Background: Protein tyrosine kinase 7 (PTK7) is a member of receptor protein tyrosine kinase-like molecules, which is involved in tumorigenesis. However, the association between PTK7 expression and its pathological significance in survival prognosis remains under investigation. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to clarify the prognostic value of PTK7 expression in human malignancies.
Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed in databases of PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library. The statistical procedures were conducted by Stata 14.0 and the effect size was displayed by model of relative risk. Subgroup analyses were additionally implemented to disclose the potential confounding elements. Sensitivity analysis was used for evaluating the outcome stability, both Begg's test and Egger's test were utilized to detect the publication bias across the included studies.
Results: We identified 11 studies published with a total sample-size of 2431 participants. Patients with higher PTK7 expression were significantly associated with cancer risk (RR =2.995, 95% CI: 1.048-8.56, p=0.041, random model), and histological grade (RR = 0.696, 95% CI: 0.499-0.972, p=0.033, random model). PTK7 was also found to be an unfavorable prognostic marker for overall survival (HR = 2.621 95% CI: 1.980-3.468, p=0.000, fixed model) and shorter disease free survival (HR =2.242, 95% CI: 1.112-4.521, p=0.024, random model).
Conclusions: Higher expression of PTK7 significantly indicates worse prognosis in human malignancies.