Background: Emerging evidence indicates that C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) is a candidate oncogene in several types of human tumors including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We conducted a meta-analysis to quantitatively evaluate the association of CXCR4 expression with the incidence of RCC and clinicopathological characteristics.
Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, and ISI Web of Knowledge to identify studies written in English. Methodological quality of the studies was also evaluated. Odds ratio and hazard ratio were calculated and summarized.
Results: Final analysis was performed of 994 RCC patients from 11 eligible studies. We observed that CXCR4 expression was significantly higher in RCC than in normal renal tissues. CXCR4 expression was not found to be associated with sex status or clinical staging. However, CXCR4 expression was clearly associated with Fuhrman grading, metastatic status, and overall survival in RCC patients.
Conclusions: The results of this meta-analysis suggest that CXCR4 expression is associated with an increased risk and worsen survival in RCC patients. The aberrant CXCR4 expression plays an important role in the carcinogenesis and metastasis of RCC.