Background: Overexpression of phosphatase of regenerating liver 3 (PRL-3) has been implicated in gastric cancer (GC) metastasis. Epidemiological studies have evaluated the relationship between PRL-3 expression and prognosis in GC. However, results still remains controversial. In this study, a meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the association of PRL-3 expression with overall survival (OS) and clinicopathological characteristics.
Methods: Literature databases were searched to identify eligible studies dated until April 2013. Summary hazard ratios (HRs) or odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated to estimate the association.
Results: A total of 1380 GC patients from six studies were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, the combined HR estimate for OS in a random-effect model was 1.89 (95% CI = 1.38-2.60; P<0.001). Results showed that PRL-3 overexpression was significantly associated with OS, indicating that it may be a biomarker for poor prognosis of GC. Both subgroup and sensitivity analyses further identified the prognostic role of PRL-3 expression in GC patients. Moreover, PRL-3 overexpression was significantly associated with tumor stage (OR = 2.25; 95% CI = 1.63-3.12; P<0.001), depth of invasion (OR = 2.03; 95% CI = 1.38-2.98; P<0.001), vascular invasion (OR = 2.52; 95% CI = 1.79-3.56; P<0.001), lymphatic invasion (OR = 3.74; 95% CI = 2.49-5.63; P<0.001), and lymph node metastasis (OR = 4.56; 95% CI = 2.37-8.76; P<0.001). However, when age, sex, tumor size, and tumor differentiation were considered, no obvious association was observed.
Conclusions: This meta-analysis reveals significant association of PRL-3 overexpression with OS and some clinicopathological features in GC. PRL-3 may be a predicative factor of poor prognosis and aggressive tumor behavior in GC patients.