The prognostic value of phosphorylated AKT expression in non-small cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 8; no. 12; p. e81451
• Main Authors: Qiu, Zhi-Xin, Zhang, Kui, Qiu, Xue-Song, Zhou, Min, Li, Wei-Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 05.12.2013; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: AKT protein; Analysis; Cancer; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - metabolism; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - pathology; Chemotherapy; Confidence intervals; Development and progression; Health aspects; Hospitals; Humans; Kinases; Lung cancer; Lung diseases; Lung Neoplasms - metabolism; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Medical ethics; Medical prognosis; Medical research; Meta-analysis; Multivariate analysis; Non-small cell lung cancer; Non-small cell lung carcinoma; Patients; Prognosis; Prostate; Proteins; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt - metabolism; Signal transduction; Small cell lung cancer; Statistical analysis; Studies; Survival; Survival analysis
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081451

Phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT), constitutive activation of AKT, is a potentially interesting prognostic marker and therapeutic target in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the available results of p-AKT expression in NSCLC are heterogeneous. Therefore, a meta-analysis of published researches investigating the prognostic relevance of p-AKT expression in patients with NSCLC was performed. A literature search via PubMed, EMBASE and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) databases was conducted. Data from eligible studies were extracted and included into meta-analysis using a random effects model. A total of 1049 patients from nine studies were included in the meta-analysis. Nine studies investigated the relationship between p-AKT expression and overall survival using univariate analysis, and five of these undertook multivariate analysis. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) for overall survival was 1.49 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-2.20) by univariate analysis and 1.02 (95% CI: 0.54-1.95) by multivariate analysis. Our study shows that positive expression of p-AKT is associated with poor prognosis in patients with NSCLC. However, adequately designed prospective studies need to perform.