Gene expression profiling assays as predictors of poor prognosis in stage II colorectal cancer: A meta-analysis

15054 Background: The use of adjuvant therapy in stage II colorectal cancer (CRC) remains controversial. There is clearly a need to identify better predictors than the traditional staging system to aid therapeutic decisions. Gene expression profiling (GEP) has been demonstrated as a useful tool in risk stratification in many cancers. We performed a meta-analysis to assess its utility for predicting poor outcomes in stage II CRC. Methods: We performed literature searches of MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Cancerlit, and ASCO Proceedings through December 2007. Studies were included if they reported GEP-based assays in patients with stage II CRC, and either subsequent cancer recurrence or death within 3 years. The prognostic likelihood ratio (LR) (sensitivity/ 1-specificity) was obtained for each study and then pooled using the random-effects method to obtain a weighted mean LR and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI). The average accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity are also reported. Results: ...