which accounts for overall median survival of 8.6 months and a 9.7% 5-year survival rate. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are attracting increasing attention because of their association with tumour progression. At least 50% of miRNAs that are aberrantly expressed in tumours have important roles as post-transcriptional regulators and exhibit oncogenic or tumour suppressive activities by directly binding to their target messenger RNAs. Various techniques are available to identify miRNAs that are differentially expressed in cancerous vs normal tissues. In this review, we summarise the miRNA profiles of normal pancreatic tissue and cancer tissue of patients with PDACs and characterise the expression of miRNAs associated with tumour progression. Further, we highlight the target genes and signalling pathways of miRNAs that are aberrantly expressed in PDACs. This knowledge may lead to the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies for treating this deadly disease.

Analysis of our microRNA (miRNA) expression signature of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) revealed that microRNA-217 (miR-217) was significantly reduced in cancer tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate the antitumor roles of miR-217 in PDAC cells and to identify miR-217-mediated molecular pathways involved in PDAC aggressiveness. The expression levels of miR-217 were significantly reduced in PDAC clinical specimens. Ectopic expression of miR-217 significantly suppressed cancer cell migration and invasion. Transcription of actin-binding protein Anillin (coded by ANLN) was detected by our in silico and gene expression analyses. Moreover, luciferase reporter assays showed that ANLN was a direct target of miR-217 in PDAC cells. Overexpression of ANLN was detected in PDAC clinical specimens by real-time PCR methods and immunohistochemistry. Interestingly, Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed that high expression of ANLN predicted shorter survival in patients with PDAC by TCGA database analysis. Silencing ANLN expression markedly inhibited cancer cell migration and invasion capabilities of PDAC cell lines. We further investigated ANLN-mediated downstream pathways in PDAC cells. “Focal adhesion” and “Regulation of actin binding protein” were identified as ANLN-modulated downstream pathways in PDAC cells. Identification of antitumor miR-217/ANLN-mediated PDAC pathways will provide new insights into the potential mechanisms underlying the aggressive course of PDAC.