Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent one in the world among the most common malignant tumors. Numerous studies have shown that butyrate has demonstrated promise as an antitumor agent in a variety of human cancer types. However, butyrate remains understudied in CRC tumorigenesis and progression. In this study, we explored therapeutic strategies to treat CRC by examining the role of butyrate metabolism. First, from the Molecular Signature Database (MSigDB), we identified 348 butyrate metabolism-related genes (BMRGs). Next, we downloaded 473 CRC and 41 standard colorectal tissue samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and the transcriptome data of GSE39582 dataset from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Then we evaluated the expression patterns of butyrate metabolism-related genes with difference analysis in CRC. Through univariate Cox regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analysis, a prognostic model was constructed based on differentially expressed BMRGs. In addition, we discovered an independent prognostic marker for CRC patients. According to the expression levels and coefficients of identified BMRGs, the risk scores of all CRC samples were calculated. Utilizing differentially expressed genes in the high- and low-risk groups, we also constructed a Protein–Protein Interaction (PPI) network to visualize the interactions between proteins. Through the results of PPI network, we screened out differentially expressed target butyrate metabolism-related genes from ten hub genes. Finally, we performed clinical correlation analysis, immune cell infiltration analysis, and mutation analysis for these target genes. One hundred and seventy three differentially expressed butyrate metabolism-related genes were screened out in all the CRC samples. The prognostic model was established with univariate Cox regression and LASSO regression analysis. CRC patients’ overall survival was significantly lower in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group for both training and validation set. Among the ten hub genes identified from the PPI network, four target butyrate metabolism-related genes were identified containing FN1, SERPINE1, THBS2, and COMP, which might provide novel markers or targets for treating CRC patients. Eighteen butyrate metabolism-related genes were used to develop a risk prognostic model that could be helpful for doctors to predict CRC patients’ survival rate. Using this model, it is beneficial to forecast the response of CRC patients to immunotherapy and chemotherapy, thus making it easier to custom tailor cancer chemotherapy and immunotherapy to the individual patient.

Objective To systematically evaluate the efficacy of platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) in treating anal fistula. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched for randomized controlled studies (RCTs) and case‐control studies published before June 2021 on evaluating the efficacy of platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) in treating anal fistula. References of the journals were manually searched for relevant studies. Literature search, screening, data extraction, and bias assessment were carried out by two researcher independently. Stata13.0 and RevMan 5.3 software were used for statistical analysis of the cure rate and recurrence rate of anal fistula. Results A total of 6 case‐control studies and 3 RCTs involving 289 patients were included. Meta‐analysis showed that the pooled cure rate of all studies was 65% (95% CI 0.53–0.77), p = 0.000, and the pooled recurrence rate of all studies was 12% (95% CI 0.08–0.17). Conclusion Platelet‐rich plasma is safe and effective in treating anal fistula and should be promoted and further studied in clinical practice.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. However, efficient markers for CRC diagnosis are limited. Accumulating evidence reveals that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are related to the genesis and developments of many tumors. In this study, we aimed to explore the diagnostic and prognostic value of LINC02257 in CRC patients. TCGA datasets were utilized to examine LINC02257 expression in a variety of human malignancies. The Kaplan–Meier method analysis was then used to study the link between LINC02257 expression and patient prognosis. Multivariate assays were applied for the determination of the associations of the variables and patients’ survivals. RT-PCR was used to examine the level of LINC02257 expression in 14 pairs of clinical CRC tissues as well as many distinct CRC cell lines. CCK-8 assay was used to assess cell proliferation. We found that the expression of LINC02257 exhibited variable patterns of upregulation or downregulation in the various forms of cancer. In CRC, LINC02257 expression was distinctly increased in CRC specimens compared with normal specimens. The results of ROC curves revealed that the AUC was 0.886 (0.862 to 0.909, 95% CI, p < 0.001 ) in a comparison between CRC specimens and matched normal specimens. Survival studies revealed that high LINC02257 expression was associated with shorter overall survival and disease specific survival. More importantly, multivariate assays confirmed that high expression of LINC02257 was an independent prognostic factor for CRC patients. The results of RT-PCR indicated that LINC02257 expression was distinctly overexpressed in both CRC specimens and cell lines. Functionally, silence of LINC02257 distinctly suppressed the proliferation of CRC cells. In conclusion, our research showed that LINC02257 is an intriguing candidate as a diagnostic and prognostic indicator for patients diagnosed with CRC.

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