The significance of microRNA-148/152 family as a prognostic factor in multiple human malignancies: a meta-analysis

// Chenkui Miao 1, * , Jianzhong Zhang 1, * , Kai Zhao 1, * , Chao Liang 1, * , Aiming Xu 1 , Jundong Zhu 1 , Yuhao Wang 1 , Yibo Hua 1 , Ye Tian 1 , Shouyong Liu 1 , Chao Zhang 1 , Chao Qin 1 and Zengjun Wang 1 1 State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Zengjun Wang, email: zengjunwang@njmu.edu.cn Chao Qin, email: 13776678978@163.com Keywords: miR-148/152 family, human malignancies, prognosis, meta-analysis Received: March 14, 2017      Accepted: April 07, 2017      Published: May 17, 2017 ABSTRACT Recent studies have demonstrated that microRNA-148/152 family emerges as a attractive biomarker for predicting tumor prognosis and progression. However, outcomes of different studies are controversial. Eligible Literature were searched through online databases: PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science. A total of 24 eligible studies were ultimately enrolled in this meta-analysis. Results indicated that overexpression of miR-148/152 family was significantly correlated with enhanced overall/cause-specific survival (OS/CSS) (HR=0.63, 95% CI: 0.54-0.74). Stratified analysis indicated that high miR-148a and miR-148b expression predicted favorable OS/CSS (HR=0.76; 95% CI: 0.69-0.90) and (HR=0.49; 95% CI: 0.39-0.61), while miR-152 developed no significant impact (HR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.12-1.29). MiR-148/152 family was distinctly associated with superior OS/CSS in Asian (HR=0.53, 95% CI: 0.44-0.64), but not in Caucasian (HR=0.96, 95% CI: 0.82-1.13). Futhermore, miR-148/152 family expression also predicted longer disease/relapse/progression-free survival (DFS/RFS/PFS) (HR=0.37, 95% CI: 0.16-0.88). A significantly favorable DFS/RFS/PFS was observed in Asian (HR=0.21, 95% CI: 0.06-0.81) than that in Caucasian (HR=0.76, 95% CI: 0.31-1.87). miR-148/152 family overexpression also predicted longer DFS/RFS/PFS in tissues (HR=0.11, 95% CI: 0.01-0.98), but not in plasma/serum (HR=0.67, 95% CI: 0.38-1.18). Our meta-analysis demonstrated that overexpression of miR-148/152 predicted enhanced OS/CSS and DFS/RFS/PFS of cancer patients. MiR-148a/b family may serve as a potential prognostic factor in multiple human malignancies.