Meta-Analysis
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Meta-Anal. Apr 26, 2017; 5(2): 63-70
Published online Apr 26, 2017. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v5.i2.63
Mucin expression and the pancreas: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Yaron Niv
Yaron Niv, Department of Gastroenterology, Rabin Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, Petach Tikva 4910000, Israel
Author contributions: Niv Y solely contributed to this paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None.
Data sharing statement: None.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Yaron Niv, MD, FACG, AGAF, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Rabin Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, 49 Jabotinski Street, Petach Tikva 4910000, Israel. nivyaron80@gmail.com
Telephone: +972-3-9377328 Fax: +972-3-9377341
Received: October 3, 2016
Peer-review started: October 8, 2016
First decision: November 29, 2016
Revised: February 17, 2017
Accepted: March 12, 2017
Article in press: March 13, 2017
Published online: April 26, 2017
Abstract
AIM

To assess mucin expression in pancreatic premalignant and malignant states, and to establish its role as a prognostic marker.

METHODS

English Medical literature searches were conducted for “mucin” and “pancreas”. Observational studies were included. Meta-analysis was performed by using Comprehensive meta-analysis software. Pooled odds ratios and 95%CIs were calculated.

RESULTS

Out of 949 eligible papers we found 20 according to the inclusion criteria, including 4262 patients, published till May 31, 2016. Mucin expression increased in pancreatic lesions with OR 10.206 (95%CI: 4.781-21.781, P < 0.0001). Measure of heterogeneity was high: Q = 296.973, df (Q) = 55.00, I2 = 81.48%. We found a significant increase in the expression of MUC2, MUC4 and MUC5AC, 13.39, 118.43 and 13.91 times respectively, in pancreatic lesion in comparison with normal pancreatic tissue, and decreased expression of MUC5B.

CONCLUSION

Mucin expression may serve as prognostic marker for transformation of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms to ductal adenocarcinoma, for aggressiveness of the pancreatic tumor, and as targets for potential therapy.

Keywords: Mucin, Pancreas, Pancreatic cancer, Gene expression

Core tip: There is a higher mucin expression in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) and ductal pancreatic cancer. Mucin expression may be a bad prognostic factor. MUC2, MUC4, MUC5AC and probably MUC1, are expressed in IPMN advanced to ductal adenocarcinoma. These mucins are also bad prognostic factors for ductal adenocarcinoma.