Ephrin Receptor B2 Expression May Be a Prognostic Marker for Patients With Cancer: A Meta-analysis

Background: Recent studies have revealed that ephrin receptor (EPH) is implicated in important signal transduction of cancer development and progression. EPHB2 is expressed in human cancer, and reported to be related to the prognosis of colorectal, gastric and breast cancer. This meta-analysis was systematically assessed the prognostic roles of EPHB2 expression in patients with cancer.

Patients and methods: PubMed, Embase and Cochrane library were searched for eligible studies up to May 2020. Pooled hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to evaluate the relationship of EPHB2 expression with overall and disease-free survival in patients with cancer.

Results: The pooled HRs for low expression of EPHB2 were 1.65 (95% CI=1.30-2.09, p<0.001) and 1.63 (95% CI=1.33-1.99, p<0.001) for overall and disease-free survival, respectively. Low expression of EPHB2 was significantly correlated with higher tumor grade and stage [odds ratio (OR)=3.04, 95% CI=1.70-5.42, p<0.001; and OR=1.82, 95% CI=1.11-2.99, p=0.018], lymph node metastasis (OR=2.13, 95% CI=1.64-2.77, p<0.001), and higher overall stage (OR=2.14, 95% CI=1.71-2.69, p<0.001).

Conclusion: EPHB2 expression may be a valuable prognostic marker for patients with cancer.