Project description:BackgroundRecently, many studies have shown that the serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level is related to the prognosis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We launched this meta-analysis to assess the prognostic value of serum LDH in patients with RCC.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Embase and Web of Science for information on serum LDH and the outcome of RCC through June 14, 2016. The hazard ratio (HR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were extracted and integrated from the matching studies.ResultsA total of 29 studies including 6629 patients with RCC were incorporated in this meta-analysis. Patients whose serum LDH levels were elevated had a lower OS (HR = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.69-2.69, P < 0.001). Meanwhile, the pooled data showed that a higher serum LDH level was a negative prognostic factor for PFS (HR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.48-2.04, P < 0.001). Furthermore, subgroup analyses indicated elevated serum LDH was associated with poor survival in different tumor types. Elevated serum LDH was significantly associated with worse prognosis for patients with all stages of RCC (OS, HR = 2.41, 95% CI = 1.09-5.33), metastatic RCC (OS, HR = 2.62, 95% CI 1.57-2.59; CSS, HR = 1.79, 95% CI 1.49-2.15), and non-metastatic RCC (OS, HR = 3.67, CI = 1.33-10.13). Besides, elevated serum LDH also indicated a worse prognosis in subgroups of cut-off values, analysis types and ethnicity.ConclusionsOur results show that serum LDH levels are associated with the outcomes of RCC and can be used as a valuable biomarker for monitoring prognoses.
Project description:BackgroundPrevious studies have shown the prognostic value of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the results are not persuasive. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to quantitatively explore the prognostic value of LDH in hepatocellular carcinoma.MethodsWe searched the Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library for literature published before October 2018 on the prognostic value of LDH in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The combined hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were utilized to assess the prognostic value of LDH in overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and progression-free survival (PFS) of HCC. Subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, and metaregression were used to explore the source of heterogeneity. Funnel plots with Begg's test and Egger's test were used to detect potential publication biases. Furthermore, combined odds ratios (ORs) were utilized to assess the correlation between LDH and clinicopathological features.ResultsA total of 10 nonrandomized controlled studies were included in this meta-analysis. The combined effects of LDH on HCC patients' OS, RFS/DFS, and PFS were HR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.63-2.62, P < 0.001; HR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.37-1.90, P < 0.001; and HR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.14-3.36, P = 0.014, respectively. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis showed that the outcome was stable, and the results of the metaregression also identified statistical models as an important source of heterogeneity. Potential publication bias was detected in the OS studies, so the trim-and-fill method was used to explore publication bias, and the results showed stability. Furthermore, the combined OR suggests that LDH was significantly correlated with gender, Child-Pugh grade, alpha-fetoprotein, vascular invasion, and tumor size.ConclusionsPreoperative LDH elevation is significantly associated with poor prognosis in patients with HCC, which may be a promising factor in assessing the prognosis of patients with HCC.
Project description:Background: To investigate the potential prognostic role of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC) using the method of systematic review and meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for eligible studies up to February 2020. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the relationship. Results: A total of 14 studies including 4,009 patients with UC were incorporated. The results showed that a high pretreatment serum LDH was associated with an inferior overall survival (OS, HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.39-1.87, p < 0.001), cancer-specific survival (CSS, HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.05-1.90, p = 0.022), and disease-free survival (DFS, HR 1.64, 95% CI 1.04-2.59, p = 0.034) in UC. Subgroup analyses identified that a high pretreatment serum LDH was associated with a poor OS (HR 1.97, 95% CI 1.02-3.81, p = 0.042) and DFS (HR 1.64, 95% CI 1.04-2.59, p = 0.034) in upper tract urothelial carcinoma, a short OS (HR 1.71, 95% CI 1.37-2.15, p < 0.001) in urothelial carcinoma of bladder. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that a high level of pretreatment serum LDH was associated with inferior OS, CSS, and DFS in patients with UC. This biomarker can be an important factor incorporated into the prognostic models for UC.
Project description:Although most studies have reported that high serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels are associated with poor prognosis in several malignancies, the consistency and magnitude of the impact of LDH are unclear. We conducted the first comprehensive meta-analysis of the prognostic relevance of LDH in solid tumors. Overall survival (OS) was the primary outcome; progression-free survival (PFS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were secondary outcomes. We identified a total of 68 eligible studies that included 31,857 patients. High LDH was associated with a HR for OS of 1.48 (95% CI = 1.43 to 1.53; P < 0.00001; I(2) = 93%), an effect observed in all disease subgroups, sites, stages and cutoff of LDH. HRs for PFS and DFS were 1.70 (95% CI = 1.44 to 2.01; P < 0.00001; I(2) = 13%) and 1.86(95% CI = 1.15 to 3.01; P = 0.01; I(2) = 88%), respectively. Analysis of LDH as a continuous variable showed poorer OS with increasing LDH (HR 2.11; 95% CI = 1.35 to 3.28). Sensitivity analyses showed there was no association between LDH cutoff and reported HR for OS. High LDH is associated with an adverse prognosis in many solid tumors and its additional prognostic and predictive value for clinical decision-making warrants further investigation.
Project description:CD44 is a marker of cancer stem-like cells in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, the prognostic value of CD44 in RCC remains controversial. This study evaluated the correlation of CD44 expression with the clinicopathological features of RCC through a meta-analysis. We systematically searched PubMed, ISI Web of Science and Embase for relevant studies until February 2015. We collected and analysed data on clinical stage, Fuhrman grade, microvascular invasion, recurrence, five-year overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Twenty studies involving 1672 patients satisfied the inclusion criteria. Results showed that high CD44 expression in RCC was a poor prognostic marker for five-year OS (RR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.60-0.78) in a fixed-effects model and for five-year DSS (RR = 0.46, 95% CI 0.27-0.80) and five-year DFS (RR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.43-0.93) in a random-effects model. CD44 expression also correlated with Furhman grade (RR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.48-0.77), tumour recurrence (RR = 7.42, 95% CI 3.74-14.70) and MVI (Microvascular invasion) (RR = 3.63, 95% CI 1.97-6.71). This meta-analysis suggests that CD44 is a prognostic marker in RCC. High CD44 expression correlates with high Fuhrman grade, recurrence, MVI and poor prognosis.
Project description:The effect of pre-operative renal insufficiency on urothelial carcinoma (UC) prognosis has been investigated by numerous studies. While the majority report worse UC outcomes in patients with renal insufficiency, the results between the studies differed wildly. To enable us to better estimate the prognostic value of renal insufficiency on UC, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis based on the published literature. A total of 16 studies which involved 5,232 patients with UC, investigated the relationship between pre-operative renal insufficiency and disease prognosis. Estimates of combined hazard ratio (HR) for bladder urothelial carcinoma recurrence, cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) were 1.65 (95% CI, 1.11-2.19), 1.59 (95% CI, 1.14-2.05) and 1.45 (95% CI, 1.19-1.71), respectively; and for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma recurrence, CSS and OS were 2.27 (95% CI, 1.42-3.12), 1.02 (95% CI, 0.47-1.57) and 1.52 (95% CI, 1.05-1.99), respectively. Our results indicate that UC patients with pre-operative renal insufficiency tend to have higher recurrence rates and poorer survival compared to those with clinically normal renal function, thus renal function should be closely monitored in these patients. The impact of intervention for renal insufficiency on the prognosis of UC needs to be further studied.
Project description:BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) showed promising therapeutic efficacy on melanoma. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) showed predictive values on prognosis of various tumors, but not on melanoma yet. This meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the prognostic role of NLR and LDH levels in melanoma treated with ICIs.MethodsA search was conducted for all reports published till March 2020 in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). Studies were included if they investigated the association between pretreatment NLR/LDH and prognosis in melanoma patients treated with ICIs. Subgroup analysis, publication bias, and meta-regression were conducted to investigate heterogeneity.ResultsA total of 6817 melanoma patients were included. Overall, high pretreatment NLR and LDH were associated with poor overall survival (OS) (P < .001) and PFS (P < .001). Subgroup analyses revealed that elevated NLR and LDH levels were associated with poor OS and PFS in patients treated with anti-CTLA-4 or anti-PD-1/PD-L1 alone. NLR level was superior in predicting OS if compared with LDH level in patients treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 + anti-CTLA-4. In subgroup analysis stratified by cutoff value, high NLR level was associated with poor OS and PFS regardless of cutoff value, but LDH works when cutoff value = upper normal limit (UNL). The predictive value of NLR and LDH levels on OS and PFS was partially compromised in the Asian populations, compared with the Western countries.ConclusionBlood NLR and LDH levels showed great potential to be used as early prognostic biomarkers in melanoma patients treated with ICIs.
Project description:ObjectiveTo evaluate whether pretreatment albumin-globulin ratio (AGR) can be used as a biomarker for predicting the prognosis of patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC).MethodsWe systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Google Scholar and Cochrane Library; the search time was up to May 2022. Stata 16.0 was used for data processing and statistical analysis.ResultsWe identified 12 studies with 5,727 patients from 317 unique citations during the meta-analysis. Our results suggested that a low AGR before treatment was significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS) [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.99, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.45-2.75, P < 0.001], cancer-specific survival (CSS) [HR=2.01, 95% CI = 1.50-2.69, P < 0.001] and recurrence-free survival (RFS) [HR=1.39, 95% CI = 1.12-1.72, P = 0.002]. Furthermore, we defined different subgroups according to ethnicity, cancer type, cut-off value, sample size and stage. Similar prognostic outcomes for OS and CSS were observed in most subgroups. However, for subgroup of stage, the low pretreatment AGR only predicted the poor survival of patients with non-metastatic UC.ConclusionOur meta-analysis revealed that the AGR before treatment could be used as a predictive biomarker to indicate the prognosis of UC patients during clinical practice, especially in patients with non-metastatic UC.
Project description:BackgroundNumerous studies show that the pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with the prognosis of patients with RCC. However, their findings are inconsistent, urging us to explore the prognostic value of NLR in RCC patients.MethodsThis study was pre-registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020167131). Two reviewers independently performed a systematical search of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases for prospective or retrospective cohort studies investigating the prognostic value of pretreatment NLR. Hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals for overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), progression-free survival (PFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and other useful clinicopathological features were extracted and analyzed with fixed or random-effect models by using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 12.0 software. Heterogeneity was estimated on the basis of Cochran's Q test and I2 value. Sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses were also performed to explore the potential sources of heterogeneity. Publication bias was assessed with funnel plots and precisely assessed by Egger's tests. The quality of the evidence was evaluated in accordance with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE).ResultsOverall, 6461 RCC patients from 24 retrospective studies and 1 prospective study were included. In overall population, elevated pretreatment NLR was associated with poorer OS (pooled HR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.56-2.30, p < 0.001; I2 = 87%), DFS/PFS (pooled HR = 2.09, 95% CI: 1.49-2.94, p < 0.001; I2 = 99%), and CSS (pooled HR = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.61-3.33, p < 0.001; I2 = 14%). Furthermore, this negative association was further confirmed in patients with nonmetastatic and metastatic RCC patients, respectively. We also investigated the predictive role of NLR in metastatic RCC patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The results indicated that the level of NLR was significantly associated with OS (pooled HR = 3.92, 95% CI: 2.00-7.69, p < 0.001; I2 = 0%) and PFS (pooled HR = 2.20, 95% CI: 95% CI: 1.61-3.01, p < 0.001; I2 = 20%).ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that elevated pretreatment NLR was significantly associated with poor prognosis of RCC patients. NLR could be helpful as a potential prognostic biomarker to guide clinical decision-making and select individualized treatment strategies for RCC patients.
Project description:BackgroundTumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the major immune cells in tumor microenvironment. The prognostic significance of TAMs has been confirmed in various tumors. However, whether TAMs can be prognostic factors in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is unclear. In this study, we aimed to clarify the prognostic value of TAMs in ccRCC.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Embase, and the Web of Science for relevant published studies before December 19, 2020. Evidence from enrolled studies were pooled and analyzed by a meta-analysis. Hazard ratios (HRs) and odd ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed to evaluate the pooled results.ResultsBoth of high CD68+ TAMs and M2-TAMs were risk factors for poor prognosis in ccRCC patients. The pooled HRs indicated that elevated CD68+ TAMs correlated with poor OS and PFS (HR: 3.97, 95% CI 1.39-11.39; HR: 5.73, 95% CI 2.36-13.90, respectively). For M2-TAMs, the pooled results showed ccRCC patients with high M2-TAMs suffered a worse OS and shorter PFS, with HR 1.32 (95% CI 1.16-1.50) and 1.40 (95% CI 1.14-1.72), respectively. Also, high density of TAMs was associated with advanced clinicopathological features in ccRCC.ConclusionsTAMs could be potential biomarkers for prognosis and novel targets for immunotherapy in ccRCC. Further researches are warranted to validate our results.