Prognostic and clinicopathological significance of miR-638 in cancer patients: A meta-analysis

Introduction:MiR-638 is believed to be involved in human cancers. However, the prognostic value of miR-638 in human carcinomas is controversial and inconclusive. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to investigate the association between miR-638 expression and clinical outcomes in the patients with various cancers.Methods:We searched Pubmed, Embase, Wanfang, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) up to September 1, 2020 to identify relevant studies. Hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to correlate expression of miR-638 with prognosis and clinicopathological features.Results:A total of 18 studies involving 1886 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The results revealed that low miR-638 expression was significantly correlated with poor overall survival (OS) (HR = 2.09, 95% CI: 1.46–2.98, P < .001), but not with disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.71, 95% CI: 0.31–9.56, P = .540). Subgroup analysis found that low miR-638 expression was associated with worse OS in patients with digestive system cancer (HR = 2.47, 95% CI: 1.85–3.30, P < .001), the reported directly from articles group (HR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.34–3.33, P < .001), survival curves group (HR = 2.02, 95% CI: 1.07–3.80, P = .029), in studies with sample size ≥100 (HR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.34–3.35, P = .001), and in studies with sample size <100 (HR = 2.02, 95%CI: 1.09–3.75, P = .025). Moreover, cancer patients with low miR-638 expression were prone to tumor size (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.03–2.09, P = .035), earlier lymph node metastasis (present vs absent, OR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.63–3.14, P < .001), earlier distant metastasis (present vs absent, OR = 2.60, 95% CI: 1.45–4.67, P < .001), TNM stage (III-IV vs I-II, OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.35–2.99, P = .001), and portal vein invasion (present vs absent, OR = 4.39, 95% CI:2.23–8.64, P < .001), but not associated with age, gender, tumor differentiation, and vascular invasion.Conclusions:MiR-638 may serve as a promising indicator in the prediction of prognosis and clinicopathological features in patients with different kinds of cancers.     

Prognostic significance of A-kinase interacting protein 1 expression in various cancers: A meta-analysis based on the Chinese population

Background:Cumulative evidence suggests that A-kinase interacting protein 1 (AKIP1) plays an important role in tumor progression. However, the prognostic value of AKIP1 expression in various cancers remains unclear. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic value of AKIP1 expression in patients with cancer.Methods:The PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, CNKI, and Wanfang databases were systematically searched to identify studies in which the effect of AKIP1 expression on prognosis (overall survival or disease-free survival) was investigated. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were combined to assess the effect of AKIP1 expression on patient survival. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs were pooled to estimate the association between AKIP1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics of patients with cancer.Results:Nineteen eligible studies, encompassing 3979 patients, were included in the meta-analysis. AKIP1 expression was negatively associated with overall survival (HR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.58–2.18, P < .001) and disease-free survival (HR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.53–1.87, P < .001) in patients with cancer. Moreover, AKIP1 overexpression was positively correlated with adverse clinicopathological features, such as tumor size (OR = 2.22, 95% CI: 1.67–2.94, P < .001), clinical stage (OR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.45–2.90, P < .001), depth of tumor invasion (OR = 2.98, 95% CI: 2.21–4.02, P < .001), and degree of lymph node metastasis (OR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.75–2.57, P < .001).Conclusions:High AKIP1 expression is an unfavorable prognostic biomarker and may serve as a potential therapeutic target in patients with cancer.     

LKB1 expression and the prognosis of lung cancer: A meta-analysis

Background:In the past few decades, many lines of evidence implicate the importance of liver kinase B1 (LKB1) as a tumor suppressor gene in the development and progression of solid tumours. However, the prognostic and clinicopathological value of LKB1 in patients with lung cancer are controversial. This article aimed to investigate the latest evidence on this question.Methods:A systematic literature searched in the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane library, Scopus until September 20, 2020. The association between overall survival (OS), relapse-free survival (RFS), progression-free survival (PFS), clinicopathological features and LKB1 were analysed by meta-analysis.Results:Eleven studies including 1507 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled results revealed that low LKB1 expression was significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.07–2.60, P = .024) in lung cancer. However, no association was found between LKB1 expression and DFS/PFS (HR = 1.29, 95% CI: 0.70–2.39, P = .410). Pooled results showed that low LKB1 expression was associated with histological differentiation (poor vs moderate or well, OR = 4.135, 95% CI:2.524–6.774, P < .001), nodal metastasis (absent vs present, OR = 0.503, 95% CI: 0.303–0.835, P = .008) and smoking (yes vs no, OR = 1.765, 95% CI: 1.120–2.782, P = .014).Conclusion:These results suggest that low expression of LKB1 can be considered as a unfavorable prognostic biomarker for human lung cancer, which should be further researched.     

High expression of HOXB7 is an unfavorable prognostic factor for solid malignancies: A meta-analysis

Background:HOXB7 is abnormally expressed in a variety of tumors, but its prognostic value remains unclear due to sample size limitation and outcome inconsistency in previous studies. This meta-analysis was performed to explore the effect of HOXB7 expression on prognoses and clinicopathological factors in range of the whole solid tumors.Methods:PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases were searched to identify included studies. Hazard ratios (HR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) and clinicopathological factors were extracted. Subgroup analyses were performed according to histopathological type, tumor occurrence systems, and HOXB7 detection methods.Results:A total of 3430 solid tumors patients from 20 studies (21 cohorts) were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that high HOXB7 expression was significantly associated with worse survival (overall survival: HR = 1.98, 95%CI: 1.74–2.26, P < .001 and disease-free survival: HR = 1.59, 95%CI: 1.21–2.09, P = .001), more advanced tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage (odds ratio [OR] = 2.14, 95%CI: 1.68–2.73, P < .001), positive lymph node metastasis (OR = 2.16, 95%CI: 1.74–2.70, P < .001), more distant metastasis (OR = 1.63, 95%CI: 1.01–2.63, P = .048), poorer differentiation (OR = 1.48, 95%CI: 1.14–1.91, P = .003), and higher Ki-67 expression (OR = 2.53, 95%CI: 1.68–3.84, P < .001). Subgroup analysis showed that survival of patients with HOXB7 high expression was worse in either squamous cell carcinomas or non-squamous cell carcinomas, digestive tumors or non-digestive tumors, and protein level or mRNA level.Conclusion:High HOXB7 expression might be a valuable biomarker of poor prognosis for solid tumors. HOXB7 promotes tumor proliferation and metastasis, and is associated with poorer differentiation, more advanced stage, even the chemotherapy resistance, suggesting that HOXB7 is a potential therapeutic target for solid tumors.     

Prognostic role of tripartite motif containing 24 in various human solid malignant neoplasms: An updated meta-analysis and systematic review

Background:Currently, clinical studies of tripartite motif containing 24 (TRIM24) on human solid malignant neoplasms were developing, but the prognosis value of TRIM24 continues to be controversial. The aim of our study is to explore the prognostic effect of TRIM24 in various human solid malignant neoplasms.Methods:We performed a comprehensive research for eligible studies which evaluated the prognostic roles of TRIM24 in cancer patients based on PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. The hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for various malignances were extracted from eligible studies.Results:A total of 13 studies with 1909 patients were enrolled in this analysis. Combined analyses showed that high expression of TRIM24 significantly predicted poorer overall survival both in univariate analysis (HR = 1.61, 95% CI 1.21–2.15, P = .001) and multivariate analysis (HR = 2.19, 95% CI 1.10–4.38, P = .026). In stratified analyses, high TRIM24 expression level predicted even worse overall survival in hormone-related cancers (HR = 1.92, 95% CI 1.28–2.86, P = .001). Although, expression of TRIM24 failed to show a significant relation with progression-free survival/disease-free survival/recurrence-free survival (HR = 1.42, 95% CI 0.93–2.16, P = .106), high expression predicted significant worse progression-free survival/disease-free survival/recurrence-free survival in hormone-related cancer (HR = 1.71, 95% CI 1.12–2.59, P = .013).Conclusion:TRIM24 could serve as a new biomarker for patients with solid malignancies and could be a potential therapeutic target for patients especially for patients with hormone-related malignancies.     

The prognostic value of lncRNA AGAP2-AS1 in cancer patients: A meta-analysis

Background:ArfGAP with GTPase domain, Ankyrin repeat and PH domain 2 Antisense 1 (AGAP2-AS1) is a promising long noncoding RNA that may possess prognostic value for different types of tumors. The objective of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the prognostic value of long noncoding RNA AGAP2-AS1 in cancer patients.Methods:A systematic literature search of the PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Medline, Web of Science, CNKI, Weipu, and Wanfang electronic databases were carried out in this meta-analysis. Synthetic hazard ratios (HRs) or odd ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained to determine the prognostic and clinicopathological significance of AGAP2-AS1 expression in tumors.Results:The final meta-analysis included 10 studies that contained 948 patients. The pooled results provided evidence that AGAP2-AS1 overexpression predicted reduced overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.49–2.09, P < .00001), disease-free survival (HR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.40–2.41, P < .0001), and progression-free survival (HR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.01–3.33, P = .04) and for various cancers. Additionally, the AGAP2-AS1 overexpression was concerned with lymph node metastasis (positive vs negative, OR = 2.95, 95% CI: 1.96–4.45, P < .00001), advanced tumor node metastasis stage (III/IV vs I/II, OR = 3.73, 95% CI: 2.71–5.13, P < .00001), and tumor size (larger vs smaller, OR = 2.28, 95% CI: 1.24–4.18, P = .008). Besides, data from gene expression profiling interactive analysis dataset verified the results in our meta-analysis. The results showed that the expression level of AGAP2-AS1 was higher in most tumor tissues than in the corresponding normal tissues and was linked to poor OS and disease-free survival.Conclusions:Our results indicated that AGAP2-AS1 overexpression was closely correlated with shorter OS in multiple cancer types, suggesting that AGAP2-AS1 might function as a promising predictor for clinical outcomes in cancer.     

The relationship between NLR/PLR/LMR levels and survival prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors

Background:The relationship between neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR) and the dire prognosis of non-small cell lung carcinoma patients who received immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are not known yet.Methods:We screened the articles that meet the criteria from the database. The relationship between NLR/PLR/LMR levels and the survival and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with ICIs was analyzed. Summarize hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) to study progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).Results:Thirty-four studies involving 3124 patients were enrolled in the final analysis. In short, high pre-treatment NLR was related to poor OS (HR = 2.13, 95% CI:1.74–2.61, P < .001, I² = 83.3%, P < .001) and PFS (HR = 1.77, 95% CI:1.44–2.17, P < .001, I² = 79.5%, P < .001). Simultaneously, high pre-treatment PLR was related to poor OS (HR = 1.49, 95% CI:1.17–1.91, P < .001, I² = 57.6%, P = .003) and PFS (HR = 1.62, 95% CI:1.38–1.89, P < .001, I² = 47.1%, P = .036). In all subgroup analysis, most subgroups showed that low LMR was related to poor OS (HR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.34–0.59, P < .001) and PFS (HR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.47–0.77, P < 0.001, I² = 0.0%, P < .001).Conclusion:High pre-treatment NLR and pre-treatment PLR in non-small cell lung carcinoma patients treated with ICIs are associated with low survival rates. Low pre-treatment and post-treatment LMR are also related to unsatisfactory survival outcomes. However, the significance of post-treatment NLR and post-treatment PLR deserve further prospective research to prove.     

Prognostic value of HHLA2 expression in solid tumors: A meta-analysis based on the Chinese population

Background:Human endogenous retrovirus-H long terminal repeat-associating protein 2 (HHLA2), a newly discovered member of the B7 family, is overexpressed in numerous tumors. However, the prognostic impact of HHLA2 in human cancers remains controversial. Thus, we performed this meta-analysis to explore the prognostic value of HHLA2 in Chinese patients with solid tumors.Methods:PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and WanFang databases were systematically searched for eligible studies that evaluated the impact of HHLA2 on overall survival (OS) in patients with cancer. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were combined to evaluate the association between HHLA2 expression and OS in solid tumors. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs were pooled to assess the correlation between HHLA2 expression and clinicopathological characteristics in solid tumors.Results:A total of 12 studies, including 15 cohorts and 1747 patients, were included in this meta-analysis. We found that high HHLA2 expression was significantly associated with shorter OS (HR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.12–2.43). Subgroup analysis by cancer type demonstrated that high HHLA2 expression was associated with poor OS in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (HR = 3.42, 95% CI: 2.39–4.91), gastric cancer (HR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.31–3.16), intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (HR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.24–2.53), lung cancer (HR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.33–3.44) and other cancer types (HR = 2.08, 95% CI: 1.34–3.24), but not in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (HR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.08–3.56). Nevertheless, high HHLA2 expression was associated with better OS in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (HR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.32–0.64). Furthermore, high HHLA2 expression was associated with old age (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.03–1.63), lymph node metastasis (OR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.41–2.81), and vascular invasion (OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.18–2.42).Conclusions:HHLA2 may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker for solid tumors in Chinese population, by predict the prognosis of cancer patients based on their tumor types.     

The effect of glucocorticoids on mortality in severe COVID-19 patients: Evidence from 13 studies involving 6612 cases

Background:Since the start of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there is an urgent need for effective therapies for patients with COVID-19. In this study, we aimed to assess the therapeutic efficacy of glucocorticoids in severe COVID-19.Methods:A systematic literature search was performed across PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library (up to June 26, 2021). The literature investigated the outcomes of interest were mortality and invasive mechanical ventilation.Results:The search identified 13 studies with 6612 confirmed severe COVID-19 patients. Our meta-analysis found that using glucocorticoids could significantly decrease COVID-19 mortality (hazard ratio (HR) 0.60, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45–0.79, P < .001), relative to non-use of glucocorticoids. Meanwhile, using glucocorticoids also could significantly decrease the risk of progression to invasive mechanical ventilation for severe COVID-19 patients (HR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.58–0.83, P < .001). Compared with using dexamethasone (HR = 0.68, 95% CI 0.50–0.92, P = .012), methylprednisolone use had a better therapeutic effect for reducing the mortality of patients (HR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.19–0.64, P = .001).Conclusion:The result of this meta-analysis showed that using glucocorticoids could reduce mortality and risk of progression to invasive mechanical ventilation in severe COVID-19 patients.     

The efficacy and safety of bevacizumab combined with FOLFOX regimen in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:It is necessary to systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of bevacizumab (BEV) combined with 5-fluorouracil + leucovorin + oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) regimen in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer.Methods:We searched the PubMed et al databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the BEV combined with the FOLFOX regimen in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer up to January 20, 2021. The Cochrane Collaborations’ risk of bias tool was used for the quality assessment of included RCTs. Revman5.3 software was used for meta-analysis.Results:Eleven RCTs with a total of 3178 patients with advanced colorectal cancer were included, meta-analysis results showed that the objective response rate (odds ratio [OR] = 3.15, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 2.25–4.40, P < .001) and cancer control rate (OR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.91–3.90, P < .001) of BEV + FOLFOX were higher than that of FOLFOX group. And the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse reactions (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.07–1.55, P = .008) in the BEV + FOLFOX group was higher than that of the FOLFOX group, there were no significant differences in the incidence of leukopenia (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.72–1.50, P = .83), hypertension (OR = 3.92, 95% CI: 0.81–18.88, P = .09) and neurotoxicity (OR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.8–1.27, P = .98) between the 2 groups.Conclusion:BEV combined with the FOLFOX regimen is more effective than the FOLFOX regimen alone in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer, but it may also increase the risk of gastrointestinal adverse reactions.     

Clinicopathological significance and prognostic value of E-cadherin expression in non-small cell lung cancer: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:E-cadherin, a calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecule, as an important mediator of adhesion and signaling pathway, plays a key role in maintaining tissue integrity. However, the association of E-cadherin expression with clinicopathological features and prognostic value in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still controversial. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to explore the clinicopathological features and prognostic value of E-cadherin expression in non-small cell lung cancer by meta-analysis.Methods:PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched to collect the studies about expression of E-cadherin and clinicopathological features and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer. The last search time was May 2020. Stata 15.0 software was used for statistical analysis.Results:A total of 35 studies were included, of which the results showed that high expression of E-cadherin compared with its low expression, for overall survival, HR = 0.68 (95% CI:0.64–0.73, P < .05); for disease-free survival or progression-free survival, HR = 0.54 (95% CI: 0.44–0.67); low differentiation of lung cancer compared with moderate and high differentiation, OR = 0.40 (95% CI: 0.27–0.58, P < .05); Advanced lung cancer compared with early stage, OR = 0.54 (95% CI: 0.44–0.66, P < .05); lymph node metastasis compared with non-lymph node metastasis, OR = 0.49 (95% CI: 0.31∼0.77).Conclusion:Low expression of E-cadherin is closely related to poor prognosis of patients with NSCLC, promoting tumor staging and lymph node metastasis, inhibiting tumor differentiation as well.     

Association of the VEGFR2 single nucleotide polymorphism rs2305948 with glioma risk

Background:Many studies have reported a relationship between the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2305948 and glioma, but their conclusions have been controversial. A meta-analysis was performed to assess the association between rs2305948 and glioma susceptibility.Methods:Inclusion criteria and a strategy for screening of original literature were created. Eligible articles on the correlation between the SNP rs2305948 and glioma were identified in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI and Wanfang databases. After extracting the data, Stata 12. 0 software was used to perform statistical analysis under 5 genetic models and to calculate the combined odds ratio (OR) value and its 95% confidence interval (CI).Results:Four case-control studies including 1595 cases and 1657 controls were entered into the study. The overall analysis showed that no obvious association existed between rs2305948 and glioma risk (allele: OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 0.93–1.54, P = .162; dominant: OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 0.93–1.46, P = .174; recessive: OR = 1.72, 95% CI = 0.94–3.15, P = .076; heterozygous: OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 0.94–1.30, P = .226; homozygous: OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 0.92–3.29, P = .088). The subgroup analysis suggested that the SNP rs2305948 was related to glioma susceptibility under allele, dominant, recessive and homozygote models in the Asian population (allele: OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.16–1.55, P < .001; recessive: OR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.49–3.36, P < .001; homozygous: OR = 2.32, 95% CI = 1.54–3.50, P < .001).Conclusion:The vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 rs2305948 gene polymorphism may be related to glioma susceptibility in the Asian population. However, the association is not clear in non-Asian populations, for which there has been less research.     

The high expression of CHD1L and its clinical significance in human solid tumors: A meta-analysis

Background:Chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 1-like (CHD1L) is an oncogene. It was cloned from 1q21 chromosome region of hepatocellular carcinoma in 1991. CHD1L is up-regulated in many kinds of cancers and is involved in the carcinogenesis and development of tumors. More and more studies have shown that over-expression of CHD1L is associated with poor prognosis of tumors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of CHD1L in human solid tumors.Methods:The key words in the database of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane library, and TCGA were searched for systematic literature retrieval. We collected relevant articles and data about CHD1L and prognosis of cancer and screened them according to the eligible criteria to evaluate the prognostic value of CHD1L in cancer patients. Then Stata SE12.0 software is used to analyze the data.Results:In our meta-analysis, 2720 patients with a total of 15 articles involving multiple types of tumors showed that high expression levels of CHD1L were associated with shorter overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio  = 2.21, 95% confidence interval [CI]: (1.49–3.30)] and (hazard ratio  = 1.16, 95% CI: (1.01–1.32)] in the TCGA database, in addition, the pooled odds ratios (ORs) indicated high expression levels of CHD1L in tumors significantly are associated with TNM stage (OR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.01–2.55, P < .05), tumor size (OR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.07–1.78, P < .05), tumor differentiation (OR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.43–3.16, P < .05), and distant metastasis (OR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.45–2.39 P < .05). However, we did not observe a significant correlation between the high expression of CHD1L and age, gender.Conclusion:The high expression of CHD1L is associated with poor OS as well as related to tumor differentiation, tumor size, and distant metastasis, which can be served as a prognostic marker and a potential predictor of clinical pathology in human solid tumors.     

Prognostic significance of ANO1 expression in cancers

Background:Anoctamin-1 (ANO1) plays a pivotal role in cancer progression. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the potential prognostic role of ANO1 in cancers.Methods:A total of 1760 patients from 7 eligible studies were included into the analysis. Pooled hazard ratios or odds ratios were extracted and calculated with a random-effects model, and analyses of heterogeneity bias were conducted.Results:Our results showed that over expression of ANO1 was significantly correlated with poor overall survival in all cancers (HR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.19–1.92; P = .0006). Subgroup analysis indicated that there was a significant association between over expression of ANO1 and poor prognosis breast cancer (HR = 3.24; 95% CI: 1.74–6.04), head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HR = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.00–1.30), esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (HR = 1.93; 95% CI: 1.07–3.50), gastric cancer (HR = 1.62; 95% CI: 1.12–2.34) and colorectal cancer (HR = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.03–1.85). In addition, over expression of ANO1 was not associated with TNM stage, histological grade, lymph node metastasis, tumor size, age and gender. However, ANO1 was significantly associated with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, but not associated with progesterone receptor or estrogen receptor in breast cancer.Conclusions:Our results indicate that ANO1 can be a predictive factor for prognosis of cancer.     

Association of transferrin G258A and transferrin receptor A82G polymorphisms with the risk of Parkinson disease in certain area

Background:It has been reported that polymorphisms of transferrin (TF) G258A and transferrin receptor (TFR) A82G might be associated with susceptibility to Parkinson disease (PD).Objective:Owing to limitation of sample size and inconclusive results, we conducted a meta-analysis to clarify the association.Methods:By searching PubMed, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Biological Medicine Database, and Wanfang Databases, the published articles about studies of the association of the TF G258A, TFR A82G gene polymorphisms with the risk of PD were collected. Q-statistics and I² statistics were calculated to examine heterogeneity and summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were evaluated the association.Results:Five studies assessed the relationship between TF G258A and risk of PD. A significant increased protective of A allele and AA genotype was observed in allele model and recessive model (the allele model A vs G: OR = 0.54, 95%CI 0.40–0.72, P < .001; the recessive model AA vs GA + GG: OR = 0.32, 95%CI 0.20–0.52, P < .001). The remaining models of the TF G258A genotype showed no significant association with PD risk, while the protective tendency were increased (the heterozygote model GA vs GG: OR = 0.93, 95%CI 0.61–1.43, P = .75; the homozygous model AA vs GG: OR = 0.47, 95%CI 0.21–1.04, P = .06; the dominant model GA + AA vs GG: OR = 0.75, 95%CI 0.50–1.11, P = .15). There was also a lack of association between TFR A82G polymorphism and PD (the allele model G vs A: OR = 0.92, 95%CI 0.75–1.13, P = .43; the heterozygote model AG vs AA: OR = 1.17, 95%CI 0.79–1.71, P = .43; the homozygous model GG vs AA: OR = 0.91, 95%CI 0.60–139, P = .66; the dominant model AG + GG vs AA: OR = 1.05, 95%CI 0.73–1.49, P = .81; the recessive model GG vs AG +AA: OR = 0.80, 95%CI 0.59–1.09, P = .16).Conclusion:Our study suggests that TF G258A polymorphism may be associated with PD, while TFR A82G polymorphism may not contribute to PD based on the current evidence.     

Association between CASC16 rs4784227 polymorphism and breast cancer susceptibility: A meta-analysis

Objective:To explore whether rs4784227 polymorphism of CASC16 is correlated with risk of breast cancer.Methods:Relevant studies up to December 24, 2020 were searched in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, and WANFANG databases. Data were analyzed by using Stata 12.0. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, and country-based subgroup analyses were conducted. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the stability of the results. Publication bias was assessed by using the Egger regression asymmetry test and visualization of funnel plots.Results:Seven case-control studies enrolling 4055 breast cancer cases and 4229 controls were included. rs4784227 was found significantly associated with increased risk of breast cancer in a dominant (OR = 1.301, 95% CI = 1.190–1.423, P < .001), a recessive (OR = 1.431, 95% CI = 1.216–1.685, P < .001), and an allele model (OR = 1.257, 95% CI = 1.172–1.348, P < .001), while an over-dominant model showed that rs4784227 was correlated with decreased breast cancer risk (OR = 0.852, 95% CI = 0.778–0.933, P = .001).Conclusion:The rs4784227 polymorphism of CASC16 gene is correlated with breast cancer susceptibility.     

The necessity or not of the addition of fusion to decompression for lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis patients: A PRISMA compliant meta-analysis

Background:The new emerging application of decompression combined with fusion comes with a concern of cost performance, however, it is a lack of big data support. We aimed to evaluate the necessity or not of the addition of fusion for decompression in patients with lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis.Methods:Potential studies were selected from PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, and gray relevant studies were manually searched. We set the searching time spanning from the creating date of electronic engines to August 2020. STATA version 11.0 was exerted to process the pooled data.Results:Six RCTs were included in this study. A total of 650 patients were divided into 275 in the decompression group and 375 in the fusion group. No statistic differences were found in the visual analog scales (VAS) score for low back pain (weighted mean difference [WMD], –0.045; 95% confidence interval [CI], –1.259–1.169; P = .942) and leg pain (WMD, 0.075; 95% CI, –1.201–1.35; P = .908), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score (WMD, 1.489; 95% CI, –7.232–10.211; P = .738), European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) score (WMD, 0.03; 95% CI, –0.05–0.12; P = .43), Odom classification (OR, 0.353; 95% CI 0.113–1.099; P = .072), postoperative complications (OR, 0.437; 95% CI, 0.065–2.949; P = .395), secondary operation (OR, 2.541; 95% CI 0.897–7.198; P = .079), and postoperative degenerative spondylolisthesis (OR = 8.59, P = .27). Subgroup analysis of VAS score on low back pain (OR = 0.77, 95% CI, 0.36–1.65; P = .50) was demonstrated as no significant difference as well.Conclusion:The overall efficacy of the decompression combined with fusion is not revealed to be superior to decompression alone. At the same time, more evidence-based performance is needed to supplement this opinion.     

Prevalence and risk factors of hypertension among Hui population in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis based on 30,565 study participants

Background:Hypertension (HTN) has been considered as a health concern in developing countries. And Hui is a minority group with a large population in China. Its genetic background, inadequate access to health services, eating habits, religious belief, ethnic customs, and other factors differ from that of other ethnic groups, which may influence the prevalence of HTN. However, there is no current meta-analysis on the prevalence and risk factors of HTN among Hui population. Thus we conducted a systematic review aiming to estimate the pooled prevalence and risk factors of HTN among Hui population.Methods:PubMed, The Cochrane library, Web of science, CINAHL Complete, Weipu Database (VIP), China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database (CNKI), Wanfang Database, and SinoMed were systematically searched from inception to February 28, 2020 with publication language restricted to English and Chinese. We included cross-sectional, case–control, or cohort studies that focused on prevalence and risk factors of HTN among Hui population. Two investigators independently assessed the risk of bias of the studies included in the review using tools developed by JBI. Meta-analysis was conducted using Stata 12.0 software package.Results:Twenty-three studies were identified with a total of 30,565 study participants. The overall pooled prevalence of HTN was 28% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 24%–32%, I² = 98.8%, P < .001). Stratified by gender, the pooled prevalence of HTN in Hui was 26% (95%CI: 20%–33%, I² = 97.6%, P < .001) for males and 30% (95%CI: 23%–37%, I² = 98.3%, P < .001) for females. Pooled prevalence of HTN in Hui was 2% (95%CI: 2%–6%, I² = 70.6%, P = .065), 10% (95%CI: 3%–17%, I² = 83.7%, P < .001), 22% (95%CI: 12%–32%, I² = 87.9%, P < .001), 37% (95%CI: 20%–53%, I² = 94.0%, P < .001), 39% (95%CI: 24%–54%, I² = 97.7%, P < .001) and 42% (95%CI: 29%–56%, I² = 95.6%, P < .001) for those aged 18 to 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, 60 to 69, and ≥70 years, respectively. Pooled prevalence of HTN in Hui was 22% (95%CI: 14%–29%, I² = 97.9%, P < .001) in urban areas and 23% (95%CI: 16%–30%, I² = 95.8%, P < .001) in rural areas. Daily salt intake (odd ratio [OR] = 3.94, 95%CI: 3.03–5.13, I² = 90.2%, P < 001), family history (OR = 3.50, 95%CI: 2.60–4.71, I² = 95.3%, P < .001), smoking (OR = 1.84, 95%CI: 1.61–2.09, I² = 59.6%, P < .001), drinking (OR = 1.74, 95%CI: 1.26–2.39, I² = 95.3%, P = .001), weekly meat intake (OR = 1.92, 95%CI: 1.04–3.54, I² = 96.5%, P = .036), body mass index (OR = 2.20, 95%CI: 1.81–2.66, I² = 91.3%, P < .001), and areas (OR = 1.29, 95%CI: 1.10–1.51, I² = 81.5%, P = .001) were risk factors of HTN in Hui, while physical exercise (OR = 0.76, 95%CI: 0.66–0.88, I² = 62.7%, P < .001) was protective factor.Conclusions:The pooled prevalence of HTN among Hui people was 28%, daily salt intake, family history, drinking, smoking, weekly meat intake, body mass index, areas, and physical exercise were all risk factors for HTN among Hui population. Early screening and treatment of HTN among Hui population should be given due attention.     

The Cox model of predicting mortality among melioidosis patients in Northern Malaysia: A retrospective study

Melioidosis is an infectious disease that is initiated by a bacteria recognized as Burkholderia pseudomallei. Despite the high fatality rate from melioidosis, there is a minimal published study about the disease in Malaysia.This study aimed to identify the prognostic factors of mortality among melioidosis patients in northern Malaysia.All inpatient patients who were admitted to Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Kedah and Hospital Tuanku Fauziah, Perlis with culture-confirmed melioidosis during the period 2014 to 2017 were included in the study. The study retrospectively collected 510 melioidosis patients from the Melioidosis Registry. Hazard ratio (HR) used in advanced multiple Cox regression was used to obtain the final model of prognostic factors of melioidosis. The analysis was performed using STATA/SE 14.0 for Windows software.From the results, among the admitted patients, 50.1% died at the hospital. The mean age for those who died was 55 years old, and they were mostly male. The most common underlying disease was diabetes mellitus (69.8%), followed by hypertension (32.7%). The majority of cases (86.8%) were bacteremic. The final Cox model identified 5 prognostic factors of mortality among melioidosis patients. The factors were diabetes mellitus, type of melioidosis, platelet count, white blood cell count, and urea value. The results showed that bacteremic melioidosis increased the risk of dying by 3.47 (HR: 3.47, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.67–7.23, P = .001) compared to non-bacteremic melioidosis. Based on the blood investigations, the adjusted HRs from the final model showed that all 3 blood investigations were included as the prognostic factors for the disease (low platelet: HR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.22–2.54, P = .003; high white blood cell: HR = 1.49, 95% CI 1.06–2.11, P = .023; high urea: HR = 2.92, 95% CI: 1.76–4.85, P < .001; and low level of urea: HR = 2.69, 95% CI: 1.69–4.29, P < .001). By contrast, melioidosis patients with diabetic had 30.0% lower risk of dying from melioidosis compared to those with non-diabetic (HR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.52–0.94, P = .016).Identifying the prognostic factors of mortality in patients with melioidosis allows a guideline of early management in these patients, which may improve patient''s survival.