The role of CD147 expression in prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: There are a number of studies which show that expression of CD147 is increased significantly in prostate cancer (PCa). However, conflicting conclusions have also been reported by other researchers lately. In order to arrive at a clear conclusion, a meta-analysis of eligible studies was conducted. Materials and methods: We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases to identify all the published case-control studies on the relationship between the expression of CD147 and PCa until February 2016. In the end, a total of 930 patients in eight studies were included in the meta-analysis. Results: CD147 expression in the PCa patients increased significantly (odds ratio [OR], 4.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.52-6.14; Z = 10.79; P < 0.05), but there was obvious heterogeneity between studies (I-2 = 92.9%, P < 0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that positive expression of CD147 was associated with PCa among the Asian population (OR, 21.01; 95% CI, 12.88-34.28; Z = 12.19; P < 0.05). Furthermore, it was significantly related to TNM stage (OR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.17-0.35; Z = 7.74; P < 0.05), Gleason score (OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.31-0.56; Z = 5.62; P < 0.05), differentiation grade (OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.13-0.56; Z= 3.47; P < 0.05), and pretreatment serum prostate-specific antigen level (OR, 0.07; 95% CI, 0.03-0.16; Z = 6.47; P < 0.05). Conclusion: Positive expression of CD147 was related to PCa, significant heterogeneity was not found between Asian studies, and the result became more significant. The positive expression of CD147 was significantly related to the clinicopathological characteristics of PCa. This suggests that CD147 plays an essential role in poor prognosis and recurrence prediction.