Prognostic significance of miR-126 in various cancers: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have demonstrated that microRNA-126 (miR-126) might be a promising prognostic factor for cancer patients. This meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effectiveness of miR-126 as a prognostic biomarker for various cancers. METHODS: The search of studies was performed by using PubMed and Embase until January 22, 2016. Pooled hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for patients’ survival was calculated. A fixed-effect or random-effects model was applied according to heterogeneity. The trim and fill method was used to adjust pooled HR. RESULTS: In all 17 articles comprising of 2,437 participants were included in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that a high level of miR-126 played a favorable role in the overall survival (HR 0.70, 95% CI: 0.62–0.79, random-effects model), with a heterogeneity measure index of I(2)=63.2% (P<0.01). Subgroup analyses showed that pooled HR was more significant in patients with digestive system cancers (HR 0.70, 95% CI: 0.59–0.83, fixed-effects model) and respiratory system cancers (HR 0.71, 95% CI: 0.59–0.85, random-effects model). Owing to publication bias, HR was adjusted to 0.59 (0.463–0.752, P<0.01) by the trim and fill method. CONCLUSION: miR-126 could be a promising biomarker for cancer prognosis prediction, especially in patients with digestive or respiratory system cancers.