Prognostic and clinicopathological value of PBRM1 expression in renal cell carcinoma

Background: The prognostic value of PBRM1 expression in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) had been investigated in previous studies; however, the results remain inconclusive. We investigated the prognostic value and dinicopathological significance of PBRM1 protein expression in RCC. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane database were searched for studies investigating the relationships between PBRM1 expression and outcomes in RCC. Hazard ratios (HRs) for survival outcomes and odds ratios (ORs) for clinical parameters were extracted from eligible studies. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I-2 value. The fixed-effects model was used if there was no evidence of heterogeneity; otherwise, the random effects model was used. Publication bias was evaluated using Begg's funnel plots and Egger's regression test. Results: A total of 2942 patients from 7 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that decreased expression of PBRM1 is associated with poor overall survival (OS) (HR = 2.11, 95% CI: 1.52-2.96), cancer-specific survival (CSS) (HR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.10-1.58), and progression-free survival/recurrence-free survival (PFS/RFS) (HR = 1.57, 95%CI: 1.34-1.85) in RCC. In addition, PBRM1 positive expression was significantly associated with earlier TNM stage (III/IV vs. I/11, OR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.30-0.94), primary tumor stage (pT3/4 vs. pT1/2, OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.20-0.52), and Fuhrman grade (3/4 vs. 1/2, OR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.46-1.02), but not related to Necrosis or Sex. Conclusions: Decreased expression of PBRM1 is correlated with poor prognosis and advanced clinicopathological features in patients with RCC.