Abstract
Introduction
The prognostic value of pSTAT3 in gastric cancer has been assessed for years while the results remain controversial and heterogeneous. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to determine the prognostic effect of pSTAT3 in gastric cancer patients.
Methods
We searched PubMed, Embase and Web of Science and eight studies comprising 1314 gastric cancer patients were included in our meta-analysis. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) were extracted to perform meta-analysis on the overall survival. Subgroup analysis according to study location, publication year, number of patients and quality score of studies were also investigated.
Results
Our results revealed that pSTAT3-positive patients had a significant increase in mortality risk as compared to pSTAT3-negative patients in the random-effects model (combined HR 1.87, 95 % CI 1.28–2.74). However, our result showed no statistically significant association between pSTAT3 and clinicopathological characteristics (TMN stage, lymph node metastasis, grade of differentiation, Lauren classification and distant metastasis) of gastric cancer.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our meta-analysis suggests that positive expression of pSTAT3 is associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by Doctoral Fund of Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 20100171120065).
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Shuangjin Yu and Guanghua Li have contributed equally to this work.
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Yu, S., Li, G., Wang, Z. et al. The prognostic value of pSTAT3 in gastric cancer: a meta-analysis. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 142, 649–657 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-015-2023-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-015-2023-1