Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 in patients with gastric cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: The role of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4) in gastric cancer (GC) progression is still under debate and reported results are inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of Oct4 expression in patients with GC. Materials & methods: Relevant articles were retrieved from a diverse number of databases, and meta-analysis was completed using STATA software 12.0. Results: Total of 21 studies were included in this analysis (3209 samples). Expression of Oct4 was associated with incidence, tumor size, lymph node metastasis, histological differentiation, pTNM stage, tumor depth of infiltration, vascular invasion and distal metastasis. Additionally, Oct4 expression was correlated with poor overall survival rate. Conclusion: The Oct4 overexpression suggested aggressive biological behaviors and imply that Oct4 may be a useful prognostic biomarker in gastric cancers.