Prognostic and clinicopathological value of osteopontin expression in non-small cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Although Osteopontin (OPN) has been reported to be associated with many different human cancers, the data on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are not definitive. This study aimed to explore the prognostic effect of OPN expression and clinicopathological characteristics in patients with NSCLC.

METHODS: This study followed all aspects of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) report. PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched to identify the relative studies. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to estimate the prognostic value of the OPN in patients with NSCLC. The odds ratio (OR) was calculated to represent the relationship between OPN expression and clinicopathological parameters.

RESULTS: A total of fifteen studies with 2173 participants were finally included. The results revealed that high expression of OPN was significantly associated with poorer overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.89; 95%CI = 1.68-2.11; p < 0.001). Moreover, a significant correlation was observed between increased OPN expression and poorly differentiated (well and moderately differentiated vs. poorly differentiated; pooled OR = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.23-0.64; p < 0.001), lymph node metastasis (absence vs. presence; pooled OR = 0.49; 95%CI = 0.32-0.74; p < 0.001), and distant metastasis (absence vs. presence; pooled OR = 0.18; 95%CI = 0.11-0.29; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis implies that OPN might be a valuable biomarker for a poor prognosis and poor clinicopathological outcomes for patients with NSCLC.