KIFSB-RET fusion gene and its correlation with clinicopathological and prognostic features in lung cancer: a meta-analysis

Background: The KIF5B-RET fusion gene is a novel oncogene that has been observed in a subset of lung cancers in recent years. However, the results of related epidemiological studies remain unclear. Thus, a meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the correlation of KIF5B-RET expression based on RT-PCR detection with clinicopathological features and prognosis of lung cancer. Methods: The PubMed, Google Scholar, Wiley Online, SpringerLink and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases were searched to identify the eligible studies. The association of the occurrence of KIF5B-RET fusion gene in lung cancer with age, gender, smoking status, histology type, differentiation and TNM stage was analyzed. HR, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were used to describe the prognosis of patients with lung cancer. The OR and 95% CI were calculated to assess the correlations. Random- and fixed-effects models were used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 13 studies, which included 8,859 lung cancer patients, were included in the study based on the inclusion criteria. A total of 121 patients with positive KIF5B-RET fusion gene status were detected, with a positive expression rate of 1.36%. KIF5B-RET fusion gene status was identified at significantly higher frequencies in female (OR=0.67, 95% CI=0.48-0.94) than male patients, and the same trend was found in young (<60 years) patients (OR=0.08, 95% CI=0.01-0.45) compared with old patients (>= 60 years). No differences were found in the TNM stage, histology, differentiation and smoking. Based on the prognosis, no difference was found between the status of the positive and negative KIF5B-RET fusion genes in OS and PFS of patients. Conclusion: The KIF5B-RET fusion gene occurred predominantly in young female patients with lung cancer. However, the relationship between the expression of the fusion gene and the prognosis of lung patients remains unclear.