Prognostic and Clinicopathological Value ofPINX1in Various Human Tumors: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

PINX1(Pin2/TRF1 interacting protein X1, an intrinsic telomerase inhibitor and putative tumor suppressor gene) may represent a novel prognostic tumor biomarker. However, the results of previous studies are inconsistent and the prognostic value ofPINX1remains controversial. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine whetherPINX1expression is associated with overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and clinicopathological characteristics in patients with malignant tumors. A systematic search was performed in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases in April 2018. Quality assessment was performed according to the modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) with 95.0% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to determine the relationship betweenPINX1expression and OS, DSS, DFS/RFS, and clinicopathological characteristics. Due to the heterogeneity across the included studies, subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed. Fixed-effects models were used when the heterogeneity was not significant and random-effects models were used when the heterogeneity was significant. Fourteen studies of 16 cohorts including 2,624 patients were enrolled. LowPINX1expression was associated with poor OS (HR: 1.51, 95.0% CI: 1.03–2.20;P= 0.035) and DFS/RFS (HR: 1.78, 95.0% CI: 1.28–2.47;P= 0.001) but not DSS (HR: 0.80, 95.0% CI: 0.38–1.67;P= 0.548). LowPINX1expression was also associated with lymphatic invasion (OR: 2.23, 95.0% CI: 1.35–3.70;P= 0.002) and advanced tumor-node-metastasis stage (OR: 2.43, 95.0% CI: 1.29–4.57;P= 0.006). No significant associations were observed between lowPINX1expression and sex, depth of invasion, grade of differentiation, and distant metastasis. LowPINX1expression was associated with poor OS and DFS/RFS and lymphatic invasion and advanced tumor-node-metastasis stage, suggesting thatPINX1expression may be a useful predictor of prognosis in patients with malignant tumors.