Upregulation of lncRNA SNHG1 is associated with metastasis and poor prognosis in cancers: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence suggested that the expression level of long noncoding RNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 1 (lncRNA SNHG1) was upregulated in various cancers, and high expression of SNHG1 was associated with metastasis and prognosis in patients with cancer. The relationship between SNHG1 expression and metastasis or prognosis in malignant tumors was investigated in this meta-analysis. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library from inception until May 31, 2018. Hazard ratio (HR) or odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to demonstrate prognostic value of SNHG1 using Stata 12.0 software. RESULTS: A total of 10 studies including 1129 patients were finally enrolled in the meta-analysis based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Increased SNHG1 expression was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (OR = 3.28, 95% CI = 2.02–5.33) and advanced TNM stage (OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.16–0.43). Moreover, high expression of SNHG1 could predict poor overall survival (HR = 2.32, 95% CI = 1.90–2.83), event-free survival (HR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.06–2.35), recurrence-free survival (HR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.23–3.77), progression-free survival (HR = 2.75, 95% CI = 1.70–4.46), and disease-free survival (HR = 1.93, 95% CI = 1.10–3.40) in patients with cancer. CONCLUSION: The present meta-analysis demonstrated that upregulation of lncRNA SNHG1 might serve as a useful prognostic biomarker in various cancers.