Ferroptosis is a protective factor for the prognosis of cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Cancer is a leading global cause of death. Conventional cancer treatments like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy have associated side effects. Ferroptosis, a nonapoptotic and iron-dependent cell death, has been identified and differs from other cell death types. Research has shown that ferroptosis can promote and inhibit tumor growth, which may have prognostic value. Given the unclear role of ferroptosis in cancer biology, this meta-analysis aims to investigate its impact on cancer prognosis. This systematic review and meta-analysis conducted searches on PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases. Eight retrospective studies were included to compare the impact of ferroptosis inhibition and promotion on cancer patient prognosis. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Studies lacking clear descriptions of hazard ratios (HR) and 95