Background: Many causes can lead to childhood rickets. We aimed to investigate the biochemical symptoms of childhood rickets with systematic review and meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: Seven articles published from 1975 to 2018 were recruited. The literature search was performed in the Scientific Information Database, Google Scholar, PubMed, and Elsevier databases using related keywords. For meta-analysis, the results of the studies were pooled using the random-effects model. The heterogeneity between the studies was checked using Q test and I² index. Results: The total sample population consisted of 933 children with biochemical symptoms of rickets (133 participants per article). According to our findings, the mean serum levels of PO₄, Ca, and alkaline phosphatase in children with rickets were 4.18 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.75–4.61, I² = 98.3%,P <0.001), 9.23 (95% CI: 8.78–9.68, I² = 99.6%,P < 0.001), and 1.33 (95% CI: 1.23–1.44, I² = 95.6%,P < 0.001), respectively. Conclusion: Characterizing the biochemical symptoms of rickets in children can help to early diagnose and prevent the disease in children. Furthermore, educating parents about biochemical symptoms can lead to early diagnosis and successful treatment of rickets in children.

Recent experiments have shown that cells with different genetic mutations can give rise to cancer transformation, both in vitro and in vivo, supported by the crosstalk between cancer cells and stroma. The stroma and the complex set of involved cells make up the tumor microenvironment that supports the engraftment of metastatic cells. In fact, environmental factors support colorectal cancer arise by formation and maintenance of cancer stem cells (CSCs). In this review, we discuss interactions between CSCs and their microenvironment that can provide better therapeutic opportunities in the metastatic cancer.