Role of HER family members in predicting prognoses in epithelial ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis.

AIMS AND

BACKGROUND

Human epidermal receptor (HER) family receptors are commonly overexpressed in various human tumors, and their overexpression is thought to play a critical role in tumor progression. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the prognostic significance of HER family members in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

METHODS

Relevant studies published between January 1, 1980, and April 24, 2013, that evaluated the associations of HER family members with overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), response to platinum-based chemotherapy, lymph node metastasis, or ascites in EOC were identified via searches of PubMed and EMBASE.

RESULTS

We identified 37 eligible articles that met the inclusion criteria. The results of the meta-analysis revealed that significantly poorer OS of patients with EOC was predicted by high Her-2 expression levels (hazard ratio [HR] 1.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.31-2.19). Furthermore, high Her-2 expression was significantly associated with poor PFS (HR 1.88, 95% CI 1.46-2.41) and an increased risk of ascites (risk ratio 1.21, 95% CI 1.02-1.42).

CONCLUSIONS

High levels of expression of Her-2 are significantly related to poor survival and an increased risk of ascites in patients with EOC. Future prospective cohorts with larger samples are needed to verify the prognostic value of Her-2 expression in EOC.