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. 2018 Nov 26;2018:5340894. doi: 10.1155/2018/5340894

Prognostic Value of Long Noncoding RNAs in Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Weibiao Kang 1, Qiang Zheng 1, Jun Lei 2, Changyu Chen 3, Changjun Yu 1,
PMCID: PMC6287160  PMID: 30598708

Abstract

Gastrointestinal cancers (GICs) are a huge threat to human health, which mainly include esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancers. The purpose of this study was to clarify the prognostic value of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in GICs. A total of 111 articles were included, and 13103 patients (3123 with esophageal cancer, 4972 with gastric cancer, and 5008 with colorectal cancer) were enrolled in this study. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) values and corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of overall survival (OS) related to different lncRNA expressions in esophageal, gastric, colorectal, and gastrointestinal cancer patients were 1.92 (1.70–2.16), 1.96 (1.77–2.16), 2.10 (1.87–2.36), and 2.00 (1.87–2.13), respectively. We have identified 74 lncRNAs which were associated closely with poor prognosis of GIC patients, including 58 significantly upregulated lncRNA expression and 16 significantly downregulated lncRNA expression. In addition, 47 of the included studies revealed relative mechanisms and 12 of them investigated the correlation between lncRNAs and microRNAs. Taken together, this meta-analysis supports that specific lncRNAs are significantly related to the prognosis of GIC patients and may serve as novel markers for predicting the prognosis of GIC patients. Furthermore, lncRNAs may have a promising contribution to lncRNA-based targeted therapy and clinical decision-making in the future.

1. Introduction

Gastrointestinal cancers (GICs) are one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths with a high mortality worldwide, which mainly include esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancers (EC, GC, and CRC). In addition to aging and expansion of world population, cancer-causing behaviors play a key role in the increasing largely global burden of GIC, such as smoking and changes in dietary patterns [1]. There are many therapy strategies applicable to GIC patients, such as surgery, neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy [2], and GIC patients at early stage could be curable by receiving suitable treatment with a 90% five-year overall survival, However, five-year overall survivals are still poor for patients with advanced stages [3, 4]. Consequently, early diagnosis and selection of high-risk individuals with poor prognosis are important in the recovery of patients. However, effective methods to evaluate prognosis of GIC patients are still lacking nowadays. Currently, mounting reports have reported that noncoding RNA could be used to predict the prognosis of GIC patients, For example, microRNAs are potentially eligible for predicting the survival of GIC patients [5]. Many studies indicated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) could competitively suppress microRNAs by acting as molecular sponges recently [6]. Besides, aberrant expression of specific lncRNAs as molecular biomarkers was associated closely with prognosis of GIC patients and involved in targeted therapy, which might promote the development of novel prevention strategies and advanced therapies [712].

lncRNA is a long (more than 200 nucleotides) class of noncoding RNA that is often expressed in a disease-, tissue-, or stage-specific manner [13]. According to recent estimate, more than 28000 distinct lncRNAs are encoded by human genome and they regulate gene expression by means of different mechanisms, including chromatin modification, transcription, and posttranscriptional processing, which are becoming attractive therapeutic targets of cancers [14, 15]. Such upregulated lncRNA HOXA11-AS expression promotes tumor proliferation and invasion by scaffolding the chromatin modification factors PRC2, LSD1, and DNMT1 [16]. lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 recruits and bounds to LSD1 to epigenetically repress downstream gene p21, thereby promoting proliferation [17], and lncRNA GHET1 promotes gastric carcinoma cell proliferation by increasing c-Myc mRNA stability [18]. Furthermore, lncRNA plays crucial roles in the diverse biological processes such as development, differentiation, and carcinogenesis [19]. In addition, lncRNA may induce resistance of an anticancer drug. For example, upregulated lncRNA MALAT1 induces chemoresistance of CRC cells [20].

Recently, mounting evidences have indicated that various lncRNAs can function as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes and the dysregulation of lncRNA expression as molecular biomarkers presented promising huge prognostic values in GIC patients [2126]. However, the ability of evaluating relationship between multiple lncRNA expression and prognosis of GIC patients was limited due to monocentric, small samples and various experimental methods and criteria from different research departments. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to elaborate the relationship between multiple lncRNA expression and prognosis of GIC patients so that further understanding of prognostic values of lncRNAs might promote lncRNA-based target therapeutic development and make a clinical decision that is suitable for the individual quickly.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Search Strategy

To obtain the relevant studies for this meta-analysis, two authors (Weibiao Kang and Qiang Zheng) searched a wide range of database (PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase) independently up to August 27, 2018. Search terms are as follows: “LncRNA”, “Long non-coding RNAs”, “lncRNAs”, “lncRNA”, “Long ncRNA”, “LincRNAs”, “LINC RNA”, “Long ncRNAs”, “cancer”, “tumor”, “malignancy”, “carcinoma”, “neoplasia”, “neoplasm”, “gastrointestine”, “gastroenteric”, “colon”, “colorectal”, “rectum”, “intestinal”, “gastric”, “esophageal”, “esophagus”, “follow up studies”, “prognosis”, “prediction”, “survival”, “hazard ratio”, “incidence”, and “mortality”, which were combined with AND/OR.

2.2. Selection Criteria

All eligible studies were assessed and extracted data by the same two investigators independently based on the selection criteria. Inclusion criteria are the following: (1) patients who were diagnosed as having gastrointestinal cancer by pathologists and did not receive any preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy before obtaining samples; (2) predicting prognosis of full stage (I–IV) patients on the basis of the expression levels of lncRNAs; (3) the expression levels of lncRNAs were divided into high and low levels; (4) we could obtain overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), hazard ratio (HR), and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) directly from full text or extract survival data from Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Exclusion criteria are the following: (1) reviews, letters, case reports, statements, and not clinical related studies were excluded; (2) besides non-English and nonhuman studies, articles lack of data were also excluded; (3) studies focused on lncRNA variants or relationship between lncRNA expression and prognosis in different histological types of GIC. We resolved disagreements by discussing with the third investigator (Changjun Yu) and got consensus finally.

2.3. Data Extraction and Quality Assessment

The two authors (Weibiao Kang and Qiang Zheng) extracted data independently and got consensus finally. The characteristics collected of individual articles were as follows: author, year of publication, nation of population enrolled, number of patients, HR and 95% CI (OS/DFS), cut-off value, method, sample type, and follow-up. We assessed the quality of each study by using the guidelines for meta-analysis of observation studies in epidemiology (MOOSE) [27].

2.4. Statistical Analysis

Statistical analysis was conducted by Review Manager 5.2 (provided by Cochrane collaboration). P < 0.01 was considered statistically significant. The heterogeneity among studies was calculated by Q and I2 tests. P > 0.10 in combination with I2 < 50% indicated low heterogeneity; fixed-effect models should be used. Otherwise, random-effect model would be used finally. For some studies from which we could not extract HR and corresponding 95% CI (OS/DFS) directly, Engauge Digitizer 4.1 software was applied to obtain the necessary points and the relevant data from Kaplan-Meier survival curves, then HR and corresponding 95% CI were calculated by published methods proposed by Tierney et al. [28]. Additionally, forest plots of the pooled HR values and funnel plots used to analyse qualitatively publication bias were presented. Furthermore, we also applied sensitivity analysis for this meta-analysis.

3. Results

3.1. Study Identification and Characteristics

According to the selection criteria, a total of 111 articles (21 EC, 47 GC, and 44 CRC; one study involved GC and CRC) involving 13103 patients (3123 with EC, 4972 with GC, and 5008 with CRC) were identified and included in the meta-analysis; specific steps were showed in Figure 1 [1013, 1526, 29123]. Most of the studies taken into account refer to Asian population, especially china. Cut-off values of high or low lncRNA expression were mostly median or mean. Detection methods of lncRNA expression were mainly RT-PCR (reverse transcription PCR) or ISH (in situ hybridization). Sample types were almost from tissues. As for clinical outcome indicators, 74 studies [1013, 16, 1823, 25, 26, 29, 3133, 36, 38, 40, 41, 4347, 50, 51, 5358, 61, 63, 64, 6668, 7174, 77, 78, 83, 85, 86, 88, 89, 91, 92, 96102, 105107, 109112, 115119, 121, 122] included overall survival (OS), 8 studies [17, 24, 30, 34, 79, 95, 114, 123] included disease-free survival (DFS), and another 29 studies [15, 35, 37, 39, 42, 48, 49, 52, 59, 60, 62, 65, 69, 70, 75, 76, 8082, 84, 87, 90, 93, 94, 103, 104, 108, 113, 120] included both OS and DFS. We have identified 74 lncRNAs which were associated closely with poor prognosis of GIC patients, including 58 significantly upregulated lncRNA expression and 16 significantly downregulated lncRNA expression (Tables 1 and 2). Moreover, 47 of the included studies revealed relative mechanisms, and 12 of them investigated the correlation between lncRNAs and microRNAs (Table 3).

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Study flow diagram.

Table 1.

Characteristics of studies and lncRNA expression related to OS in GIC patients.

References lncRNAs (n = 105) Year Nations Number (n = 12178) OS Cut-off value Detection methods Sample types Follow-up
HR 95% CI
Sun et al. [13] RNAGAS5 2014 China 89 GC 2.43 1.29–4.59 Median RT-PCR Tissue <40
Li et al. [29] SNHG20 2016 China 107 CRC 2.97 1.51–5.82 YI RT-PCR Tissue <40
Kong et al. [15]! PVT1 2015 China 80 GC 2.09 1.07–4.10 Median RT-PCR Tissue <40
Qi et al. [31] AGAP2-AS1 2017 China 50 GC 2.67# 1.45–4.93 Median RT-PCR Tissue 6–36#
Chen et al. [32] XIST 2016 China 106 GC 3.11 1.67–3.78 Median RT-PCR Tissue <120
Ye et al. [33] lnc-GNAT1-1 2016 China 68 CRC 2.16 1.01–4.63 Median RT-PCR Tissue <20
Saito et al. [21] ATB 2015 Japan 183 GC 3.50 1.73–7.44 Median RT-PCR Tissue 0.192–134.4
Yuan et al. [35]! PVT1 2016 China 111 GC 2.28 1.05–4.93 Median RT-PCR Tissue 20–48
Ye et al. [36] CLMAT3 2015 China 90 CRC 2.05 1.10–3.82 Dichotomize RT-PCR Tissue <45
Zheng et al. [37]! UCA1 2015 China 112 GC 2.35 1.22–4.52 Dichotomize RT-PCR Tissue <92
Chen et al. [38] NEAT1 2015 China 96 EC 1.92 1.40–6.49 YI RT-PCR Tissue <80
Wang et al. [39]! CCAT2 2016 China 108 GC 2.11 1.44–3.20 Median RT-PCR Tissue <70
Zhao et al. [22] HOTAIR 2015 China 168 GC 1.47 1.04–2.06 Median RT-PCR Tissue <70
Zhang et al. [40] Sox2ot 2016 China 132 GC 2.05 1.28–3.30 Median RT-PCR Tissue <96
Chen et al. [41] HIF1A-AS2 2015 China 83 GC 1.72 1.00–2.96 Median RT-PCR Tissue <60
Li et al. [10] HOTAIR 2013 China 100 EC 1.91 1.06–4.00 125-fold RT-PCR Tissue <60
Yue et al. [42]! FER1L4 2015 China 70 CC 3.99 1.67–9.01 Median RT-PCR Tissue <80
He et al. [43] CCAT1 2014 China 48 CC 2.09# 1.42–3.06 Median RT-PCR Tissue 24–37#
Yin et al. [44] MEG3 2015 China 62 CRC 0.13 0.02–0.99 Mean RT-PCR Tissue <60
Nie et al. [45] MIR31HG 2016 China 48 CC 2.35# 1.15–4.79 Median RT-PCR Tissue 3–36#
Park et al. [46] BM742401 2013 Korea 113 GC 1.03 0.57–1.88 Median RT-PCR Tissue <80
Liu et al. [23] CRNDE-h 2016 China 148 CRC 2.39 1.30–4.39 Median RT-PCR Serum 1–65
Li et al. [47] PANDAR 2017 China 102 CRC 3.08 0.84–7.89 Median RT-PCR Tissue <60
Chen et al. [48]! H19 2016 China 128 GC 1.96 0.97–3.97 Median RT-PCR Tissue 20–48
Zou et al. [49]! Sox2ot 2016 China 155 GC 3.24 1.24–6.43 Median RT-PCR Tissue <70
Jiang et al. [50] TUG1 2016 China 218 EC 1.40 1.01–1.95 NR RT-PCR Tissue 12–72
Svoboda et al. [51] HOTAIR 2014 Czech 84 CRC 5.9 1.34–26.1 Median RT-PCR Blood 12–54
Wang et al. [52]! OTUB1-isoform 2 2016 China 156 GC 1.54 1.04–2.27 Median RT-PCR Tissue <80
Guo et al. [53] FTX 2015 China 187 CRC 2.37 1.42–2.74 Median RT-PCR Tissue <60
Pan et al. [54] FOXCUT 2014 China 82 EC 2.13# 1.38–3.29 Mean RT-PCR Tissue 1–72
Zhou et al. [55] LET 2014 China 93 GC 2.28 1.30–5.18 Mean RT-PCR Tissue <60
Hu et al. [56] linc-UBC1 2015 China 85 GC 3.56# 1.71–7.39 Median RT-PCR Tissue <100
Wang et al. [57] CCAT2 2015 China 86 GC 2.41 1.19–5.42 Mean RT-PCR Tissue <60
Ren et al. [58] HOTTIP 2015 China 156 CRC 2.15 1.31–3.42 Median RT-PCR Tissue 33–65
Liu et al. [59]! DANCR 2015 China 104 CRC 2.13 1.16–7.06 Median RT-PCR Tissue <60
Wang et al. [60]! ZEB1-AS1 2015 China 87 EC 2.37 1.28–6.12 Median RT-PCR Tissue <61
Li et al. [61] BANCR 2015 China 184 GC 1.51 1.03–2.23 Median RT-PCR Tissue 5–93
Ma [62]! PANDAR 2016 China 100 GC 3.68 1.13–12.06 NR RT-PCR Tissue 2–36
Huang et al. [63] MALAT1 2016 China 132 EC 6.64 2.95–14.95 NR RT-PCR Tissue <60
Ni et al. [64] UCA1 2015 China 54 CRC 3.11# 0.59–16.39 Median RT-PCR Tissue 9–51#
Wu et al. [25] uc002yug.2 2014 China 684 EC 2.61 1.50–3.78 NR RT-PCR Tissue <140
Sun et al. [16] HOXA11-AS 2016 China 85 GC 2.85# 1.65–4.91 Median ISH Tissue 9–36
Peng et al. [65]! NEAT1 2016 China 56 CRC 1.70# 1.04–2.80 NR RT-PCR Tissue <60
Jiao et al. [66] UCA1 2016 China 66 EC 2.24# 1.17–4.29 Median RT-PCR Tissue 5–30#
Liu and Shangguan [67] CARLo-5 2017 China 240 GC 2.41 1.13–5.94 0.041 RT-PCR Tissue <60
Ma et al. [11] CCAL 2016 China 252 CRC 2.25 1.35–3.74 Median RT-PCR Tissue <100
Yang et al. [18] GHET1 2014 China 42 GC 1.90# 0.53–6.85 Median RT-PCR Tissue 7–40#
Wu et al. [68] HOTAIR 2014 China 120 CC 3.92 1.23–12.50 5-fold RT-PCR Tissue 10–72
Zhou et al. [69]! ROR 2016 China 60 CC 7.22 2.43–17.43 Median RT-PCR Tissue <80
Yang et al. [70]! Loc554202 2016 China 178 CRC 2.45 1.34–7.74 Median RT-PCR Tissue <70
Lü et al. [71] BC032469 2016 China 58 GC 2.78# 0.95–8.09 Mean RT-PCR Tissue <23
Su et al. [72] BLACAT1 2017 China 48 CRC 1.50 1.32–1.70 Mean RT-PCR Tissue <60
Hu et al. [12] GAPLINC 2014 China 90 GC 1.54 1.22–1.94 Median ISH Tissue <80
Fu et al. [73] NEAT1 2016 China 140 GC 1.61 1.03–2.53 Median RT-PCR Tissue <96
Yao et al. [26] RP11-766N7.4 2017 China 50 EC 2.14# 1.10–4.15 Median RT-PCR Tissue 32–60#
Xie et al. [74] SPRY4-IT1 2014 China 92 EC 2.05 1.04–4.03 Median RT-PCR Tissue 3–60
Peng [75]! SPRY4-IT1 2015 China 175 GC 0.82 0.31–1.57 Median RT-PCR Tissue <60
Nie et al. [76]! ZFAS1 2016 China 54 GC 2.08# 1.11–3.93 Median RT-PCR Tissue 3–36#
Ohtsuka et al. [77] H19 2016 USA 117 CC 1.28 1.08–1.50 0.64 RT-PCR Tissue <90
Li et al. [20] MALAT1 2017 China 68 CRC 2.17# 1.32–3.55 Median RT-PCR Tissue 1–51#
Zhou et al. [78] AFAP1-AS1 2016 China 162 EC 1.89 1.22–2.92 Median RT-PCR Tissue 6–72
Sun et al. [80]! RP11-119F7.4 2015 China 96 GC 1.20# 0.84–1.71 Median RT-PCR Tissue <100
Zhang et al. [81]! ANRIL 2014 China 120 GC 1.74 1.04–2.93 3-fold RT-PCR Tissue <60
Li et al. [82]! NEAT1 2015 China 239 CRC 1.70 1.18–2.45 2-fold RT-PCR Tissue <60
Chen et al. [83] LINC00152 2016 China 97 GC 1.66 1.01-2.73 Median RT-PCR Tissue <60
Chen et al. [19] FEZF1-AS1 2016 China 153 CRC 2.40 1.07–5.41 NR ISH Tissue <100
Han et al. [84]! H19 2016 China 83 CRC 1.43 1.24–1.79 3-fold RT-PCR Tissue <50
Yang et al. [85] GAPLINC 2016 China 180 CRC 2.21 1.38–3.57 NR ISH Tissue <100
Jin et al. [86] HULC 2016 China 54 GC 1.92# 1.00–3.67 2-fold RT-PCR Serum 11–32#
Cao et al. [87]! BC200 2016 China 70 EC 2.24 1.12–4.49 Median RT-PCR Tissue <50
Cao et al. [88] SPRY4-IT1 2016 China 84 CRC 3.21 1.55–6.67 2.87-fold RT-PCR Tissue 3–36
Gao et al. [89] linc-UBC1 2017 China 96 CRC 2.43 1.09–5.42 Median RT-PCR Tissue <60
Wang et al. [90]! AFAP1-AS1 2016 China 52 CRC 2.36 1.11–5.01 Median RT-PCR Tissue <50
Ge et al. [91] PCAT-1 2013 China 108 CRC 3.12 1.36–7.19 NR RT-PCR Tissue <100
Deng et al. [92] 91H 2014 China 72 CRC 3.66 1.66–8.10 2.86-fold RT-PCR Tissue 2–36
Sun et al. [93]! AK098081 2016 China 84 CRC 1.90 1.39–2.58 Mean RT-PCR Tissue 1–118#
Xu et al. [94]! FENDRR 2014 China 158 GC 1.76 1.04–3.12 Median RT-PCR Tissue 20–48
Bian et al. [96] UCA1 2016 China 90 CRC 2.40 1.04-5.50 Median RT-PCR Tissue <100
Zuo et al. [97] UCA1 2017 China 37 GC 2.92 1.07–7.96 Median RT-PCR Tissue <40
Lu et al. [98] PANDAR 2017 China 124 CRC 3.53 1.41–4.45 Median RT-PCR Tissue <60
Lv et al. [99] MEG3 2016 China 96 EC 2.12 1.05–4.27 NR RT-PCR Tissue <120
Xu et al. [100] TUSC7 2017 China 63 CRC 2.92 1.03–8.33 NR RT-PCR Tissue <120
Ma et al. [101] DUXAP8 2016 China 72 GC 2.37# 1.39–4.05 Median RT-PCR Tissue 5–36#
Fei et al. [103]! LINC00982 2016 China 106 GC 2.87 1.34–6.17 Median RT-PCR Tissue 20–48
Chen et al. [104]! SNHG15 2016 China 106 GC 2.93 1.30–6.58 Median RT-PCR Tissue 20–48
Tan et al. [105] SPRY4-IT1 2017 China 106 CRC 2.34 1.14–4.83 Mean RT-PCR Tissue <70
Wang and Xing [106] ZFAS1 2016 China 159 CRC 1.88 1.01–3.53 Median RT-PCR Tissue <101
Yao et al. [107] MALAT-1 2016 China 137 EC 1.27# 0.90–1.80 0.5-fold RT-PCR Tissue 3–36#
Liu et al. [108]! BANCR 2016 China 142 EC 0.95 0.21–0.95 Median RT-PCR Tissue 1–60#
Chen et al. [109] HOTAIR 2013 China 78 EC 2.40 1.35–4.28 Mean RT-PCR Tissue 2–60
Hu et al. [102]a Linc00152 2016 China 205 EC 1.89 1.22–2.58 Upper 95% CI in control group RT-PCR Plasma <60
POU3F3 1.82 1.17–2.51
CFLAR 1.68 1.08–2.32
Yu et al. [110] u50535 2018 China 98CRC 4.01 1.06–15.14 NR RT-PCR Tissue <60
Jiang et al. [111] CRNDE 2017 China 251CRC 1.69 1.05–2.74 NR ISH Tissue 1–117
Cui et al. [112] HEIH 2018 China 84CRC 1.46 1.02–2.08 Median RT-PCR Tissue <60
Wu et al. [113]! GHRLOS 2017 China 366CRC 1.96 1.34–2.86 1/2-fold RT-PCR Tissue 5–85
Li et al. [115] ZEB1-AS1 2017 China 24GC 2.36 1.41–3.96 Median RT-PCR Tissue 72
Huang et al. [116] LINC00673 2017 China 73GC 2.38 1.12–5.06 2-fold RT-PCR Tissue <20
Li et al. [117] PVT1 2017 China 104ESCC 2.75 1.35–5.59 Median RT-PCR Tissue <80
Shi et al. [118] ZFAS1 2017 China 246ESCC 1.59 1.07–2.36 Median RT-PCR Tissue 114
Wu et al. [119] XIST 2017 China 127ESCC 2.4 1.44–4.01 Median RT-PCR Tissue <80
Ba et al. [120] LINC00673 2017 China 79GC 2.56 1.01–4.54 Median RT-PCR Tissue <50
Zhu et al. [121] SNHG1 2017 China 108CRC 3.17 1.55–6.21 Median RT-PCR Tissue <50
Yang et al. [122] LINC01133 2018 China 149ESCC 2.18 1.23–3.85 Median RT-PCR Tissue <60

aOne study involved lncRNA Linc00152, lncRNA POU3F3, and lncRNA CFLAR. ∗ indicates adjusted HR; # indicates calculated HR of OS and follow-up time; ! indicates studies included OS and DFS; ↑ or ↓ indicates upregulated or downregulated with poor prognosis. OS: overall survival; DFS: disease-free survival; HR: hazard ratio; CI: confidence interval; EC: esophageal cancer; GC: gastric cancer; CRC: colorectal cancer; GIC: gastrointestinal cancer; NR: no report; YI: Youden index; RT-PCR: reverse transcription PCR; ISH: in situ hybridization.

Table 2.

Characteristics of studies and lncRNAs expression related to DFS in GIC patients.

References lncRNAs (n = 37) Year Nations Number (n = 4360) DFS Cut-off value Detection methods Sample types Follow-up
HR 95% CI
Kong et al. [15]! PVT1 2015 China 80GC 2.22 1.13–4.44 Median RT-PCR Tissue <40
Liu et al. [17] FEZF1-AS1 2017 China 82GC 1.52# 0.88–2.63 2-fold RT-PCR Tissue 1–43#
Fan et al. [30] LINC00261 2016 China 138GC 1.81 1.06–3.10 Median RT-PCR Tissue 20–48
Xu et al. [34] PVT1 2017 China 190GC 1.75 1.25–2.56 Mean RT-PCR Tissue 1–85
Yuan et al. [35]! PVT1 2016 China 111GC 2.21 1.11–4.40 Median RT-PCR Tissue 20–48
Zheng et al. [37]! UCA1 2015 China 112GC 2.55 1.33–4.97 Dichotomize RT-PCR Tissue <92
Wang et al. [39]! CCAT2 2016 China 108GC 2.31 1.55–3.42 Median RT-PCR Tissue <70
Yue et al. [42]! FER1L4 2015 China 70CC 4.51 1.99–9.02 Median RT-PCR Tissue <80
Chen et al. [48]! H19 2016 China 128GC 1.29 1.00-1.65 Median RT-PCR Tissue 20–48
Zou et al. [49]! Sox2ot 2016 China 155GC 3.84 1.87–7.33 Median RT-PCR Tissue <70
Wang et al. [24] NR_034119 2016 China 107CRC 1.93 1.04–3.61 NR RT-PCR Serum 11–74
Wang et al. [52]! OTUB1-isoform 2 2016 China 156GC 1.50 1.02–2.20 Median RT-PCR Tissue <80
Liu et al. [59]! DANCR 2015 China 104CRC 2.40 1.39–7.28 Median RT-PCR Tissue <60
Wang et al. [60]! ZEB1-AS1 2015 China 87EC 2.7 1.38–8.35 Median RT-PCR Tissue <61
Ma et al. [62]! PANDAR 2016 China 100GC 2.36 1.15–4.83 NR RT-PCR Tissue 2–36
Peng et al. [65]! NEAT1 2016 China 56CRC 2.39# 1.37–4.19 NR RT-PCR Tissue <60
Zhou et al. [69]! ROR 2016 China 60CC 5.64 1.92–16.58 Median RT-PCR Tissue <80
Yang et al. [70]! Loc554202 2016 China 178CRC 2.75 1.55–7.93 Median RT-PCR Tissue <70
Peng et al. [75]! SPRY4-IT1 2015 China 175GC 1.74 1.32–2.48 Median RT-PCR Tissue <60
Nie et al. [76]! ZFAS1 2016 China 54GC 1.83# 1.07–3.15 Median RT-PCR Tissue 3–36#
Xu et al. [79]a LSINCT5 2014 China 71GC 1.08 1.29–3.56 Mean RT-PCR Tissue <72
74CRC 1.30 1.11–3.84 Mean RT-PCR Tissue <72
Sun et al. [80]! RP11-119F7.4 2015 China 96GC 1.16# 0.81–1.65 Median RT-PCR Tissue <100
Zhang et al. [81]! ANRIL 2014 China 120GC 1.72 1.04–2.84 3-fold RT-PCR Tissue <60
Li et al. [82]! NEAT1 2015 China 239CRC 1.80 1.27–2.55 2-fold RT-PCR Tissue <60
Han et al. [84]! H19 2016 China 83CRC 1.52 1.30–1.90 3-fold RT-PCR Tissue <50
Cao et al. [87]! BC200 2016 China 70EC 2.17 1.12–4.19 Median RT-PCR Tissue <50
Wang et al. [90]! AFAP1-AS1 2016 China 52CRC 2.12 1.03-4.35 Median RT-PCR Tissue <50
Sun et al. [93]! AK098081 2016 China 84CRC 1.40# 0.86–2.28 Mean RT-PCR Tissue 1–118#
Xu et al. [94]! FENDRR 2014 China 158GC 1.8 1.11–2.91 Median RT-PCR Tissue 20–48
Shang et al. [95] UCA1 2016 China 77GC 2.54 1.09–5.92 NR RT-PCR Tissue <60
Fei et al. [103]! LINC00982 2016 China 106GC 2.40 1.19--4.81 Median RT-PCR Tissue 20–48
Chen et al. [104]! SNHG15 2016 China 106GC 2.40 1.38–4.18 Median RT-PCR Tissue 20–48
Liu et al. [108]! BANCR 2016 China 142EC 3.42# 2.29–5.10 Median RT-PCR Tissue 1–60#
Wu et al. [113]! GHRLOS 2017 China 366CRC 2.02 1.42–2.88 1/2-fold RT-PCR Tissue 5–85
Yu et al. [114] linc00261 2017 China 80GC 2.57 1.39–4.20 NR RT-PCR Tissue <30
Ba et al. [120] LINC00673 2017 China 79GC 2.94 1.23–4.21 Median RT-PCR Tissue <50
Xu et al. [123] FOXD2-AS1 2018 China 106GC 1.75 1.04–2.97 Median RT-PCR Tissue 20–48

aOne study involved GC and CRC. ∗ indicates adjusted HR; # indicates calculated HR of DFS and follow-up time; ! indicates studies included OS and DFS; ↑ or ↓ indicates upregulated or downregulated with poor prognosis. OS: overall survival; DFS: disease-free survival; HR: hazard ratio; CI: confidence interval; EC: esophageal cancer; GC: gastric cancer; CRC: colorectal cancer; GIC: gastrointestinal cancer; NR: no report; RT-PCR: reverse transcription PCR.

Table 3.

lncRNAs and relevant targets in gastrointestinal cancer.

lncRNAs (n = 37) Poor prognosis Role Relevant targets Function Reference
SNHG20 Upregulated Oncogene Cyclin A1, p21 Proliferation/invasion/migration [29]
PVT1 Upregulated Oncogene EZH2, p15, p16, FOXM1 Proliferation/metastasis [15, 34]
FEZF1-AS1 Upregulated Oncogene LSD1, P21, FEZF1 Proliferation/invasion/migration [17, 19]
AGAP2-AS1 Upregulated Oncogene LSD1, EZH2, P21, E-cadherin Proliferation/migration/invasion [31]
XIST Upregulated Oncogene miR-101, EZH2 Proliferation/migration/invasion/growth/metastasis [32]
ATB Upregulated Oncogene miR-200s, ZEB1, ZEB2 Invasion/EMT [21]
UCA1 Upregulated Oncogene Ets-2, Sox4, miR-204, miR-204-5p, TGFβ1 Migration/invasion/proliferation/apoptosis/chemoresistance/EMT [64, 66, 96, 97]
NEAT1 Upregulated Oncogene Akt, vimentin, N-cadherin, Zo-1, E-cadherin Proliferation/apoptosis/EMT/migration/invasion [65, 73]
CCAT2 Upregulated Oncogene EZH2, E-cadherin, LATS2 Progression [39]
CCAT1 Upregulated Oncogene c-Myc Proliferation/migration/invasion [43]
PANDAR Upregulated Oncogene N-cadherin, vimentin, β-catenin, Snail, Twist, E-cadherin EMT/growth/migration/invasion/apoptosis [98]
H19 Upregulated Oncogene E-cadherin, Rb-E2F, CDK8, β-catenin, eIF4A3 Migration/invasion/proliferation [48, 77, 84]
FOXCUT Upregulated Oncogene FOXC1 (mRNA) Proliferation/migration/invasion [54]
MALAT1 Upregulated Oncogene EZH2, miR-218 Chemoresistance/EMT [20]
uc002yug.2 Upregulated Oncogene RUNX1 Proliferation/migration/invasion [25]
HOXA11-AS Upregulated Oncogene EZH2, LSD1, miR-1297 Growth/migration/invasion/apoptosis [16]
CCAL Upregulated Oncogene AP-2α Progression/multidrug resistance [11]
GHET1 Upregulated Oncogene c-Myc (mRNA) Proliferation [18]
ROR Upregulated Oncogene miR-145 Proliferation/migration/invasion [69]
BC032469 Upregulated Oncogene miR-1207-5p Proliferation [71]
BLACAT1 Upregulated Oncogene EZH2, p15 Proliferation [72]
GAPLINC Upregulated Oncogene miR211-3p, CD44, PSF, NONO, SNAI2 Invasion [12, 85]
SPRY4-IT1 Upregulated Oncogene Cyclin D1, MMP2, MMP9, E-cadherin, vimentin Proliferation/migration/invasion/EMT/metastasis [75, 88]
ZFAS1 Upregulated Oncogene EZH2, LSD1, CoREST, KLF2, NKD2 Proliferation [76]
ANRIL Upregulated Oncogene PRC2, miR-99a, miR-449a Proliferation [81]
LINC00152 Upregulated Oncogene EZH2, p15, p21 Proliferation [83]
DUXAP8 Upregulated Oncogene EZH2, SUZ12, PLEKHO1 Proliferation/migration [101]
SNHG15 Upregulated Oncogene MMP2, MMP9 Proliferation/migration/invasion [104]
GAS5 Downregulated Suppressor E2F1, P21 Proliferation [13]
lnc-GNAT1-1 Downregulated Suppressor RKIP-NF-κB-Snail Proliferation/migration/invasion/metastasis [33]
FER1L4 Downregulated Suppressor miR-106a-5p Proliferation/migration/invasion [42]
MEG3 Downregulated Suppressor p53 Proliferation/apoptosis [99]
MIR31HG Downregulated Suppressor E2F1, P21 Proliferation [45]
RP11-766N7.4 Downregulated Suppressor Vimentin, N-cadherin, E-cadherin Migration/invasion/EMT [26]
FENDRR Downregulated Suppressor FN1, MMP2, MMP9 Migration/invasion [94]
TUSC7 Downregulated Suppressor miR-211-3p Proliferation [100]
LINC00982 Downregulated Suppressor P15, P16 Proliferation [103]

3.2. Meta-Analysis Findings

Random-effect and fixed-effect models were applied to evaluate the pooled hazard ratio (HR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) of OS or DFS based on the heterogeneity level. The pooled HR value (95% CI) of OS which correlated with the expression of lncRNA-UCA1 [37, 64, 66, 96, 97] was 2.42 (1.68–3.49) with low heterogeneity (P = 0.99, I2 = 0%) and statistically significant (P < 0.00001) (Figure 2). For all included studies, the pooled HR values (95% CI) of OS related to different lncRNA expressions in EC, GC, and CRC patients were 1.92 (1.70–2.16), 1.96 (1.77–2.16), and 2.10 (1.87–2.36), respectively. And the pooled HR value (95% CI) of OS related to different lncRNA expressions was 2.00 (1.87–2.13) in GIC with moderate heterogeneity (P = 0.0001, I2 = 37%) and statistically significant (P < 0.00001) (Figure 3). Besides, the pooled HR value (95% CI) of DFS related to different lncRNA expressions was 1.92 (1.73–2.14) in GIC patients with moderate heterogeneity (P = 0.006, I2 = 41%) and statistically significant (P < 0.00001) (Figure 4). Furthermore, funnel plots of included studies related to lncRNA-UCA1, OS, and DFS in GIC patients were presented in Figures 5, 6, and 7, respectively. These figures are approximately symmetrical, and we can think that there is no obvious publication bias.

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Forest plot showing the pooled HR and corresponding 95% CI of OS related to the expression level of lncRNA UCA1 in gastrointestinal cancer patients. HR: hazard ratio; CI: confidence interval; OS: overall survival.

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Forest plot showing the pooled HR (95% CI) of OS related to the expression level of different lncRNAs in gastrointestinal cancer patients. (1.1.1) Specific lncRNA expression in EC (esophageal cancer); (1.1.2) specific lncRNA expression in GC (gastric cancer); (1.1.3) specific lncRNA expression in CRC (colorectal cancer). HR: hazard ratio; CI: confidence interval; OS: overall survival.

Figure 4.

Figure 4

Forest plot showing the pooled HR (95% CI) of DFS related to the expression level of different lncRNAs in GIC patients. HR: hazard ratio; CI: confidence interval; DFS: disease-free survival; GIC: gastrointestinal cancer.

Figure 5.

Figure 5

Funnel plot of included studies: highly expressed lncRNA UCA1 related to overall survival in gastrointestinal cancer patients.

Figure 6.

Figure 6

Funnel plot of included studies: aberrantly expressed lncRNAs related to overall survival in gastrointestinal cancer patients. EC: esophageal cancer; GC: gastric cancer; CRC: colorectal cancer.

Figure 7.

Figure 7

Funnel plot of included studies: aberrantly expressed lncRNAs related to disease-free survival in gastrointestinal cancer patients.

4. Discussion

GIC is still a huge threat to human health in spite of ongoing emergence of new anticancer drugs because of chemotherapy resistance and metastasis inducing poor prognosis. In the last decade, more and more studies focused on the clinical roles of lncRNAs and many reports indicated that lncRNA can be a molecular biomarker in gastrointestinal cancer patients for predicting prognosis. However, the prognostic value of lncRNAs that need to be clarified, verified, and summarized was limited by various research centers and small samples.

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the relationship between multiple lncRNA expressions and prognosis of GIC patients. Through big data meta-analysis, we provided evidence to illustrate the prognostic value of aberrantly expressed lncRNAs in GIC patients. The results from this meta-analysis showed that the pooled HR values (95% CI) of OS and DFS related to different lncRNA expressions in GIC patients were 2.00 (1.87–2.13) and 1.92 (1.73–2.14), respectively, which implied that aberrantly expressed lncRNAs may serve as cancer biomarkers in GIC patients. By detecting expression levels of specific lncRNAs in tissue or other body fluids, we cannot only make appropriate clinical decisions based on different prognoses but also monitor the therapeutic efficacy of GIC patients receiving different treatments. In addition, lncRNAs may be used to screen patients at high risk at the early stage based on abnormal expression. Moreover, elevated lncRNA-UCA1 expression promoted tumor cell migration, invasion, EMT, proliferation, and chemoresistance and inhibited its apoptosis by different target genes, which was associated with poor prognosis. For example, Jiao et al. [66] reported that lncRNA-UCA1 as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) of Sox4 enhanced tumor cell proliferation by targeting miR-204 and Sox4 and Bian et al. [96] demonstrated that lncRNA-UCA1 promoted tumor cell proliferation and 5-fluorouracil resistance by functioning as a ceRNA of miR-204-5p. The pooled HR value (95% CI) of OS which correlated with the expression of lncRNA-UCA1 was 2.42 (1.68–3.49) with low heterogeneity (P = 0.99, I2 = 0%) and statistically significant (P < 0.00001). Therefore, lncRNA-UCA1 as a molecular biomarker can be applied in predicting the prognosis of GIC patients. Generally, predicting prognosis of patients and exploring mechanisms of lncRNAs play pivotal roles in clinical decision-making and development of novel targeted gene therapies. Therefore, we summarized the researches involved in mechanisms of lncRNAs; we found that 37 lncRNAs had explicit targets and 11 lncRNAs as ceRNAs regulated cancer progression by sponging corresponding microRNAs. These studies demonstrated that the potential relationship between lncRNAs and microRNAs plays a key role in tumor pathogenesis and promoted carcinogenic study and development of gene therapy. Many studies focusing on the same lncRNA revealed different targets, and the underlying correlation between lncRNAs and microRNAs was still unclear. In the future, we should focus on the interrelationship between lncRNA and microRNA or other types of RNA, in achieving targeted treatment by simultaneous intervention of multiple types of RNA.

Several limitations should not be ignored. First, most of included patients were from East Asia, especially China, which makes our conclusions may just be suitable for Chinese patients. Second, the cut-off values and detection methods in evaluating different lncRNA expressions were various in different included studies, which may lead to heterogeneity between studies. Third, language bias was also one of the limitations, because we only enrolled English papers in the meta-analysis. Fourth, the majority of authors were generally more inclined to report positive results so that the pooled effect values calculated might overestimated the predictive significance of lncRNAs in prognosis of GIC patients; the publication bias have reached a consensus. Fifth, we calculated the HR estimates from the Kaplan-Meier survival curves because of some studies from which we could not extract HR and 95% CI directly. Sixth, the confounding factors in some included studies without the adjusted HR values would lead to high heterogeneity.

In summary, this meta-analysis supports the fact that specific lncRNAs are significantly related to the prognosis of GIC patients and may serve as novel markers for predicting the prognosis in GIC patients. In addition, lncRNAs may have a promising contribution to lncRNA-based targeted therapy and clinical decision-making in the future.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank all authors of the included studies. This work was supported by the Natural Science Research Projects at Higher Institutions in Anhui Province (KJ2018ZD017).

Conflicts of Interest

The authors have declared that they have no conflict of interest.

Authors' Contributions

Weibiao Kang and Qiang Zheng contributed equally.

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