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. 2019 Jun;30(2):193-200.
doi: 10.1007/s13337-019-00517-6. Epub 2019 Mar 28.

Meta-analysis and systematic review of prognostic significance of Glypican-3 in patients with hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Bita Moudi  1   2 , Zahra Heidari  1   2 , Hamidreza Mahmoudzadeh-Sagheb  1   2
Affiliations

Meta-analysis and systematic review of prognostic significance of Glypican-3 in patients with hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Bita Moudi et al. Virusdisease. 2019 Jun.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant cancer and the second cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Glypican-3 (GPC3) is established as an important prognostic factor for HCC but the results are still controversial. Moreover, its utility as an immunohistochemical marker for HCC is not conclusive. Herein we aimed to find the prognostic significance of GPC3 in HCC patients. The PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, SCOPUS and Cochrane library databases were searched and eligible studies based on the GPC3 expression and survival outcome of HCC (odds ratios or hazard ratios) included in the current meta-analysis. The STATA 12.0 and RevMan 5.3 software were used for statistical evaluations. 17 articles contained 2618 patients, were included in the recent meta-analysis. Our findings revealed a significant association between tumor stage, higher tumor grade, presence of vascular invasion, shorter overall survival, shorter disease-free survival and high expression of GPC3. The subgroup analyses based on sample size, cutoffs and follow-up period were also conducted to examine the association between GPC3 and OS and also to increase the homogeneity of study. Current study found a significant association between GPC3 expression and poor prognosis of HCC and specially related to the HCC invasion and progression. It was recommended to design more prospective studies based on the relationship between GPC3 and HCC to confirm our results.

Keywords: GPC3; HCC; Meta-analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The association between high expression of GPC3 and OS in patients with HCC. OS was reported in 14 studies with a total of 2432 HCC patients. Because of the heterogeneity in the study, pooled HR was calculated by the random effect model. The summary HR and 95% CIs were shown. CI confidence interval, GPC3 glypican-3, HCC hepatocellular carcinoma, HR hazard ratio
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The association between high expression of GPC3 and DFS in patients with HCC. DFS was reported in 7 studies with a total of 829 HCC patients. Because of the heterogeneity in the study, pooled HR was calculated by the random effect model. The summary HR and 95% CIs were shown. CI confidence interval, GPC3 glypican-3, HCC hepatocellular carcinoma, HR hazard ratio
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Funnel plots of Egger to detect publication bias on overall estimate. Test of publication bias in our meta-analysis was performed using Begg funnel plot and Egger regression method. There was no asymmetry observed in funnel plot, indicating no evidence of significant publication bias
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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