Prognostic significance of STIP1 expression in human cancer: A meta-analysis

Background: The prognostic significance of stress-induced protein 1(STIP1) expression in human cancer has been explored in several studies, however, consensus has not been reached. This meta-analysis aimed to summarize the prognostic value of STIP1 expression in cancer. Methods: Four common databases were searched to seek relevant studies. The meta-analysis was performed to explore the prognostic value of STIP1 expression in overall survival (OS) and clinicopathological parameters in cancer. Results: Nine studies containing 1417 cancer patients were finally included into the meta-analysis. The results showed the prevalence of high STIP1 expression was 0.50 in patients with cancer. Compared to patients with low expression of STIP1, patients with high STIP1 expression tended to have shorter OS [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.68-2.76, P < 0.01]. The subgroup analysis also observed the association between high STIP1 expression and shorter OS in gastrointestinal cancer (HR = 2.02, 95%CI = 1.52-2.69, P < 0.01). The online database cross-validation containing 9502 patients also indicated high STIP1 expression predicted shorter OS (HR = 1.40, P < 0.01) and disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.30, P < 0.01) compared with low STIP1 expression in cancer. Besides, high STIP1 expression was obviously related to earlier lymph node metastasis (P < 0.01) and more advanced clinical stage (P < 0.01) compared with low STIP1 expression in cancer. Conclusion: High STIP1 expression was significantly associated with shorter OS, earlier lymph node metastasis and more advanced clinical stage compared with low STIP1 expression in cancer. Therefore, STIP1 expression might be used as a prognostic biomarker for cancer treatment.