The prognostic value of MGMT promoter status by pyrosequencing assay for glioblastoma patients’ survival: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of the status of O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation measured by pyrosequencing assay (PSQ) among glioblastoma (GBM) patients was examined in meta-analysis. METHODS: Eligible studies that reported the association between the status of MGMT promoter methylation by PSQ and prognostic value of GBM patients from three electronic databases, like PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane library were involved in meta-analysis. Using Stata 11.0, the summarized hazard ratios (HRs) for overall survival (OS) and the progression-free survival (PFS) with 95 % confidence interval (CI) were calculated. RESULTS: Eleven studies were included to evaluate the relationship between the status of MGMT promoter methylation and GBM patients’ survival. Overall, regardless of the cut-off value of methylation status of MGMT promoter by PSQ, methylated-positive patients were evidently associated with an improved HRs for OS (HRs = 0.50, 95 % CI = 0.35–0.66). For summary, progression-free survival (PFS) from four studies, the prognostic effect was also found (HRs = 0.56, 95 % CI = 0.32–0.80). CONCLUSION: Methylation positivity of MGMT promoter by PSQ was related to an increased survival in GBM patients. Thus, the status of MGMT promoter methylation by PSQ might be used to be a prognostic biomarker, and GBM patients might have a vested interest in clinical application of standardized PSQ.