Background: The prognostic value of CD133 and SOX2 expression in advanced cancer remains unclear. This study was first conducted to investigate the association between CD133 or SOX2 positivity and clinical outcomes for advanced cancer patients.
Methods: Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to evaluate the correlation between CD133 or SOX2 positivity and overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), progression-free survival (PFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), or recurrence-free survival (RFS) from multivariable analysis. Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was also performed.
Results: 13 studies with 1358 cases (CD133) and five studies with 433 cases (SOX2) were identified. CD133 positivity was correlated with worse CSS and OS, but there was no correlation between CD133 positivity and DFS. SOX2 positivity was associated with poor DFS and RFS but was not linked to PFS. Stratified analysis by study source showed that only CD133 positivity can decrease OS for Chinese patients. Stratified analysis by treatment regimens indicated that CD133 positivity was linked to poor OS in patients treated with adjuvant therapy. TSA showed that additional studies were necessary.
Conclusions: CD133 and SOX2 might be associated with worse prognosis in advanced cancer. More prospective studies are strongly needed.
Impact: CD133 and SOX2 may be promising targeted molecular therapy for advanced cancer patients.