Prognostic significance of macrophage migration inhibitory factor expression in cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Recent studies showed that Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is overexpressed and closely associated with prognosis in cancer patients. The present study was systematically evaluated the prognostic significance of MIF expression in cancer patients. METHODS: PubMed, Cochrane library and Scopus were searched for eligible studies up to January 2020. Pooled hazard ratio with confidence interval (CI) was determined to assess the relationship between MIF expression and survival in cancer patients. RESULTS: A total of 8 studies comprising 847 cancer patients were included in this meta-analysis. For overall survival, the pooled hazard ratio was 2.23 (95% CI 1.67–2.99, P < .001). For disease-free survival, the pooled hazard ratio was 2.24 (95% CI 1.69–2.96, P < .001). The results suggested that high expression of MIF was significantly related to poor overall survival and disease-free survival in cancer patients. CONCLUSION: MIF expression could be a valuable prognostic factor in cancer patients.