Circulating ghrelin levels in patients with gastric cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Yuxuan Wang; Caishun Zhang; Jiaqing Yu; Qing Zhang; Yukai Wang; Yunqiu Xia; Jing Dong

doi:10.3389/fonc.2023.1255112

Circulating ghrelin levels in patients with gastric cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Front Oncol. 2023 Sep 15:13:1255112. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1255112. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yuxuan Wang¹, Caishun Zhang², Jiaqing Yu¹, Qing Zhang³, Yukai Wang¹, Yunqiu Xia⁴, Jing Dong^{3

5}

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Medicine Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
² College of Nursing, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
³ Special Medicine Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
⁴ Laboratory of Human Body Function, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
⁵ Physiology Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.

Abstract

Background: Ghrelin plays a critical role in regulating energy metabolism and homeostasis. The association between circulating ghrelin levels and gastric cancer has not been systematically analyzed.

Objective: This work explored the association between circulating ghrelin levels and gastric cancer.

Methods: The literature search for relevant articles published until November 2022 was performed using PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science with the keywords "ghrelin" and "gastric cancer". Standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals were used to measure the effectiveness. We assessed pooled data by use of a random-effects model.

Results: Of 5,302 identified studies, nine were included (N=3,196 participants). Circulating ghrelin levels were lower in gastric cancer patients (SMD=-0.255, 95%CI: -0.528 to 0.017, P < 0.00001), but with high heterogeneity (I²= 88.8%).

Conclusion: The circulating ghrelin levels in patients with gastric cancer were lower than in controls. However, there was heterogeneity among results; therefore, studies with larger sample sizes are recommended.

Keywords: gastric cancer; ghrelin; hunger hormone; meta-analysis; oncology.

Publication types

Systematic Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants (to JD) from the Science Foundation of Shandong Province of China (No.ZR201807070189) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.31872791).