Published online Mar 6, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i7.2184
Peer-review started: October 5, 2021
First decision: October 22, 2021
Revised: October 25, 2021
Accepted: January 25, 2022
Article in press: January 25, 2022
Published online: March 6, 2022
Processing time: 148 Days and 3.7 Hours
In recent years, the predictive role of YKL-40 for long-term survival in colorectal cancer patients has been gradually investigated. However, whether it is a reliable and valuable prognostic indicator for patients with colorectal carcinoma has not been verified.
To identify the prognostic value of serum/plasma concentration of YKL-40 or expression status of YKL-40 in tumor cells in colorectal carcinoma patients.
Several electronic databases including the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP and WanFang were searched for relevant studies. The hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were combined and the primary and secondary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), respectively. All statistical analysis were conducted by STATA 15.0 software.
A total of nine studies involving 2545 patients were included. The pooled results indicated that YKL-40 was significantly associated with poor OS (HR = 1.80, 95%CI: 1.32-2.45, P < 0.001) and PFS (HR = 1.62, 95%CI: 1.22-2.16, P = 0.001). Subgroup analysis stratified by the treatment, tumor type and source of YKL-40 showed similar results.
Elevated serum/plasma concentration of YKL-40 or positive expression in tumor cells was related with worse prognosis of colorectal carcinoma patients. YKL-40 might serve as a novel and reliable indicator for the evaluation of prognosis in colorectal cancer.
Core Tip: Our study demonstrated that YKL-40 was significantly associated with poor OS (P < 0.001) and PFS (P = 0.001). Subgroup analysis stratified by the treatment, tumor type and source of YKL-40 showed similar results. Elevated serum/plasma concentration of YKL-40 or positive expression in tumor cells was related with worse prognosis of colorectal carcinoma patients. YKL-40 might serve as a novel and reliable indicator for the evaluation of prognosis in colorectal cancer.