Association of caveolin-1 protein expression with hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis and literature review

Background: Aberrant expression of caveolin-1 (CAV-1) is involved in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, the results have been inconsistent due to the small size of sample in the individual study. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis and evaluated the association of CAV-1 protein overexpression and clinicopathological significance by using Review Manager 5.2. Pooled ORs and HR with corresponding CIs were calculated. Results: Nine studies were included in the meta-analysis with 810 HCC and 172 cirrhosis patients. CAV-1 protein overexpression was correlated with the risk of cirrhosis; OR was 3.25, p=0.01. Furthermore, the rate of CAV-1 protein overexpression was significantly higher in HCC with cirrhosis than HCC without cirrhosis, suggesting that the CAV-1 protein overexpression likely initiated carcinogenesis in liver with cirrhosis and subsequently contributed to the progression of HCC. In addition, CAV-1 protein overexpression was strongly associated with poor differentiated HCC and invasion; ORs were 2.61 and 2.71, respectively. CAV-1 protein overexpression was strongly correlated with poor overall survival in patients with HCC; HR was 0.4, p=0.03. Conclusions: In summary, CAV-1 protein overexpression is at risk for liver cirrhosis and HCC derived from cirrhosis, and CAV-1 is also a promising prognostic predictor in HCC.