AlncRNA HULC as an effective biomarker for surveillance of the outcome of cancer: A meta-analysis

PurposeHigh expression of highly upregulated in iver cancer (HULC) has been found associated with increased metastasis and poor prognosis with cancer. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the pooled effect of HULC on metastasis and prognosis of cancers.MethodThe studies were accessed using multiple databases. RevMan5.3 and STATA14.0 were used to estimate pooled effects, the heterogeneity among studies, and publication bias for the association of HULC and overall survival (OS).ResultsA total of 9 studies of 966 cancer patients were included. Risk of lymph node metastasis was increased with high versus low HULC expression (pooled odds ratio [OR] = 4.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.59–14.63) as was distant metastasis (pooled OR = 5.44, 95% CI 2.33–12.74). Furthermore, OS time was shortened with high HULC expression (pooled hazard ratio [HR] = 1.48, 95% CI 1.03–2.12), especially in Chinese patients (pooled HR = 2.04, 95% CI 1.55–2.68), and risk of recurrence was increased (pooled OR = 6.68, 95% CI 2.77–16.13).ConclusionHULC might be a potential biomarker for therapy and prognosis surveillance in cancers.