Dysregulated Expression Levels of Circular RNAs Serve as Prognostic and Clinicopathological Markers in Gastric Cancer: a Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are novel biomarkers that are widely investigated in various cancers. There is increasing evidence that the expression levels of circRNAs are upregulated or downregulated in various cancers, but the overall prognostic efficiency of circRNAs in gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. Therefore, this meta-analysis studies the relationship between circRNA expression and the prognosis of gastric malignancies.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted in the PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases. Eligible studies reporting on the associations of circRNAs with the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of GC patients were included. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were utilized to assess clinicopathological parameters. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs were used to evaluate the prognostic value of circRNAs using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 15.1 software.

RESULTS

Fifteen eligible studies, including 13 for clinicopathological features and 15 for prognosis, were included in our study. For clinicopathological parameters, the high expression of oncogenic circRNAs was significantly associated with poor clinicopathological features, and the high expression of tumor-suppressor circRNAs was associ-ated with better clinicopathological features. In terms of prognostic value, oncogenic circRNAs had a negative influence on overall survival (OS: HR = 2.27, 95% CI: 1.93 - 2.69), and the high expression of tumor suppressor circRNAs was related to improved survival outcomes (OS: HR = 0.56, 95% Cl: 0.44 - 0.72).

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis revealed that the expression of circRNAs might be a useful prognostic biomarker in gastric cancer.