Prognostic value of CD44v9 expression in human cancers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The prognostic significance of CD44 variant-9 (CD44v9) expression in human cancers has been investigated in several studies, however, definite conclusion has not be reached. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the prognostic significance of CD44v9 expression in various cancers.

Three common databases were searched and retrieved studies were assessed using the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The further analyses for overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and clinicopathological parameters were performed.

Fifteen studies containing 1633 cancer patients were included into this research. Patients with positive CD44v9 expression tended to have shorter OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.93, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.48-2.52, P < .01) and RFS (HR = 3.60, 95% CI = 1.52-8.53, P < .01) when compared with patients with negative CD44v9 expression. Positive CD44v9 expression was associated with larger tumor size (P = .04), deeper tumor invasion (P < .01), earlier lymph node metastasis (P < .01), and more advanced clinical stage (P < .01) when compared with negative CD44v9 expression.

Positive CD44v9 expression predicted worse prognosis in human cancers compared with negative CD44v9 expression. CD44v9 expression could serve as a prognostic factor of human cancers.