Pooling analysis on prognostic value of PHH3 expression in cancer patients.

BACKGROUND

Various studies have evaluated the significance of phosphohistone-H3 (PHH3) expression in cancer patients, but controversy over its reliability remains. We conducted a meta-analysis to summarize the prognostic relevance of PHH3 expression in cancer patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Nineteen studies, including 4803 patients, were identified by searching PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library. The correlation of PHH3 expression level with overall survival (OS), disease-free survival, and recurrence-free survival was analyzed.

RESULTS

Overall, the results suggest that high expression of PHH3 can predict a poor OS (HR=2.66, 95% CI=1.74-4.08, <0.001), disease-free survival (HR=3.40, 95% CI=1.47-7.87, =0.004), and recurrence-free survival (HR=2.80, 95% CI=1.61-4.85, <0.001) in cancer patients. The subgroup analysis showed that highly expressed PHH3 was significantly related to breast cancer (HR=5.66, 95% CI=2.72-11.78, <0.001) and urogenital tumors (HR=3.01, 95% CI=1.78-5.09, <0.001). Furthermore, no significant difference was found between Asian (HR=1.98, 95% CI=1.08-3.63, =0.026) and Caucasian populations (HR=3.01, 95% CI=1.87-4.85, <0.001) regarding OS and PHH3 expression.

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis indicates that high expression of PHH3 may serve as a biomarker for poor prognosis in patients with cancer.