Long non-coding RNA UCA1 is a predictive biomarker of cancer

Human urothelial carcinoma associated 1 (UCA1) is a long noncoding RNA that is putatively oncogenic in solid tumors. This meta-analysis investigated an association between UCA1 levels and survival times of cancer patients. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). A comprehensive, computerized literature search was conducted of the databases PubMed, EMBASE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang. The strength of association between UCA1 and cancer prognosis was assessed by computing the hazard ratio (HR) with its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). Twelve studies comprising 954 cancer patients met the criteria for this meta-analysis. Overall, a significant negative association was found between UCA1 levels and OS time (HR1.81, 95% CI1.52−2.17), including the following cancers analyzed independently: colorectal (HR2.61, 95% CI1.56−4.37), non-small cell lung (HR1.49, 95% CI1.16−1.90), gastric (HR2.19, 95% CI1.36−3.51), and ovarian (HR1.89, 95% CI1.14−3.12). There was also a significant negative association between UCA1 levels and PFS time (HR2.59, 95% CI1.61−4.16). In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicated that higher levels of UCA1 correlate with shorter PFS and OS times in cancers.