Prognostic value of long non-coding RNA CRNDE in gastrointestinal cancers: a meta-analysis

Numerous studies have reported that the long non-coding RNA colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed (CRNDE) plays important roles in the tumorigenesis, progression, and prognosis of various types of cancer. However, thus far, a systematic analysis of CRNDE in cancers of the digestive system has not been conducted. Thus, the aim of this meta-analysis was to explore the relationship between CRNDE expression and survival or the clinicopathological features of gastrointestinal cancer.

Eligible studies were collected from nine databases (ie, PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Ovid, Science Citation Index Expanded, China Biology Medicine, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang). The meta-analysis was conducted using the Stata SE.12 Software. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) or odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (Cl) was used to assess the clinical value of CRNDE expression in gastrointestinal cancers.

A total of 1,053 patients from nine articles were selected. The analysis provided evidence suggesting a significant negative correlation between high CRNDE expression and the rate of overall survival [HR=1.92, 95% CI (1.40-2.64), p<0.001] in patients with malignancies of the digestive system. A positive correlation was observed between high CRNDE expression and lymph node metastasis [OR=2.82, 95% CI (1.85-4.31), p<0.001], distant metastasis [OR=2.72, 95% CI (1.16-6.35), p=0.021], more advanced tumor-node-metastasis stage [OR=3.13, 95% CI (2.03-4.83), p<0.001], and tumor size >5 cm [OR=2.81, 95% CI (1.62-4.88), p<0.001]. In the non-colorectal cancer subgroup, high CRNDE expression predicted worse histopathological grade [OR=2.21, 95% CI (1.37-3.57), p=0.001] and depth of tumor invasion [OR=2.54, 95% CI (1.46-4.41), p=0.001].

This meta-analysis revealed that CRNDE may be an unfavorable risk factor of survival and predict advanced clinicopathological features of patients with gastrointestinal cancer. These findings emphasize the usefulness of CRNDE as a predictor of prognosis and pathological biomarker in this type of tumors.