Background: This study aimed to comprehensively assess the diagnostic value of fibrinogen to prealbumin ratio (FPR) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase to platelet ratio (GPR) as single markers or in combination in patients with alpha-fetoprotein-negative (AFP-negative) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: A total of 199 healthy controls and 515 AFP-negative patients were enrolled in this study, including 180 HCC inpatients, 151 liver cirrhosis (LC) patients, and 184 chronic hepatitis (CH) cases. Mann-Whitney U or Kruskal-Wallis H test were used to analyze differences between groups in laboratory parameters and clinicopathological features. The diagnostic value of FPR and GPR, alone or in combination, in AFP-negative HCC (AFP-NHCC) patients was determined via a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: The levels of FPR and GPR were gradually increased in the development of AFP-NHCC and positively correlated with the tumor size and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages. Moreover, GPR was associated with Edmondson-Steiner grades. After univariate logistic regression analysis, FPR and GPR remained independent predictors of adverse outcomes. The combination of FPR and GPR had a good ability to detect AFP-NHCC from the control group (area under curve [AUC] = 0.977), AFP-negative CH (AUC = 0.745), and AFP-negative LC (AUC = 0.666). FPR combined with GPR possessed a larger area (0.943, 0.971) and sensitivity (87.50%, 89.81%) than FPR or GPR alone for differentiating AFP-NHCC with tumor size < 3 cm or at the BCLC-A stage. Conclusions: The pretreatment levels of FPR and GPR played vital roles in the development of AFP-NHCC, especially in patients with early or small AFP-NHCC.

Background: Albumin to fibrinogen ratio (AFR) play a crucial role in the progression and prognosis of many malignant tumors. This study aimed to comprehensively assess the diagnostic value of AFR as single markers or in combination with squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag), cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) in cervical cancer. Methods: A total of 323 cervical cancer inpatients, 143 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and 317 healthy controls were analyzed. Differences in laboratory parameters and clinicopathological features were calculated using the Mann–Whitney U or Kruskal–Wallis H test. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predicted value of AFR, alone or combined with SCC-Ag, CA-125 for the diagnosis of cervical cancer. Results: The levels of AFR in patients with cervical cancer were significantly lower than those in the CIN patients and the control subjects. AFR were not only negatively correlated with the tumor stage, but also related to histology typing, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, depth of stromal infiltration, tumor size, and tumor stage; however, it was not associated with the blood group. AFR combined with SCC-Ag possessed a larger area under the curve (AUC; AUCAFR+SCC-Ag = 0.924, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.900, 0.944) than AFR ( P < 0.001), SCC-Ag ( P < 0.001), or CA-125 ( P < 0.001) did alone. Conclusions: The pretreatment levels of AFR, alone or combined with SCC-Ag, CA-125 could improve the diagnostic efficiency of cervical cancer.

Purpose Ample evidence has revealed that the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), albumin-to-globulin ratio (AGR), and mean platelet volume (MPV) are cancer-related inflammatory markers. The present study aimed to combine these indicators to better assess the progression of colon cancer. Methods This retrospective study enrolled 251 patients with colon cancer, 171 patients with benign colon diseases, and 187 healthy control subjects. The receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve (AUC) were used to determine the diagnostic values of the selected inflammatory index. Results The levels of LMR, AGR, and MPV were decreased in the colon cancer group compared with the healthy control and benign colon disease groups. The LMR, AGR, and MPV were all correlated with tumor size. Moreover, LMR and AGR was associated with lymph node metastasis and clinical stage, AGR was related to distant metastasis. Both the LMR ( P = .030) and AGR ( P = .005) were negatively correlated with the concentration of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The AUC value of MPV combined with CEA had a good diagnostic ability for distinguishing colon cancer cases (AUC = .950) and patients with benign colon diseases (AUC = .886) from controls. Meanwhile, the combination of LMR or AGR with CEA could enhance larger AUC (.746 for LMR + CEA, .737 for AGR + CEA) than CEA, LMR, or AGR alone in detecting colon cancer from benign colon diseases. Conclusions CEA combined with the LMR, AGR, or MPV may be used as better blood-based biomarkers in the progression of colon cancer patients.

Peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1 (PIN1) plays a critical role in different signaling pathways, cell cycle progression and proliferation, and gene expression, and it has been found to overexpress in many tumor tissues. Recently, researchers have found that PIN1 gene polymorphisms may alter the function of protein and be associated with the risk of cancer. The present study analyzed three common polymorphisms in promoter regions (rs2233678 and rs2233679) and in exon2 (rs2233682) of the PIN1 gene in 254 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 235 healthy controls in a Guangxi study population to determine whether any relationship exists between the polymorphisms and the risk of HBV-related HCC. The results revealed that the rs2233679 TT genotype was associated with increased risk of HCC with HBV infection [odds ratio (OR) = 2.04, 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) = 1.13-3.69, p = 0.019]. This association was stronger in men than in women (OR = 2.17, 95 % CI = 1.09-4.34, p = 0.028) as well as in men 50 years of age and older (OR = 3.91, 95 % CI = 1.29-11.80, p = 0.016); moreover, for alcohol drinkers, being a carrier of the PIN1 rs2233679 CT genotype had a moderately increased risk of HCC (OR = 3.98, 95 % CI = 1.02-15.57, p = 0.047). In contrast, people carrying the rs2233682 GA genotype and A alleles were 0.23 times more likely to develop HCC (OR = 0.23, 95 % CI = 0.06-0.87, p = 0.031 and OR = 0.23, 95 % CI = 0.06-0.87, p = 0.030). No such associations were found in the PIN1 rs2233678 polymorphisms between the HBV-related HCC cases and the controls. In addition, the haplotype GCA was found to be a high protection factor for HCC with HBV infection (OR = 0.14, 95 % CI = 0.03-0.62, p = 0.003). In conclusion, this study's findings suggest that the PIN1 rs2233679 TT genotype, the rs2233682GA genotype, and A alleles might be associated with the HBV-related HCC in a Guangxi study population.

Peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1 (PIN1) reportedly plays a crucial role in tissue inflammation and tumourigenesis. Our previous studies have demonstrated that PIN1 gene polymorphisms are significantly related to the pathogenesis of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver cancer in a Guangxi population. As chronic hepatitis B (CHB), liver cirrhosis (LC), and liver cancer are development processes, we further investigated whether any relationship exists between PIN1 gene polymorphisms and the risk of CHB and HBV-related LC. We used the polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism and the deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing method to analyze 3 common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs2233678, rs2233679, and rs2233682) of the PIN1 gene in 192 CHB patients, 171 HBV-related LC patients, and 201 healthy controls in this research. The results revealed that carriers of the rs2233682 A allele had a significantly decreased risk of HBV-related LC (LC vs. controls: odds ratio [OR] = 0.262, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.071-0.959, P = .043; LC vs. CHB: OR = 0.198, 95% CI = 0.049-0.803, P = .023). Similar relationships were observed for the PIN1 rs2233682 GA genotype among the groups (LC vs. controls: OR = 0.248, 95% CI = 0.067-0.919, P = .037; LC vs. CHB: OR = 0.184, 95% CI = 0.044-0.773, P = .021). This reduced risk was more obvious in older CHB patients (age ≥50 years). No such correlations were found for PIN1 rs2233678 and rs2233679. However, the haplotypes constructed from these SNP (GCA for controls and CCG for CHB) were associated with a significantly decreased risk of HBV-related LC. In summary, the findings of this study suggest that the PIN1 rs2233682 A allele might be related with a decreased risk of HBV-related LC in a Guangxi population.