Long non-coding RNA HULC as a potential prognostic biomarker in human cancers: a meta-analysis

Since the long non-coding RNA HULC (Highly Upregulated in Liver Cancer) is dysregulated in many cancers, we performed a meta-analysis to determine its prognostic potential in malignant tumors. We searched electronic databases, including PubMed, Medline, OVID, Cochrane Library and Web of Science from inception until August 14, 2016 and identified seven studies with 730 cancer patients for the meta-analysis. We analyzed the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to determine the relationship between HULC expression and overall survival (OS). We also using RevMan5.3 software to calculate odds ratio (ORs) to assess the association between HULC expression and pathological parameters, including lymph node metastasis (LNM), distant metastasis (DM) and the tumor stage. Our analysis showed that higher HULC expression was associated with OS (HR= 0.50, 95% CI: 0.35–0.70, P <0.00001), LNM (OR=0.20, 95 % CI 0.06–0.64), DM (OR=0.27, 95% CI: 0.13–0.54) and the tumor stage (OR=0.39, 95 % CI 0.25–0.64). These meta-analysis data demonstrate that higher HULC expression can be a useful prognostic biomarker in human cancers.