Prognostic value of c-Met overexpression in hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis and review

// Jung Han Kim 1 , Hyeong Su Kim 1 , Bum Jun Kim 1, 3 , Hyun Joo Jang 2 and Jin Lee 2 1 Division of Hemato-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kangnam Sacred-Heart Hospital, Hallym University Medical Center, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul 07441, Republic of Korea 2 Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Dongtan Sacred-Heart Hospital, Hallym University Medical Center, Hallym University College of Medicine, Hwasung 18450, Republic of Korea 3 Department of Internal Medicine, National Army Capital Hospital, The Armed Forces Medical Command, Sungnam 13574, Republic of Korea Correspondence to: Jung Han Kim, email: harricil@hotmail.com Hyun Joo Jang, email: jhj1229@hallym.or.kr Keywords: c-Met, hepatocellular carcinoma, prognostic value, meta-analysis Received: June 08, 2017      Accepted: July 26, 2017      Published: August 09, 2017 ABSTRACT The overexpression of c-Met protein has been detected in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its prognostic impact remains uncertain. We performed this meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic value of c-Met overexpression in patients who underwent curative surgical resection for HCC. A systematic computerized search of the electronic databases was carried out. From 5 studies, 1,408 patients who underwent surgical resection for HCC were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with patients with HCC having low c-Met expression, patients with c-Met-high tumor showed significantly worse relapse-free survival (hazard ratio = 1.26 [95% confidence interval, 1.02–1.56], P = 0.03) and overall survival (hazard ratio = 1.16 [95% confidence interval, 1.03–1.31], P = 0.01). In conclusion, our meta-analysis indicates that c-Met overexpression is a significant adverse prognostic factor for recurrence and survival in patients who underwent surgical resection for HCC.