The relationship between hepatoma-derived growth factor and prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) promotes cancer progression and metastasis by interacting with vascular endothelial growth factor, thereby inducing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and angiogenesis. Recent studies have correlated increased HDGF levels with poor prognosis in various malignancies, including lung cancer. This meta-analysis systematically assessed the prognostic significance of HDGF expression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Eligible studies were identified by searching literature in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane library until June 2020. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) or odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was determined to assess the relationship between HDGF expression and clinical outcome in patients with NSCLC. RESULTS: The pooled HRs between high HDGF expression and clinical outcome were 2.20 (95% CI 1.75–2.76, P < .001) and 2.77 (95% CI 1.79–4.29, P < .001) for overall survival and disease-free survival, respectively. High HDGF expression was significantly correlated with a larger tumor size (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.02–2.46, P = .040). CONCLUSION: HDGF expression is related to clinical outcome and may be a prognostic marker in patients with NSCLC.