title: Prognostic value of cancer stem cell marker aldehyde dehydrogenase in ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) has recently been reported as a marker of cancer stem-like cells in ovarian cancer. However, the prognostic role of ALDH in ovarian cancer still remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association between the expression of ALDH and the outcome of ovarian cancer patients by performing a meta-analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We systematically searched for studies investigating the relationships between ALDH expression and outcome of ovarian cancer patients. Only articles in which ALDH expression was detected by immunohistochemical staining were included. A meta-analysis was performed to generate combined hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1,258 patients from 7 studies (6 articles) were included in the analysis. Our results showed that high ALDH expression in patients with ovarian cancer was associated with poor prognosis in terms of Os (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.07-1.47; P = 0.005) and DFS (HR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.00-2.49; P = 0.052), though the difference for DFS was not statistically significant. In addition, there was no evidence of publication bias as suggested by Begg's and Egger's tests (Begg's test, P = 0.707; Egger's test, P = 0.355).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present meta-analysis indicated that elevated ALDH expression was associated with poor prognosis in patients with ovarian cancer.
authors.affiliation: Core Research Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China ; Department of Reproductive Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Shuyan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chengfei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiaoyun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jiangyi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000201:enzymology*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000201:enzymology; D011379:Prognosis; D017594:Publication Bias; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase