Prognostic role of microRNA-150 in various carcinomas: a meta-analysis

Objective: MicroRNA-150 (miR-150) was revealed to be an attractive prognostic biomarker in recent studies. However, the prognostic significance of miR-150 expression in cancer remains inconclusive. The aim of this study was to summarize the global predicting role of miR-150 in survival in patients with various carcinomas. Methods: Eligible studies were identified through multiple search strategies. Data were extracted from the studies by investigating the relationship between miR-150 expression and survival in patients with cancer. A meta-analysis of the hazard ratio (HR) was then performed to evaluate the prognostic role of miR-150 in different tumors. Pooled HRs of miR-150 for overall survival and progression-free survival were calculated to measure the effect of miR-150 expression on prognosis. Results: This meta-analysis included nine published studies concerning various carcinomas. Our results indicate that an elevated miR-150 expression is associated with an enhanced overall survival in the digestive tract cancer subgroup (HR = 0.57, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.37-0.90) and a poor progression-free survival in various cancers (HR = 3.08, 95% CI: 2.00-4.75). Conclusion: miR-150 may have the potential to become a new useful prognostic factor to monitor cancer prognosis and progression. However, given the current insufficient relevant data, further clinical studies are needed.