title: Plasma levels of lysophosphatidic acid in ovarian cancer versus controls: a meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In this study, using a meta-analysis approach, we examined the correlation between serum levels of lysophosphastidic acid (LPA) and ovarian cancer (OC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Relevant published studies were identified from multiple scientific literature databases by using a pre-determined electronic and manual search strategy. The search results were screened through a multi-step process to select high-quality case-control studies suitable for the present meta-analysis. Mean values and standardized mean differences (SMD) were calculated for plasma LPA levels. Two investigators independently extracted the data from the studies and performed data analysis using STATA software version 12.0 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX, USA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nineteen case-control studies met our selection criteria and contained a total of 980 OC patients, 872 benign controls and 668 healthy controls. Our meta-analysis results revealed that the plasma levels of LPA in OC patients were significantly higher than benign controls (SMD = 2.36, 95% CI: 1.61-3.10, P < 0.001) and healthy controls (SMD = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.77-2.87, P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis by ethnicity showed that the plasma LPA levels in OC patients were significantly higher than the benign controls only in Asian populations (SMD = 2.52, 95% CI: 1.79-3.25, P < 0.001). However, a comparison between healthy controls and OC patients revealed that, in both Asians and Caucasians, the OC patients displayed significantly higher plasma LPA levels compared to healthy controls (all P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our meta-analysis showed strong evidence that a significantly higher plasma LPA levels are present in OC patients, compared to benign controls and healthy controls, and plasma LPA levels may be used as a biomarker or target of OC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130041, China. liyiyang85@126.com.
authors.forename: Yi-Yang
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for Reproductive Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. zhangwenchao0830@126.com.
authors.forename: Wen-Chao
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Ziqiang Street NO. 218, Nanguan District, Changchun, 130041, People's Republic of China. zhangjialingzjl85@126.com.
authors.forename: Jia-Ling
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Ziqiang Street NO. 218, Nanguan District, Changchun, 130041, People's Republic of China. zhengchangjun85@126.com.
authors.forename: Chang-Jun
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Ziqiang Street NO. 218, Nanguan District, Changchun, 130041, People's Republic of China. zhuhezh85@126.com.
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Pathology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Changchun, 130021, China. yuhuimei0413@163.com.
authors.forename: Hui-Mei
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Ziqiang Street NO. 218, Nanguan District, Changchun, 130041, People's Republic of China. fanlimeiflm85@126.com.
authors.forename: Li-Mei
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008246:Lysophospholipids / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D017594:Publication Bias
chemical_list: D008246:Lysophospholipids; C032881:lysophosphatidic acid