title: HER-2 overexpression and survival in colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Numerous studies examining the relationship between human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) overexpression and survival in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) have yielded controversial results. We therefore performed a meta-analysis more precisely to estimate its prognostic value.
  
  
  METHODS
  Published studies investigating the effect of HER-2 overexpression on CRC survival were identified; the hazard ratios (HRs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were pooled in terms of disease-specific or overall survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eleven studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled data showed that HER-2 overexpression was negatively related to CRC survival (HR=1.10, 95% CI: 0.77-1.44). Subgroup analyses regarding test method and study quality also demonstrated little association between HER-2 overexpression and CRC survival (HR=0.89, 95% CI: 0.50-1.29; HR=0.90, 95% CI: 0.43-1.37, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Regardless of several limitations, our study suggested that HER-2 overexpression probably had little impact on CRC survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310021, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Da-ren
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Long-yun
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Ling-na
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jaiswal
authors.forename: Xiao-wen
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hou-hong
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D038622:Internationality; D008297:Male; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human
keywords: Colorectal cancer (CRC); Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2); Meta-analysis; Survival