title: Correlation between miR-21 expression and laryngeal carcinoma risks: a meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the expression and clinical significance of miR-21 in the tissues of laryngeal carcinoma using meta-analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Literature databases including PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and the British Library. Two reviewers independently identified the literature according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the included studies. Meta-analysis was performed using Stata 12.0 and RevMan 5.0 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of four studies involving 160 cases were included. No significant heterogeneity was found between studies. The results of meta-analysis showed high miR-21 expression was found in Laryngeal cancer than non-neoplasm tissue (odds ratio = 4.47, 95%CI 2.59 to 7.73, P = 0.02). Only one study reported the expression of miR-21 between TMN (tumor, metastasis, node) I to II and TMN III to IV.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  miR-21expression is notably correlated to laryngeal carcinoma and its clinically pathologic features. It suggests that higher miR-21 expression may be a risk factor of laryngeal carcinoma and a potential molecular biomarker. For the quantity and quality limitation of the included studies, the conclusion still needs to be further proved by performing more high-quality studies.
authors.affiliation: Oto-Rhino-Laryngology-Head and Neck, West China Hospital/West China Medical School Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Intensive Care Unit, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Oto-Rhino-Laryngology-Head and Neck, West China Hospital/West China Medical School Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Oto-Rhino-Laryngology-Head and Neck, West China Hospital/West China Medical School Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Oto-Rhino-Laryngology-Head and Neck, West China Hospital/West China Medical School Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Shixi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: Laryngeal cancer; biomarker; meta-analysis; miR-21; systematical review