Pathologic and prognostic impacts of amplification in gastric cancer: a meta-analysis and systemic review.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor-2 () gene is amplified in up to 15% of patients with gastric cancer (GC). However, the prognostic significance of amplification has been controversial. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the clinicopathological impacts of amplification in patients with GC. We performed a systematic computerized search of the electronic databases of PubMed, PMC, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar and selected studies assessing the correlation of amplification with pathologic features and/or prognosis in gastric adenocarcinoma. From eight studies, 2,377 patients were included in the pooled analysis of odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for pathologic findings and hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs for overall survival. amplification was significantly associated with LN metastasis (OR = 3.93, 95% CI: 2.22-6.96, p < 0.00001) and poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (OR = 2.36, 95% CI: 1.03-5.39, p = 0.04). In addition, patients with GC harboring amplification showed significantly worse survival (HR = 2.09, 95% CI: 1.68-2.59, p < 0.00001), compared with patients with -unamplified GC. In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicates that amplification is an adverse prognostic factor in patients with GC.