Published online Dec 28, 2021. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v9.i6.568
Peer-review started: August 7, 2021
First decision: October 2, 2021
Revised: October 8, 2021
Accepted: December 24, 2021
Article in press: December 24, 2021
Published online: December 28, 2021
Processing time: 142 Days and 16.6 Hours
Osteosarcoma was considered to be one of the most prevalent malignant bone tumors in adolescents.
To explore the prognostic significance of microRNA (miRNA) in osteosarcoma.
The literature was selected by searching online in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Database until July 1, 2021. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) for the outcomes of overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), progression-free survival (PFS) and recurrence-free survival were calculated. Subgroup analyses were carried out to identify potential sources of heterogeneity. Publication bias was assessed by Egger’s bias indicator test.
A total of 60 studies from 54 articles with 5824 osteosarcoma patients were included for this meta-analysis. The pooled HR for OS, DFS, PFS were 2.92 (95%CI: 2.43-3.41, P = 0.000), 3.70 (95%CI: 2.80-4.61, P = 0.000), and 3.57 (95%CI: 1.60-5.54, P = 0.000), respectively. The high miR-21 expression levels were related to poor OS in osteosarcoma (HR = 2.86, 95%CI: 1.20-4.53, P = 0.001). Subgroup analysis demonstrated that a high expression level of miRNA correlated with worse OS (HR: 3.56, 95%CI: 2.59-4.54, P = 0.000). In addition, miRNA from tissue (HR: 3.20, 95%CI: 2.16-4.23, P = 0.000) may be a stronger prognostic biomarker in comparison with that from serum and plasma.
miRNA (especially miR-21) could be served as a potential prognostic biomarker for osteosarcoma. A high expression level of miRNA in tumor tissue correlated with worse OS of osteosarcoma.
Core Tip: Osteosarcoma is a common primary malignant bone tumor with a high degree of malignancy and poor prognosis. MicroRNA can be used as a valuable biomarker for the prognosis of osteosarcoma.