Abstract
BackgroundThe prognostic value of c-Met in breast cancer remains controversial. A meta-analysis of the impact of c-Met in breast cancer was performed by searching published data.MethodsPublished studies analyzing overall survival (OS) or relapse free survival (RFS) according to c-Met expression were searched. The principal outcome measures were hazard ratios (HRs) for RFS or OS according to c-Met expression. Combined HRs were calculated using fixed- or random- effects models according to the heterogeneity.ResultsTwenty-one studies involving 6,010 patients met our selection criteria. The impact of c-Met on RFS and OS was investigated in 12 and 17 studies, respectively. The meta-analysis results showed that c-Met overexpression significantly predicted poor RFS and OS in unselected breast cancer. Subgroup analysis indicated that c-Met overexpression was correlated with poor RFS and OS in Western patients, but was not associated with RFS or OS in Asian patients. C-Met was associated with poor OS in lymph node negative breast cancer and with poor RFS in hormone-receptor positive and triple negative breast cancer, but was not associated with prognosis in human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)-2 positive breast cancer.ConclusionsC-Met overexpression is an adverse prognostic marker in breast cancer, except among Asian and HER-2 positive patients.Virtual slidesThe virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1869780799156041
Highlights
The prognostic value of c-Met in breast cancer remains controversial
Inclusion criteria: (1) research limited to human primary breast cancer; (2) the study was published in English or Chinese; (3) inclusion of female patients; (4) evaluation of survival information, such as relapse free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS), according to c-Met expression; (5) the study provided the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs), or data that could be used to calculate the HRs and 95 % CIs, or Kaplan– Meier survival curves that provided sufficient data to extract HRs and 95 % CIs; (6) peer-reviewed and published original articles
The combined HR was 1.52, which indicated that c-Met overexpression was associated with a 1.52-fold increased risk of mortality in breast cancer patients
Summary
The prognostic value of c-Met in breast cancer remains controversial. A meta-analysis of the impact of c-Met in breast cancer was performed by searching published data. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide [1]. The clinical application of targeted therapies, such as tamoxifen and trastuzumab, has decreased the mortality of breast cancer in recent years. Epidemiological studies show that more than 400,000 patients worldwide die from breast cancer each year [2]. Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease that has been classified into five molecular subtypes: luminal A, luminal B, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) overexpressing, basal-like, and normal-like [3]. Current therapeutic regimens for breast cancer are designed according to clinical pathological factors and molecular typing.
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