Currently, the number of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has increased rapidly, but relationship between comorbidity and patients with COVID-19 still not clear. The aim was to explore whether the presence of common comorbidities increases COVID-19 patients' risk. A literature search was performed using the electronic platforms (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and other databases) to obtain relevant research studies published up to March 1, 2020. Relevant data of research endpoints in each study were extracted and merged. All data analysis was performed using Stata12.0 software. A total of 1558 patients with COVID-19 in 6 studies were enrolled in our meta-analysis eventually. Hypertension (OR: 2.29, P<0.001), diabetes (OR: 2.47, P<0.001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR: 5.97, P<0.001), cardiovascular disease (OR: 2.93, P<0.001), and cerebrovascular disease (OR:3.89,P=0.002) were independent risk factors associated with COVID-19 patients. The meta-analysis revealed no correlation between increased risk of COVID-19 and liver disease, malignancy, or renal disease. Hypertension, diabetes, COPD, cardiovascular disease, and cerebrovascular disease are major risk factors for patients with COVID-19. Knowledge of these risk factors can be a resource for clinicians in the early appropriate medical management of patients with COVID-19.

Background: Galloylated catechins, including (Ϫ)-epigallocatechin gallate and (Ϫ)-epicatechin gallate, comprise up to 76% of catechins in tea plant; their biosynthesis is unknown. Results: An enzyme involved in galloylated catechin biosynthesis was purified and identified in tea plant. Conclusion: Galloylated catechin was biosynthesized via a newly discovered enzyme, epicatechin:1-O-galloyl-␤-D-glucose O-galloyltransferase. Significance: This work improves our understanding of flavan-3-ols biosynthesis.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) participate in cancer cell tumorigenesis, cell cycle control, migration, proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis and drug resistance. The BRAF-activated non-coding RNA (BANCR) functions as both an oncogene and a tumor suppressor. Here, we investigated BANCR's role in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) by assessing BANCR levels in PTC and matched normal thyroid epithelial tissues from 92 patients using qRT-PCR. We also used lentiviral vectors to establish PTC cell lines to investigate the effects of BANCR overexpression on cancer cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion. Our results indicate BANCR levels are lower in PTC tumor tissues than control tissues. Decreased BANCR levels correlate with tumor size, the presence of multifocal lesions and advanced PTC stage. BANCR overexpression reduced PTC cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis, which inhibited metastasis. It also inactivated ERK1/2 and p38, and this effect was enhanced by treatment with the MEK inhibitor U0126. Finally, BANCR overexpression dramatically inhibited tumor growth from PTC cells in xenograft mouse models. These results suggest BANCR inhibits tumorigenesis in PTC and that BANCR levels may be used as a novel prognostic marker.

Previous studies have revealed that marital status influences the prognosis of patients with various types of cancer. We evaluated the influence of marriage on the survival outcomes in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database between 2002 and 2012 was used to compare cancer‐specific mortality in different marital status, and in each sex, age, and stage stratification by multivariate Cox regression model. In total, 61,077 eligible patients were identified. The widowed group had the highest proportion of women, elderly patients (≥45 years), and advanced stage III/IV tumor (P = 0.001), but the total thyroidectomy (TT) performed and radioisotopes therapy rates were lower than those in the married group. Married patients had a better cancer‐specific survival (CSS) than the unmarried (P < 0.05). Further analysis showed that widowed patients always presented the lowest CSS compared with other groups. Widowed patients had a significant increased risk for CSS compared with married patients in males [hazard ratio (HR) 2.72, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.59–4.65, P = 0.001], females (HR 2.02, 95% CI: 2.24–4.06, P = 0.001), young patients (<45, HR 28.12, 95% CI: 3.48–227.25, P = 0.002), elderly patients (≥45, HR 28.12, 95% CI: 2.97, 95% CI: 2.30–3.83, P = 0.001), stage I (HR 8.44, 95% CI: 4.05–17.59, P = 0.001), stage II (HR 3.64, 95% CI: 1.30–10.20, P = 0.014), stage III (HR 2.27, 95% CI: 1.08–4.78, P = 0.031), and stage IV (HR 2.63, 95% CI: 1.94–3.57, P = 0.001). These results showed that unmarried status, especially for widowhood, increased the risk of cancer mortality in DTC patients.