title: The prognostic value of pSTAT3 in gastric cancer: a meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prognostic value of pSTAT3 in gastric cancer has been assessed for years while the results remain controversial and heterogeneous. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to determine the prognostic effect of pSTAT3 in gastric cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched PubMed, Embase and Web of Science and eight studies comprising 1314 gastric cancer patients were included in our meta-analysis. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) were extracted to perform meta-analysis on the overall survival. Subgroup analysis according to study location, publication year, number of patients and quality score of studies were also investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results revealed that pSTAT3-positive patients had a significant increase in mortality risk as compared to pSTAT3-negative patients in the random-effects model (combined HR 1.87, 95 % CI 1.28-2.74). However, our result showed no statistically significant association between pSTAT3 and clinicopathological characteristics (TMN stage, lymph node metastasis, grade of differentiation, Lauren classification and distant metastasis) of gastric cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, our meta-analysis suggests that positive expression of pSTAT3 is associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan 2nd Street, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan 2nd Street, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan 2nd Street, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China. drzhaowang@163.com.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan 2nd Street, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan 2nd Street, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan 2nd Street, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan 2nd Street, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000502:physiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; C494086:STAT3 protein, human
keywords: Gastric cancer; Meta-analysis; Prognosis; pSTAT3