Prognostic value of SPARC in hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 17; no. 8; p. e0273317
• Main Authors: Yang, Xiaoyu, Xia, Yunhong, Wang, Shuomin, Sun, Chen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Francisco Public Library of Science 18-08-2022; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Analysis; Cell proliferation; Diagnosis; Drug resistance; Extracellular matrix; Forecasts and trends; Glycoproteins; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Hepatocytes; Hepatoma; Liver cancer; Malignancy; Medical prognosis; Medicine and Health Sciences; Meta-analysis; Metastases; Metastasis; Methods; Mortality; Osteonectin; Pancreatic cancer; Patients; Physical Sciences; Polymerase chain reaction; Prognosis; Prostate; Prostate cancer; Proteins; Research and Analysis Methods; Survival; Survival analysis; Systematic review; Tumor cells; China
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273317

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by a high degree of malignancy, rapid proliferation of tumor cells, and early liver metastasis. Resistance to multiple drugs independent of the high expression of secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) is associated with a high risk of recurrence and mortality. However, the prognostic value of SPARC in patients with HCC remains unclear. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the relationship between the expression of SPARC and the prognosis of patients with HCC. We searched for relevant articles in the CNKI, PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases. The 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for combined overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) to assess the prognostic value of expression of SPARC in patients with HCC. In six of the studies, SPARC expression status was significantly associated with OS (combined hazard ratio [HR], 1.38; 95% CI, 1.0-1.82; Z = 2.27, P = 0.02) but not with DFS (combined HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.16-4.00, Z = 0.28, P = 0.78). Therefore, it cannot be assumed that upregulated SPARC expression has an effect on DFS in patients with HCC. Elevated SPARC expression is associated with a low survival rate but not with DFS in patients with HCC. Further studies are needed to confirm our conclusions.