Prognostic value of the long noncoding RNA AFAP1-AS1 in cancers*

Abstract

Abstract Objective This meta-analysis explored whether the expression of actin filament-associated protein 1 antisense RNA 1 (AFAP1-AS1) is related to the prognosis and clinicopathological features of patients with cancer. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the prognostic value based on overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and progression-free survival (PFS). Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs were used to determine the relationships between AFAP1-AS1 and clinicopathological features, such as large tumor size (LTS), high tumor stage (HTS), poor histological grade (PHG), lymph node metastasis (LNM), and distant metastasis (DM). Results Thirty-five eligible articles and 3433 cases were analyzed. High AFAP1-AS1 expression, compared to low AFAP1-AS1 expression, correlated with significantly shorter OS (HR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.97-2.34, P < 0.001), DFS (HR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.19-1.57, P < 0.001), and PFS (HR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.56-2.50, P < 0.001) in patients with cancer. In various cancers, elevated AFAP1-AS1 expression was significantly associated with LTS (OR = 2.76, 95% CI = 2.16-3.53, P < 0.001), HTS (OR = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.83-2.71, P < 0.001), and PHG (OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.08-1.79, P = 0.01) but not LNM (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 0.88-2.85, P = 0.12) or DM (OR = 1.81, 95% CI = 0.90-3.66, P = 0.10). Conclusion High AFAP1-AS1 expression was associated with prognostic and clinicopathological features, suggesting that AFAP1-AS1 is a prognostic biomarker for human cancers.