The impact of STAT3 and phospho-STAT3 expression on the prognosis and clinicopathology of ovarian cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

• Main Authors: Shuo Gao (Author), Wenyuan Zhang (Author), Na Yan (Author), Min Li (Author), Xiaowei Mu (Author), Huaxia Yin (Author), Jinhua Wang (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: BMC, 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.1186/s13048-021-00918-6; 1757-2215
• Keywords: Ovarian cancer; Meta-analysis; STAT3/p-STAT3; Prognosis; Gynecology and obstetrics; RG1-991
• Source: Journal of Ovarian Research, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-18 (2021)

Abstract Purpose STAT3 and p-STAT3 are often overexpressed in various human tumours and participate in cancer development and progression. However, whether STAT3/p-STAT3 expression is associated with clinicopathologic characteristics and has prognostic significance for people suffering from ovarian cancer remains controversial. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analyses to clarify the associations between STAT3/p-STAT3 expression and clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic factors of ovarian cancer. Methods A systematic electronic search in the PubMed, Embase, CNKI, and Wanfang databases was conducted to identify relevant articles published before 3 April 2021. All statistical analyses were performed using Stata 15.1. Results We included 16 eligible studies incorporating 1747 ovarian cancer patients. The expression of STAT3/p-STAT3 was upregulated in ovarian cancer samples versus normal ovarian tissue, benign tumours and borderline tumours (OR = 10.14, p < 0.00001; OR = 9.08, P < 0.00001; OR = 4.01, p < 0.00001, respectively). STAT3/p-STAT3 overexpression was significantly correlated with FIGO stage (I-II vs. III-IV) (OR = 0.36, p < 0.00001), tumour grade (G1 + G2 vs. G3) (OR = 0.55; p = 0.001) and lymph node metastasis (yes vs. no) (OR = 3.39; p < 0.00001). High STAT3/p-STAT3 expression was correlated with poorer prognosis of ovarian cancer patients for both overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.67, p < 0.00001) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR = 1.40, p = 0.007). Conclusion The present meta-analysis indicated that high STAT3/p-STAT3 expression is likely predictive of an unfavourable prognosis in ovarian cancer patients. Nonetheless, prospective trials are required to confirm these associations.