Prognostic role of STAT3 in solid tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Accumulated studies have provided controversial evidences of the association between signal transducer and activator of transcription proteins 3 (STAT3) expression and survival of human solid tumors.

To address this inconsistency, we performed a meta-analysis with 63 studies identified from PubMed, Medline and EBSCO. We found STAT3 overexpression was significantly associated with worse 3-year overall survival (OS) (OR = 2.06, 95% CI = 1.57 to 2.71, P < 0.00001) and 5-year OS (OR = 2.00, 95% CI = 1.53 to 2.63, P < 0.00001) of human solid tumors. Similar results were observed when disease free survival (DFS) were analyzed. Subgroup analysis showed that elevated STAT3 expression was associated with poor prognosis of gastric cancer, lung cancer, gliomas, hepatic cancer, osteosarcoma, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer but better prognosis of breast cancer. The correlation between STAT3 and survival of solid tumors was related to its phosphorylated state. High expression level of STAT3 was also associated with advanced tumor stage. In conclusion, elevated STAT3 expression is associated with poor survival in most solid tumors. STAT3 is a valuable biomarker for prognosis prediction and a promising therapeutic target in human solid tumors.

Oncotarget. 2016 Mar 03 [Epub ahead of print]

Pin Wu, Dang Wu, Lufeng Zhao, Lijian Huang, Gang Shen, Jian Huang, Ying Chai

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China., Department of Radiation Oncology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China., Department of Thoracic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China., Department of Thoracic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China., Department of Thoracic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China., Department of Surgical Oncology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China., Department of Thoracic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China.