Background/aims: Numerous studies have demonstrated that hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is abnormally expressed in various solid tumors. However, the clinicopathological features and prognostic value of HIF-1α expression in patients with digestive system malignancies remain controversial. Accordingly, this meta-analysis was aimed to evaluate the association of HIF-1α expression with clinicopathological features and overall survival (OS) of patients with digestive system malignancies.
Methods: A literature search in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases was performed to identify all relevant studies published in English until 15 October 2020. Pooled effect was calculated to evaluate the association between HIF-1α expression and clinicopathological features and overall survival in cancer patients. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) or hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using either fixed- or random-effects model.
Results: A total of 44 eligible studies with 5,964 patients were included. Pooled results indicated positive correlation of HIF-1α overexpression with poor overall survival (OS) (HR=1.990, 95% CI: 1.615-2.453, P<0.001) and disease free survival (DFS) (HR=1.90, 95% CI: 1.084-3.329, P=0.043). Meta-results showed that HIF-1α level expression was significantly associated with positive lymph node metastasis (OR=1.869, 95% CI: 1.488-2.248, P<0.001), distance metastasis (OR=2.604, 95% CI: 1.500-4.519, P<0.001), tumor stage (OR=1.801, 95% CI: 1.437-2.257, P<0.001) and tumor size (OR=1.392. 95% CI: 1.068-1.815, P=0.014).
Conclusions: This meta-data suggest that HIF-1α expression might serve as an independent prognostic marker and a promising therapeutic target in patients with digestive system malignancies.