The Prognostic Value of lncRNAs Expression and Clinicopathological Feature in Gastric Cancer: A Field Synopsis of Observational Studies

Abstract

Background: Data on prognostic value of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) to sporadic gastric cancer have been published at a growing pace. However, there has been no comprehensive quantitative overview has been available. We aim to investigate the association between the expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), clinicopathological factors and prognosis of gastric cancer. Methods: We explored correlation of lncRNA with clinicopathological features and prognosis. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS)/progression-free survival (PFS)/Disease Specific Survival (DSS)/recurrence-free survival (RFS) were calculated to estimate the association strength. Results: Literature search identified 80 eligible studies comprising 2205 cases which investigated senven gastric cancer associated clinicopathological factors. Overall, a significant association was observed between high lncRNAs level and poor OS in patients with gastric cancer (HR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.31-1.63, P<0.001). We conduct stratified analysis based on statistical approach showing that high expression of lncRNAs in both log rank (HR=1.64, 95%CI: 1.32-2.03, P<0.001) and multivariate analysis (HR=1.37, 95%CI: 1.21-1.55, P<0.001) were significant associated with poor OS, and the pooled HR of association between elevated lncRNAs expression level and DFS/PFS/DSS/RFS in gastric cancer patients was 1.60 (95% CI: 1.29-1.98, P<0.001). For the OS, the results showed that the lncRNA expression level was signifcantly associated the clinicopathological parameters including TNM stage (P<0.001), tumor size (P<0.001), pathological differention (P=0.02), lymph nodes metastasis (P<0.001), distance metastasis (P<0.001) and invasion depth (P<0.001), and there was significant association in TNM stage (P<0.001), lymph nodes metastasis (P<0.001), distance metastasis (P<0.001), and invasion depth (P=0.02) for DFS. Conclusion: High expression of lncRNA could predict poor prognosis in gastric cancer, and abnormal expression of lncRNAs supported the clinical value regarding the clinicopathological factors. Funding: This study was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (81701536, 81373097). Declaration of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.