Galectins‐1, ‐3, ‐7, ‐8 and ‐9 as prognostic markers for survival in epithelial ovarian cancer: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Abstract
Background
Galectins are a family of proteins that have recently emerged as regulators of cancer biology.
Objectives
To investigate the impact of peritumoral and tumoral galectin expression on ovarian cancer prognosis.
Search strategy
We searched Medline, Cochrane, and EMBASE databases from inception until March 22, 2020.
Selection criteria
All studies correlating galectins and ovarian cancer prognosis were selected.
Data collection and analysis
The literature search presented 11 studies, which contained 1034 patients. Meta‐analysis was performed with RevMan 5.3 software.
Main results
Studies were stratified into two groups depending on the location of galectin expression (peritumoral stroma or nucleus/cytoplasm of tumor cells). Tumoral galectin‐7 and galectin‐9 expression was significantly associated with poor overall survival (odds ratio [OR] 2.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.32–3.21, P = 0.001; OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.27–2.30, P < 0.001, respectively). The total effect of high tumoral expression of galectins in overall survival and progression‐free survival was significant (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.02–2.23, P = 0.04; OR 2.76, 95% CI 1.73–4.40, P < 0.001, respectively).
Conclusions
Our results suggest that galectins are implicated in ovarian cancer prognosis; however, further research is needed to ascertain their actual importance as well as their diagnostic accuracy.