Prognostic Value of MET Gene Copy Number and Protein Expression in Patients with Surgically Resected Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Published Literatures

BackgroundThe prognostic value of the copy number (GCN) and protein expression of the mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) gene for survival of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains controversial. This study aims to comprehensively and quantitatively asses the suitability of MET GCN and protein expression to predict patients' survival.MethodsPubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched for articles comparing overall survival in patients with high MET GCN or protein expression with those with low level. Pooled hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the random and the fixed-effects models. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were also performed.ResultsEighteen eligible studies enrolling 5,516 patients were identified. Pooled analyses revealed that high MET GCN or protein expression was associated with poor overall survival (OS) (GCN: HR = 1.90, 95% CI 1.35–2.68, pp = 0.017). In Asian populations (GCN: HR = 2.22, 95% CI 1.46–3.38, ppp = 0.025; protein expression: HR = 1.69, 95% CI 1.31–2.19, pp = 0.005; protein expression: HR = 2.18, 95% CI 1.60–2.97, pConclusionsIncreased MET GCN or protein expression was significantly associated with poorer survival in patients with surgically resected NSCLC; this information could potentially further stratify patients in clinical treatment.背景 间质上皮转化（MET, mesenchymal-epithelial transition）基因的拷贝数（GCN, copy number）与蛋白表达对非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC, non-small cell lung cancer）患者生存的预后价值尚存争议。本研究旨在全面定量评估MET GCN与蛋白表达用于预测患者生存的可行性。 方法 检索PubMed、Embase、Web of Science及Google Scholar数据库，筛选比较MET GCN高表达或蛋白高表达患者与低表达患者总生存期（OS, overall survival）的相关研究。采用随机效应模型与固定效应模型计算合并风险比（HR, hazard ratio）及95%置信区间（CI, confidence intervals），并开展亚组分析与敏感性分析。 结果 最终纳入18项符合标准的研究，共纳入5516例患者。合并分析结果显示，MET GCN高表达或蛋白高表达与较差的总生存期显著相关（GCN亚组：HR=1.90，95%CI：1.35~2.68，p=0.017）。在亚洲人群中，GCN亚组HR=2.22（95%CI：1.46~3.38，p=0.025）；蛋白表达亚组分别为HR=1.69（95%CI：1.31~2.19，p=0.005）、HR=2.18（95%CI：1.60~2.97，原文此处p值未完整给出）。 结论 接受手术切除的非小细胞肺癌患者中，MET GCN升高或蛋白高表达与不良生存预后显著相关；该结果可为临床治疗中的患者分层管理提供参考依据。