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Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha in lung cancer: a systematic review with meta-analysis

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Summary

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) plays a vital role in the initiation, evaluation and prognosis in lung cancer. The prognostic value of HIF-1α reported in diverse study remains disputable. Accordingly, a meta-analysis was implemented to further understand the prognostic role of HIF-1α in lung cancer. The relationship between HIF-1α and the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of lung cancer were investigated by a meta-analysis. PubMed and Embase were searched from their inception to January 2015 for observational studies. Fixed-effects or random-effects meta-analyses were used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of different comparisons. A total of 20 studies met the criteria. The results showed that HIF-1α expression in lung cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in normal lung tissues. Expression of HIF-1α in patients with squamous cell carcinoma was significantly higher than that of patients with adenocarcinomas. Similarly, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients had higher HIF-1α expression than small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. Moreover, lymph node metastasized tissues had higher HIF-1α expression than non-lymph node metastasized tissues. A high level HIF-1α expression was well correlated with the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and epidermal growth factor receptor in the NSCLC. Notably, NSCLC or SCLC patients with positive HIF-1α expression in tumor tissues had lower overall survival rate than patients with negative HIF-1α expression. It was suggested that HIF-1α expression may be a prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for lung cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China

    Sheng-li Yang  (杨盛力), Quan-guang Ren  (任全广), Lu Wen  (文 璐) & Jian-li Hu  (胡建莉)

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  1. Sheng-li Yang  (杨盛力)
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  2. Quan-guang Ren  (任全广)
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  3. Lu Wen  (文 璐)
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  4. Jian-li Hu  (胡建莉)
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Correspondence to Jian-li Hu  (胡建莉).

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The authors contributed equally to this work.

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Yang, Sl., Ren, Qg., Wen, L. et al. Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha in lung cancer: a systematic review with meta-analysis. J. Huazhong Univ. Sci. Technol. [Med. Sci.] 36, 321–327 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-016-1586-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-016-1586-7

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