Prognostic significance of STING expression in solid tumor: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Younghoon Kim; Nam-Yun Cho; Lingyan Jin; Hye Yeong Jin; Gyeong Hoon Kang

doi:10.3389/fonc.2023.1244962

Prognostic significance of STING expression in solid tumor: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Front Oncol. 2023 Aug 29:13:1244962. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1244962. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Younghoon Kim^{1

2}, Nam-Yun Cho², Lingyan Jin², Hye Yeong Jin^{2

3}, Gyeong Hoon Kang^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Hospital Pathology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
² Laboratory of Epigenetics, Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Pathology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Objective: Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is a key regulator in initiating innate immune response from sensing cytosolic DNA. Recent studies have revealed that the cGAS-STING signaling pathway has a crucial role in tumor development and progression across cancer types. Herein, we conducted a meta-analysis to explore the relationship between the immunoexpression of STING and the survival outcome of patients in various solid tumors. Studies relevant to the subject were searched from PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science.

Results: Eleven studies including 2,345 patients were eligible for the analysis. STING expression in tumor cells was related to improved disease-free survival/recurrence-free survival (DFS/RFS) (HR = 0.656, 95% CI = 0.455-0.946, p = 0.024) but not with overall survival (OS) (HR = 0.779, 95% CI = 0.534-1.136, p = 0.194). STING expression in stromal cells, however, did not show significant correlation with DFS/RFS and OS (HR = 0.979, 95% CI = 0.565-1.697, p-value = 0.940 and HR = 1.295, 95% CI = 0.845-1.985, p = 0.235, respectively). In a subgroup analysis, STING expression in tumor cells was associated with better DFS (HR = 0.622, 95% CI = 0.428-0.903, p = 0.012). In tumor cells, favorable DFS/RFS were also related to studies from univariate analysis and the gastrointestinal system (HR = 0.667, 95% CI = 0.482-0.923, p = 0.015 and HR = 0.566, 95% CI = 0.330-0.971, p = 0.039).

Conclusions: STING expression in tumor cells is associated with favorable outcome in solid tumors.

Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, registration number: CRD42023427027.

Keywords: STING; carcinoma; immunohistochemistry; meta-analysis; prognosis.

Publication types

Systematic Review

Grants and funding

This study was supported by a grant from the Research Fund of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, the Catholic University of Korea (ZC22TISI0753) and from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Korean Government (MSIT) (Nos. 2021R1A2C1003542 and RS-2023-00238446).