E-cadherin expression and prognosis of oral cancer: a meta-analysis

This study aims to evaluate the association of E-cadherin expression with the prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Literature retrieval, selection and assessment, data extraction, and meta-analyses were performed according to the Revman 5.0 guidelines. In the meta-analysis, we utilized either fixed effects or random effects model to pool the HR according to the test of heterogeneity. A total of nine eligible studies included 973 OSCC patients were analyzed. Of the patients, 76.3 % had low expression of E-cadherin according to the cutoff value defined by the authors. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) of low expression of E-cadherin for overall survival (OS) was 0.65 (95 % CI 0.52 to 0.80, P < 0.001); in Asian population, the HR for overall survival of the patients with reduced expression of E-cadherin was 0.84 (95 % CI 0.75 to 0.95, P = 0.006), and in non-Asian population, the HR for overall survival of the patients with reduced expression of E-cadherin was 0.54 (95 % CI 0.41 to 0.69, P < 0.001). Patients with reduced expression of E-cadherin appear to have a poorer OS compared with those with normal or higher expression of E-cadherin.