Prognostic value of IGFBP7 in solid tumors: a meta analysis of 1,305 patients

Background: Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) has been detected to act as a cancer suppressor gene in different types of human carcinoma. Previous studies have presented controversial evidences between the expression of IGFBP7 and prognosis in solid tumors. A comprehensive meta-analysis was performed to investigate the prognostic role of IGFBP7 expression. Methods: The studies were identified through extensive electronic search of Web of Science, PubMed and Embase up to Jun 2019. The pooled hazard ratios (HR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for overall survival (OS) were calculated through univariate analysis and multivariate analysis to investigate the prognostic value of IGFBP7 expression . Heterogeneity, publication bias and subgroup analyses were also performed. Results: Seven eligible studies including 1,305 patients were extracted in this analysis. The pooled hazard ratio of univariable analysis for OS (HR = 0.60; 95% CI, 0.54–0.66, P < 0.001). The pooled hazard ratio of multivariate analysis for OS (HR = 0.57; 95% CI, 0.50–0.64, P < 0.001). In addition, subgroup analysis showed that low IGFBP7 expression was significantly associated with poor prognosis in patients with digestive system cancer. Conclusions: Low-expression of IGFBP7 was correlated strongly with worse OS, which indicated that IGFBP7 might be a new biomarker for prognosis prediction and a promising therapeutic target in solid tumors. Keywords: IGFBP7, prognosis, meta-analysis