title: Oncogenic protein SALL4 and ZNF217 as prognostic indicators in solid cancers: a meta‑analysis of individual studies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  SALL4 and ZNF217 have been widely acknowledged as pivotal effectors stimulating embryonic immortalization as well as oncogenicity. Nevertheless, their prognostic worthiness towards solid tumors remains obscure. Hence we performed this comprehensive meta-analysis aiming to unveil the survival significance of both aberrantly expressed proteins.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall we included 22 eligible entries comprising of 3093 participants. Over-expression of SALL4 and ZNF217 were negatively correlated with clinical prognosis of 3-year, 5-year, 10-year and disease-free survival in solid malignancies, irrespective of cancer types, source regions, mean-age and sex predominance. Results of sensitivity analysis additionally verified the stability of the pooled outcomes. No publication bias was observed on the basis of Egger's test and Begg's test.
  
  
  METHODS
  Studies were eventually included via database searching and rigorous eligibility appraisal. Data extraction and methodological assessment were implemented under a standard manner. Review Manager 5.3 and STATA 12.0 were utilized as statistical platforms following the recommendations by Cochrane Collaboration protocols.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Aberrant amplification of SALL4 and ZNF217 serve as unfavorable predictors of survival expectancy among cancer sufferers, revealing great potential as targeted spots in future therapeutics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Jinbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shuai
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Kaixiong
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tao
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C472575:SALL4 protein, human; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; C113698:ZNF217 protein, human
keywords: SALL4; ZNF217; meta-analysis; prognosis; solid malignancies