Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
// Kai Wang 1, * , Chenan Guan 3, * , Junhui Yu 1, * , Xiaoxiao Jin 1 , Ling Sun 1 , Lingzhi Zheng 1 , Liang Xia 2 and Yuquan Zhang 4 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, Zhejiang Province 317000, China 2 Department of Neurosurgery, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310022, China 3 Department of Kidney Internal Medicine, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, Zhejiang Province 317000, China 4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province 226001, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Lingzhi Zheng, email: zhenglz123@126.com Liang Xia, email: xialiang@zjcc.org.cn Yuquan Zhang, email: m13362627683@163.com Keywords: epithelial ovarian cancer, HER-2/neu, prognosis, meta-analysis Received: December 02, 2016 Accepted: July 26, 2017 Published: September 06, 2017 ABSTRACT This study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to investigate the association between human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2/neu) expression and survival in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). HER-2/neu is one of the most frequently studied molecular biological parameters in EOC, but its prognostic impact has not been fully assessed. PubMed and Embase were searched for studies that reported HER-2/neu expression and survival in patients with EOC. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS), and the secondary outcome was progression-free survival (PFS). Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were determined using Mantel–Haenszel random-effects model. Publication bias was investigated using funnel plots and Egger’s test. A total of 56 studies (N=7212) were included in the analysis. The results showed that patients possessing HER-2/neu expression had significant disadvantages in OS (HR = 1.41; 95%CI, 1.31 to 1.51; P < 0.001) and PFS (HR = 1.38; 95% CI, 1.23–1.56; P < 0.001). The trim-and-fill method, Copas model, and subgroup analyses stratified by the study characteristics confirmed the robustness of the results. The present study findings provided further indication that HER-2/neu expression in patients with EOC has an adverse impact on OS and PFS.
Wang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.