Correlation between ovarian neoplasm and serum levels of osteopontin: a meta-analysis

The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the clinical significance of serum osteopontin (OPN) levels in ovarian neoplasm in patients, with the goal of building a novel diagnostic score model. By searching the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CISCOM, CINAHL, Google Scholar, CBM, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases, we conducted a meta-analysis. Studies were pooled, and the standardized mean difference (SMD) and its corresponding 95 % confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Subgroup analyses and publication bias detection were also conducted. Version 12.0 STATA software was used for statistical analysis. We performed a final analysis of 1,653 subjects altogether (822 patients with psoriasis and 831 healthy controls) from 15 clinical case-control studies. The meta-analysis results showed a positive association between serum OPN levels and ovarian neoplasm (SMD = 2.60, 95 %CI 1.88–3.32, P < 0.001). The subgroup analysis by ethnicity detected that high levels of serum OPN may be the main risk factor for ovarian neoplasms in Asians (SMD = 2.91, 95 %CI 2.38–3.45, P < 0.001), but not in Caucasians (P > 0.05). The present meta-analysis indicated that serum OPN levels were generally elevated in ovarian neoplasm patients, and thus, serum levels of OPN could be useful in diagnosing ovarian neoplasm.