The association between long noncoding RNA H19 and pathological features in cancers: A meta-analysis

Abstract Purpose Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) H19 has been reported to be up-regulated and down-regulated in numerous tumors, but the relevance of clinical pathological features is not established. So, meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the association between H19 expression and pathological features of cancers. Method The databases on PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, and Wan Fang were searched for the related studies. 13 eligible studies were included with a total of 854 patients. Revman5.3 and Stata12.0 software were performed to analyze the data. Results The results suggested that the group of high H19 expression had a higher risk of poorly histological grade, clinical stage, deep tumor invasion (T2 stage or more), and was inclined to lymphatic metastasis, distant metastasis, and had a shorter survival time than the group of low H19 expression. Conclusion High expression of lncRNAH19 might act as a novel diagnostic biomarker and predict poor oncological outcomes of patients with cancers.