Prognostic value of Flotillin-1 expression in patients with solid tumors

Background: In numerous studies, Flotillin-1 was reported to be involved in tumor progression, indicating prognosis in various types of cancer. However, the results were inconsistent. Results: A total of 2473 patients from 13 articles were included. The results indicated that: (1) Patients detected with high expression level of Flotillin-1 protein had a significantly shorter OS (HR = 1.64; 95%CI: 1.39-1.88), statistical significance was also observed in subgroup meta-analyses stratified by the cancer type, nationality, detecting method, cutoff value, analysis type, sample size and publication date. (2) Patients with high Flotillin-1 protein expression level had a poorer DFS (HR = 2.49; 95%CI: 1.64-3.35), a worse RFS(HR = 3.26; 95%CI: 1.10-5.43) and a potential shorter PFS(HR = 1.84; 95%CI: 0.81-2.87). (3) The pooled odds ratios (ORs) showed that increased Flotillin-1 level was also related to lymph node metastasis (OR = 6.30; 95%CI: 3.15-12.59), distant metastasis (OR = 6.02; 95%CI: 1.50-24.06) and more advanced TNM stage (OR = 4.69; 95%CI: 2.74-8.03). Materials and methods: A comprehensive retrieval was performed in multiple databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and CNKI. The relevant articles were screened for investigating the association between increased Flotillin-1 expression level and prognosis. Additionally, clinicopathological features data was also extracted from these studies. Conclusions: High expression level of Flotillin-1 protein was correlated with poorer clinical outcome. It might serve as a prognostic biomarker and a potential predictive factor of clinicopathology in various tumors. Further well-designed clinical studies should be performed to verify the clinical utility of Flotillin-1 in human solid tumors.