Prognostic value of Lin28A and Lin28B in various human malignancies: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The mammalian homologs of Lin-28, Lin28 (also called Lin28A) and Lin28B, are promising cancer biomarkers. This meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic values of Lin28A and Lin28B in multiple human malignancies. METHODS: Systematic searches of the PubMed, Web of Science and Embase were used to identify relevant studies. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), disease-free survival (DFS), or progression-free survival (PFS) were respectively calculated. RESULTS: 3772 Lin28A-associated patients and 1730 Lin28B-related cases were ultimately enrolled in this meta-analysis. The elevated expression level of Lin28A was significantly associated with poor OS (HR = 1.60, P < 0.001) and poor RFS/DFS/PFS (HR = 1.62, P < 0.001) in patients with malignancies. Lin28B overexpression significantly correlated with unfavorable OS (HR = 1.72, P < 0.001) and RFS/DFS/PFS (HR = 2.35, P < 0.001) of human malignancies. CONCLUSIONS: Lin28A and Lin28B possess significant prognostic values in various human malignancies. Overexpression of Lin28A or Lin28B suggests poor prognosis for cancer patients. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12935-019-0788-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.