Prognostic role of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 in resectable gastric cancer: a meta-analysis

Abstract

To investigate the prognostic association of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) with resectable gastric cancer. The literature databases, such as PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CBM,CNKI, and Wanfang database, were extensively searched to retrieve the clinical studies of HER-2 expression in resectable gastric cancer published before July, 2013. The association of HER-2 expression with overall survival(OS) was examined. The state 12.0 version software was used for meta-analysis. The quality of these studies were assessed using the Newcasthe-Ottawa scale. There were nine studies meeting the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis including 4787 cases and the scores of all studies are more than 6 points. Meta-analysis showed no significant heterogeneity (I(2)=10.6%, P=0.347) among these studies. There was no significant difference in overall survival between positive HER-2 and negative HER-2 patients (HR=1.16, 95% CI:0.97-1.38, P=0.114). HER-2 overexpression in the tumor is not identified as a significant prognostic factor in patients with resectable gastric cancer.