The prognostic role of Leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 5 in gastric cancer: A systematic review with meta-analysis

SummaryBackground and objectiveThe prognostic value of Leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 5 (LGR5) in gastric cancer remains controversial. To further investigate this relationship, we performed meta-analyses to systematically review the association between LGR5 expression and various clinical parameters in gastric cancer patients.MethodEligible studies from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure), Wangfang (Database of Chinese Ministry of Science & Technology) and CBM (China Biological Medicine) databases were evaluated to investigate the association of LGR5 expression with overall survival (OS) and clinicopathological features of gastric cancer.ResultsLGR5 overexpression was significantly associated with poor OS in patients with gastric cancer (HR 1.66, 95% CI 1.02–2.69). LGR5 overexpression was also significantly associated with TNM stage (TIII/TIV vs TI/TII: OR 5.42, 95% CI 1.02–28.72) and lymph node metastasis (positive vs negative: OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.06–5.0).ConclusionsOur meta-analysis indicates that LGR5 may be a predictive factor for invasion and metastasis, and poor prognosis in patients with gastric cancer.