Abstract
Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the correlation between lncRNA HULC, prognosis and clinicopathological characteristics in patients with digestive system tumors.Methods: The relevant literatures were collected through PubMed, Web of Science and Embase up to February 2021. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the prognostic value of HULC in patients with digestive system tumors. The clinicopathological characteristics of HULC in patients were estimated by odds ratios (ORs).Results: A total of 14 studies involving 1312 patients were included. The up-regulated expression level of HULC was associated with poorer overall survival (OS) in patients with digestive system tumors (HR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.05-3.19, P = 0.033). Subgroup analysis showed that cancer type (pancreatic cancer or gastric cancer), residence region (China, Japan or Korea), and specimen (serum) significantly associated between HULC and OS. In addition, high HULC expression significantly increased the risk of high TNM stage (OR = 2.51, 95%CI: 1.36-4.62, P < 0.05), poor differentiation (OR = 1.38, 95%CI: 1.02-1.87, P < 0.05) and lymphatic node metastasis (LNM, OR = 4.93, 95% CI: 3.47-6.99, P < 0.05).Conclusions: High expression level of HULC is related to OS, TNM stage, differentiation and LNM. Therefore, HULC can be used as a new potential predictor for prognosis and clinicopathological features of patients with digestive system tumors.
Highlights
Digestive system tumor is a heterogeneous group of complex diseases affecting different organs, and the vast majority of it is malignancies [1, 2]
Inclusion criteria (1) The expression of Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) Highly up-regulated in liver cancer (HULC) in tumor tissues, serum and plasma of patients was measured; (2) According to the expression levels of HULC, patients were divided into high expression group and low expression group; (3) All patients suffered from digestive system tumors; (4) Studies were to investigate the role of HULC in digestive system tumors; (5) Survival information of patients, such as overall survival (OS), disease-free survival rate (DFS), progression-free survival rate (PFS), was provided; (6) The odds ratio (OR) or hazard ratio (HR), and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) could be calculated; (6) If there were repeated studies, the latest literature was included
The results indicated that the OS of patients with up-regulated HULC expression had a worse prognosis than that of those with low HULC expression (HR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.01-3.30, P = 0.045) (Figure 2A)
Summary
Digestive system tumor is a heterogeneous group of complex diseases affecting different organs, and the vast majority of it is malignancies [1, 2]. Digestive system tumor is the common cause of cancer deaths [3, 4]. According to World Health Organization (WHO) classification of tumors, digestive system tumors include esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, small intestine cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, gallbladder cancer, biliary tract cancer, pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer. Some studies have reported drugs or components with therapeutic potential for gastrointestinal cancer, such as allicin and curcumin [2, 5]. The identification of new potential diagnostic and prognostic tumor biomarker is helpful for the early prevention and treatment of digestive system tumors
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
