Yan JJ, Liu BB, Yang Y, Liu MR, Wang H, Deng ZQ, Zhang ZW. Prognostic value of T cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain containing-3 expression in upper gastrointestinal tract tumors: A meta-analysis. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2023; 15(12): 2212-2224 [PMID: 38173439 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v15.i12.2212]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zhi-Wei Zhang, MD, PhD, Attending Doctor, Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University of Engineering, No. 81 Congtai Road, Congtai District, Handan 056000, Hebei Province, China. zhangzw128@126.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Meta-Analysis
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Dec 15, 2023; 15(12): 2212-2224 Published online Dec 15, 2023. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v15.i12.2212
Prognostic value of T cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain containing-3 expression in upper gastrointestinal tract tumors: A meta-analysis
Jing-Jing Yan, Bing-Bing Liu, Yan Yang, Meng-Ru Liu, Han Wang, Zhen-Quan Deng, Zhi-Wei Zhang
Jing-Jing Yan, Bing-Bing Liu, Yan Yang, Meng-Ru Liu, Han Wang, College of Clinical Medicine, Hebei University of Engineering, Handan 056000, Hebei Province, China
Zhen-Quan Deng, Department of Oncology, Handan First Hospital, Handan 056002, Hebei Province, China
Zhi-Wei Zhang, Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University of Engineering, Handan 056000, Hebei Province, China
Author contributions: Zhang ZW conceptualized, designed, and revised the manuscript; Yan JJ searched the literature, collected the data, organized the data, and drafted the manuscript; Liu BB collected the data; Yang Y and Deng ZQ checked and collated the data; Liu MR and Wang H performed the statistical analyses; All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
Supported bythe Science and Technology Research Project of Colleges and Universities of Hebei Province, No. QN2020234; the Precision Medicine Joint Cultivation Fund Project of Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province, No. H2021402007; the Clinical Medicine Talent Cultivation Project of Health Commission of Hebei Province, No. 2020; and the Medical Science Research Project of Health Commission of Hebei Province, No. 20211392.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 checklist, and subsequently prepared and revised it.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zhi-Wei Zhang, MD, PhD, Attending Doctor, Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University of Engineering, No. 81 Congtai Road, Congtai District, Handan 056000, Hebei Province, China. zhangzw128@126.com
Received: August 12, 2023 Peer-review started: August 12, 2023 First decision: September 12, 2023 Revised: September 25, 2023 Accepted: October 16, 2023 Article in press: October 16, 2023 Published online: December 15, 2023 Processing time: 123 Days and 21.6 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
T cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain containing-3 (TIM3) is an immune checkpoint molecule. The prognostic value of TIM3 expression in upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract tumors has not been comprehensively analyzed.
Research motivation
The study clarifies the prognostic value of TIM3 in upper GI tumors and assesses whether TIM3 could be used as a research target to guide future clinical treatment.
Research objectives
The study investigates the immunohistochemical expression of TIM3 in upper GI tract tumors and assesses its clinical and prognostic value.
Research methods
The PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases were searched for subject terms, including “TIM3,” “gastric cancer,” and “esophageal cancer,” Data analyses were performed using STATA 15.2. The results were expressed as hazard ratio (HR) and odds ratio (OR), with the respective 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic.
Research results
High TIM3 expression was associated with a worse prognosis in upper GI tract cancers (HR: 1.17, 95%CI: 1.01-1.36). TIM3 overexpression was significantly correlated with the TNM stage (OR: 1.21, 95%CI: 0.63-2.33; P < 0.05). TIM3 expression showed no association with other clinicopathological parameters.
Research conclusions
High expression of TIM3 in upper GI tract cancers is associated with a poorer prognosis and advanced T or N stage.
Research perspectives
None of the studies included in the meta-analysis evaluated the prognostic value of TIM3 expression in esophagogastric junction cancer. In addition, the small sample size of the studies was a limitation and the effect of confounding factors on the results cannot be ruled out. However, the results revealed a significant association between high expression of TIM3 and poor survival outcomes in upper GI tract tumors. Our analysis suggests that TIM3, as an immune checkpoint receptor, may be a useful prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target worthy of further research.
