Down-Regulated E-Cadherin Expression Is Associated with Poor Five-Year Overall Survival in Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Results of a Meta-Analysis

PURPOSE: To conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic role of E-cadherin expression in bone and soft tissue sarcomas. METHODS: The PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases were searched using terms related to E-cadherin, sarcoma, and prognosis for all articles published in English before March 2014. Pooled effect was calculated from the available data to evaluate the association between negative E-cadherin expression and 5-year overall survival and tumor clinicopathological features in sarcoma patients. Pooled odds ratios (OR) and risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using a fixed-effects model. RESULT: Eight studies met the selection criteria and reported on 812 subjects. A total of 496 subjects showed positive E-cadherin expression (59.9%). Negative E-cadherin expression in bone and soft tissue sarcomas was correlated with lower 5-year overall survival (OR = 3.831; 95% CI: 2.246–6.534), and was associated with higher clinical stage (RR = 1.446; 95% CI: 1.030–2.028) and with male sex (RR = 0.678; 95% CI: 0.493–0.933). CONCLUSION: In the E-cadherin negative group, 5-year overall survival was significantly worse than in the E-cadherin positive group. However, further studies are required to confirm these results.