The Prognostic Value of Autophagy-Related Markers Bclin-1 and LC-3 in Colorectal Cancers: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Jin-Xiao Li; Qian Yan; Na Liu; Wen-Jiang Zheng; Man Hu; Zhao-Min Yu; Yu-Dian Zhou; Xiong-Wen Wang; Feng-Xia Liang; Rui Chen

doi:10.1155/2020/8475840

The Prognostic Value of Autophagy-Related Markers Bclin-1 and LC-3 in Colorectal Cancers: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020 Mar 23:2020:8475840. doi: 10.1155/2020/8475840. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Jin-Xiao Li¹, Qian Yan², Na Liu³, Wen-Jiang Zheng², Man Hu¹, Zhao-Min Yu¹, Yu-Dian Zhou⁴, Xiong-Wen Wang⁵, Feng-Xia Liang⁴, Rui Chen¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430022 Wuhan, China.
² Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, 510405 Guangzhou, China.
³ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Chengdu University of Chinese Medicine, 610075 Chengdu, China.
⁴ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, 430065 Wuhan, China.
⁵ First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 510405 Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Objective: At present, the relationship between autophagosomes and the prognosis of various cancers has become a subject of active investigation. A series of studies have demonstrated the correlation between autophagy microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC-3), Beclin-1, and colorectal cancer (CRC). Since autophagy has dual regulatory roles in tumors, the results of this correlation are also uncertain. Hence, we summarized the relationship between Beclin-1, LC-3, and CRC using systematic reviews and meta-analysis to clarify their prognostic significance in it.

Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched online up to April 1, 2019. The quality of the involving studies was assessed against the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Pooled hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) in a fixed or random effects model were used to assess the strength of correlation between Beclin-1, LC-3, and CRC.

Results: A total of 9 articles were collected, involving 2,297 patients. Most literatures scored more than 6 points, suggesting that the quality of our including research was acceptable. Our finding suggested that the expression of Beclin-1 was not associated with overall survival (HR = 0.68, 95% CI (0.31-1.52), P=0.351). Nonetheless, LC-3 expression exerted significant impact on OS (HR = 0.51, 95% CI (0.35-0.74), P < 0.05). Subgroup analysis exhibited that Beclin-1 expression was associated with OS at TNM stage III (HR = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.02-0.08, P < 0.05), surgical treatment (HR = 1.53, 95% CI (1.15-2.02), P=0.003), and comprehensive treatment (HR = 0.27 95% CI (0.08-0.92), P=0.036), respectively. Similarly, the results showed the increased LC-3 expression in CRC was related to OS in multivariate analyses (HR = 0.44, 95% CI (0.34-0.57), P < 0.05), stages (HR = 0.51, 95% CI (0.35-0.74), P < 0.05), and comprehensive treatment (HR = 0.44, 95% CI (0.34-0.57), P < 0.05).

Conclusions: Autophagy-related proteins of LC-3 might be an important marker of CRC progression. However, since the number of the original studies was limited, more well-designed, large-scale, high-quality studies are warranted to provide more convincing and reliable information.

Publication types

Review