TRIM29 as a prognostic predictor for multiple human malignant neoplasms: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Recent studies have shown that tripartite motif-containing protein 29 (TRIM29) had prognostic values in several cancers. However, different studies have been inconsistent. We conducted a meta-analysis to elucidate the precise predictive value of TRIM29 in various human malignant disease. Eleven eligible studies with 2046 patients were ultimately enrolled in this meta-analysis. Heterogeneity between studies was assessed using I(2) statistics. Pooled Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for patient survival and disease recurrence were calculated to investigate the correlation between TRIM29 expression and cancer prognosis. The results identified an important link between upregulated TRIM29 expression and poor prognosis in patients with multiple human malignant neoplasms in terms of recurrence-free survival (RFS)/disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.66, 95% CI 1.36–2.04) but favorable progression-free survival (PFS)/metastasis-free survival (MFS) (HR = 0.37, 95% CI 0.16–0.85). We found that high TRIM29 expression predicted no significant impact on overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.32, 95% CI 0.90–1.93). Subgroup analyses showed that high TRIM29 expression predicted poor OS in Asians (HR = 2.21, 95% CI 1.78–2.74) but favorable OS in Caucasian (HR = 0.47, 95% CI 0.25–0.89). TRIM29 might play an essential role in carcinogenesis of multiple human malignant neoplasms and could serve as a biomarker for the prediction of patients’ prognosis.