Prognostic value of reduced E-cadherin expression in breast cancer: a meta-analysis

// Zhan Li 1, * , Songcheng Yin 2, * , Lei Zhang 1 , Weiguang Liu 1 , Bo Chen 1 1 Department of Breast Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110001, China 2 Department of Surgical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110001, China * These authors contribute equally to this work Correspondence to: Bo Chen, email: chbyxl@163.com Keywords: E-cadherin, breast cancer, prognosis, biomarker, meta-analysis Received: July 15, 2016      Accepted: January 16, 2017      Published: January 27, 2017 ABSTRACT The prognostic value of E-cadherin expression in patients with breast cancer has been studied for years, yet results remain controversial. We thus performed a comprehensive evaluation of the association between E-cadherin expression and prognosis through a meta-analysis. The databases PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched. A total of 7,353 patients from 33 studies were subject to final analysis. The results showed there was a significant association between reduced expression of E-cadherin and overall survival (OS) (HR 1.79, 95% CI 1.41–2.27) and disease-free survival (DFS) (HR 1.62, 95% CI 1.31–1.99) in breast cancer. Downregulated expression of E-cadherin significantly correlated with tumor histological grade (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.06–1.96), TNM stage (OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.75–3.41), tumor size (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.18–1.60), lymph node status (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.15–2.10), and progesterone receptor status (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.10–1.88).This meta-analysis suggested that reduced E-cadherin expression might be a predictor of a poorer prognosis and could be a potentially new gene therapy target for breast cancer patients.