Background: Expression of C-C chemokine receptor type 7 (CCR7) is associated with the prognosis of several cancers. The aim of this study was to conduct the meta-analysis to determine the prognostic value of CCR7 expression in solid tumors.
Materials and methods: We searched for relevant literature in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases (last updated on January 15, 2018). The associations of CCR7 expression with overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), progress-free survival (PFS), and disease-specific survival (DSS) were estimated.
Results: In total, 30 qualified studies including 3,413 patients were enrolled. The results revealed that higher expression of CCR7 predicted poorer OS (pooled HR =1.79; 95% CI =1.49-2.16; P<0.001) and PFS (pooled HR =2.18; 95% CI =1.49-3.18; P<0.001), but was not associated with DFS (pooled HR =1.69; 95% CI =0.79-3.61; P=0.175), RFS (pooled HR =1.29; 95% CI =0.48-3.44; P=0.618), or DSS (pooled HR =3.06; 95% CI =0.38-24.83; P<0.294).
Conclusion: From this meta-analysis, we concluded that high expression of CCR7 in tumor tissue is associated with poor survival in patients with solid tumors, and may be a prognostic biomarker for tumor progression.
Keywords: CCR7; meta-analysis; prognosis; solid tumors; systematic review.