High expression of ANRIL correlated with the poor prognosis in patients with cancer: A meta-analysis

ANRIL, also called CDKN2B antisense RNA 1, is an important genetic susceptibility locus for cardiovascular diseases and associated with numerous pathologies, including several human cancers.

The relationship between ANRIL and the clinical outcome or prognosis of cancer patients was analyzed in this meta-analysis.

One thousand seven hundred eight cancer patients were selected in 23 studies from 3 databases (Pubmed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE).

A fixed-effects model indicated that the high expression of ANRIL is obviously linked to poor overall survival (OS) (Hazard ratio [HR] = 1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.57-2.00, P < .00001); the random-effects model revealed poor disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.46-2.37, P < .00001). A high level of ANRIL expression was also associated with the tumor size (small vs large, odds ratio [OR] = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.39-0.83, P = .003), TNM stage (I + II vs III + IV; OR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.24-0.69, P = .0008), and lymph node metastasis (LNM) (Yes vs No, OR = 3.66, 95% CI: 1.46-9.17, P = .006). ANRIL was not related significantly to histologic differentiation compared to poor with moderate + well; the OR value is 0.74, 95% CI: 0.26-2.12, P = .58. In addition, evidence suggested that a high level of ANRIL was positively associated with human cancer type, follow-up time, and sample size.

This meta-analysis demonstrated that ANRIL may be a valuable biomarker for predicting poor prognosis in cancer patients.