Plasma cell‑free DNA and survival in non‑small‑cell lung cancer: A meta‑analysis
- Authors:
- Published online on: June 28, 2017 https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2017.1301
- Pages: 167-172
-
Copyright: © Yi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.
Metrics: Total
Views: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )
Total PDF Downloads: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )
Abstract
In recent years, plasma cell‑free DNA (cfDNA) has been attracting increasing attention as a potential tumor marker, as this method is easily applied and minimally invasive. A series of studies have confirmed the association between the level of cfDNA and overall survival (OS) in non‑small‑cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but the findings remain inconclusive. We herein conducted a meta‑analysis of published articles evaluating the correlation between the level of cfDNA and OS. A total of 9 studies enrolling 1,170 patients were included. For the overall population, a high level of cfDNA was found to be significantly correlated with worse OS [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.57, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18‑2.10] in NSCLC. The subgroup analysis suggested that a high cfDNA level was associated with worse outcome in stage III‑IV patients (HR=1.53, 95% CI: 1.07‑2.19). However, the level of cfDNA and OS were not found to be significantly associated in the subgroup of patients with tumor stage I‑II. The present meta‑analysis revealed that a high level of cfDNA may be correlated with poor OS in NSCLC.
