The role of let-7 and HMGA2 in the occurrence and development of lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prognostic role of microRNA let-7 in lung cancer and the relationship between the expression of HMGA2 and clinical significance of lung cancer by meta-analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The studies on the correlation between the low expression of let-7 and the prognosis of lung cancer, and between the expression of HMGA2 and the occurrence and development of NSCLC were identified by searching PubMed, Web of the Science, Medline, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, CN-KI, CBM, and VIP databases. The StataSE12.0 software was used for meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 10 studies correlating the low expression of let-7 with the lung cancer prognosis were analyzed. The results suggest that the low expression of let-7 indicates a poor overall survival rate, with a hazard ratio value of 1.55 (95% CI: 1.16-2.09, p<0.05). Furthermore, nine case-control studies of HMGA2 expression in NSCLC tissues were evaluated. The results showed that the expression of HMGA2 in lung cancer is significantly higher than in normal paraneoplastic tissues. High expression of HMAG2 has been observed in patients with late TNM stages and lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Low expression of let-7 is closely related to the poor prognosis of lung cancer patients. The higher expression of HMGA2 in lung tissues correlates positively with the occurrence and invasiveness of lung cancer. Among malignant tumors, lung cancer is the leading cause of mortality. Early diagnosis and accurate prognosis are the keys to improving the survival rate of patients with this disease.