Higher expression of SALL4 predicts poor cancer prognosis: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Sal-like protein 4 (SALL4) is recognized as a potential biomarker for assessing cancer prognosis. Many experiments have been done to explore the aberrant expression of SALL4 in cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between SALL4 expression and cancer prognosis.

METHODS: A systematically comprehensive search was performed through PubMed, Web of Science, and CNKI. The prognostic value of SALL4 expression in cancer patients was evaluated by pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS: The overexpression of SALL4 was identified to be significantly associated with a poor prognosis in cancer patients (pooled HR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.67-2.46). This association was also detected in digestive system neoplasms subgroup (pooled HR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.52-2.39) and reproductive system neoplasms subgroup (pooled HR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.17-3.26). In the geography subgroup analysis, a statistical association was confirmed in the Chinese subgroup (pooled HR: 1.982, 95% CI: 1.526-2.576). In the respect of disease progression, there was a certain degree of relationship between higher expression of SALL4 and recurrence-free survival (RFS) (pooled HR: 1.617, 95% CI: 1.190-2.196).

CONCLUSION: SALL4 is a promising prognostic biomarker for cancer, and is appropriate for the assessment of cancer prognosis in the Chinese people.