title: Prognostic value of Twist in lung cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Twist is identified as an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulator which has been considered to induce metastasis. However, the prognostic value of Twist in patients with lung cancer remains controversial.
  
  
  METHODS
  A search of database including EMBASE, Medline, ISI Web of knowledge and PubMed was performed. Eligible articles studying on the prognostic significance of Twist were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were assessed to quantify the prognostic role.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of five studies were included. The pooled HR for Twist was 1.949 (95% CI: 1.408-2.698, I(2)=42.7%, P<0.001), suggesting high Twist expression is associated with poor prognosis in lung cancer patients. Our sensitivity analyses suggested the robustness of the results. Neither Begg's test nor Egger's test found publication bias in any analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overexpressed Twist in lung cancer tissue indicated poor prognosis.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Southern Medical University (Guangzhou), Nanjing 210002, China ; 2 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Junli
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Southern Medical University (Guangzhou), Nanjing 210002, China ; 2 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Southern Medical University (Guangzhou), Nanjing 210002, China ; 2 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Guannan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Southern Medical University (Guangzhou), Nanjing 210002, China ; 2 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Southern Medical University (Guangzhou), Nanjing 210002, China ; 2 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Wenjun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Southern Medical University (Guangzhou), Nanjing 210002, China ; 2 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Tangfeng
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Southern Medical University (Guangzhou), Nanjing 210002, China ; 2 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
keywords: Twist; lung cancer; poor survival; prognosis