Key approaches to interpret the findings of a meta-analysis on role of chemotherapy in 5000 patients with head and neck cancer treated by curative surgery

Background. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are potential molecular biomarkers for cancer detection; however, little is known about their prognostic role in head and neck cancer. This current study is aimed at evaluating the role of novel miRNAs in the survival of head and neck cancer patients. Materials and Methods. We performed a systematic literature search using online databases for articles published between December 2006 and February 2019. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the correlation between miRNA expressions and overall survival (OS) among the selected head and neck cancer studies. After multilevel screening by reviewers, meta-analysis was performed using hazard ratios (HR) and associated 95% confidence interval (CI) of survival to calculate a pooled effect size. Result. A total of 1577 patients across 13 studies were included in the literature review, with 18 miRNAs upregulated and 4 miRNAs downregulated predicting a poor overall survival. The forest plot generated using cumulated survival data resulted in a pooled HR value of 2.943 (95% CI: 2.394-3.618) indicating a strong association of dysregulated miRNA expression with a poor outcome. Only 2 miRNAs—low levels of miR-9 and high levels of miR-483-5p—were observed in two studies, both showing a significant association with overall cancer survival. Conclusion. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis that examines the prognostic role of circulating miRNAs from blood in head and neck cancer patients. The combined effect estimates a HR across multiple studies and also supports the previous individual findings that an alteration in miRNA expression is highly associated with poor prognosis. This has the potential to use serum and/or plasma miRNAs as biomarkers and become novel tools for predicting the prognosis of head and neck cancer patients in the near future.

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Genetic Polymorphisms in the RAD51 Gene with a Risk of Head and Neck Cancer and Esophageal Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

International Journal of Genomics ◽

10.1155/2019/2789035 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lin Li ◽

Xue Zhang ◽

Zhong-Ti Zhang

Keyword(s):

Esophageal Cancer ◽

Head And Neck Cancer ◽

Head And Neck ◽

Neck Cancer ◽

Web Of Science ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Rad51 Gene ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Stratified Analysis

Background. The role of RAD51 gene polymorphisms with the development of head and neck cancer (HNC) and esophageal cancer (EC) remains controversial. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the correlation between the RAD51 polymorphisms and these two cancers quantitatively. Methods. Databases of PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase were used to search relevant papers prior to August 17, 2019. STATA 11.0 was performed to observe the correlation. Results. Ten relevant papers were enrolled in our analysis. Overall, a significant correlation was observed between the rs1801320 polymorphism and the increased risk of these two cancers (OR=1.32, 95%CI=1.03‐1.71 for C vs. G; OR=1.50, 95%CI=1.03‐2.19 for CG vs. GG; and OR=1.44, 95%CI=1.05‐1.99 for CC+CG vs. GG). In subgroup analyses, an increased risk was found for EC (OR=2.07, 95%CI=1.01‐4.25 for C vs. G; OR=2.08, 95%CI=1.17‐3.71 for CC vs. GG; and OR=1.78, 95%CI=1.00‐3.15 for CC vs. CG+GG), but not for HNC. Moreover, our analysis revealed that no statistical evidence of correlation was discovered between the polymorphism of rs1801321 and the increased risk of HNC. However, stratified analysis based on ethnicity suggested that rs1801321 polymorphism was related to the decreased risk of HNC among Caucasians (OR=0.82, 95%CI=0.72‐0.95 for T vs. G). Conclusions. rs1801320 polymorphism was strongly associated with the risk of these two associated cancers, especially with esophageal cancer. Moreover, our results revealed that rs1801321 polymorphism was correlated to the decreased risk of HNC among Caucasians.

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Genetic Association betweenNFKBIAandNFKB1Gene Polymorphisms and the Susceptibility to Head and Neck Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Disease Markers ◽

10.1155/2019/6523837 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lin Li ◽

Zhong-Ti Zhang

Keyword(s):

Head And Neck Cancer ◽

Head And Neck ◽

Neck Cancer ◽

Web Of Science ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Case Control ◽

Statistical Correlation ◽

Case Control Studies ◽

The Relationship

Background. The role of theNFKB1gene rs28362491 polymorphism andNFKBIAgene rs2233406 polymorphism in the development of head and neck cancer (HNC) remains controversial. This meta-analysis was performed to assess the relationship between the gene polymorphisms and HNC quantitatively.Methods. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, WanFang Data, and China National Knowledge databases were used to search for eligible articles. The relationship was evaluated by STATA 11.0.Results. Eight eligible articles were included in our study. Nine case-control studies from the eight included articles were correlated with rs28362491 polymorphism. Four articles were related to rs2233406 polymorphism. Overall, a significant correlation was observed between the rs28362491 polymorphism and a decreased risk of HNCs (OR=0.76,95%CI=0.60‐0.97for DD vs. II;OR=0.80,95%CI=0.68‐0.95for DD vs. DI+II). In subgroup analyses, the rs28362491 polymorphism was associated with the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NC), but not with oral cancer (OC). In addition, no statistical correlation was found between the polymorphism of rs2233406 and HNCs.Conclusion. rs28362491 polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of HNCs, especially with NC. Additionally, our results showed that no association was discovered between rs2233406 polymorphism and HNCs.

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