title: Prognostic Significance of Dickkopf-1 in Gastric Cancer Survival: A Meta-Analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The prognostic role of dickkopf-1 (DKK1) in gastric cancer (GC) remains poorly characterized. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate correlations between DKK1 overexpression and the prognosis of patients with GC.
  
  
  METHODS
  We included five published studies to assess the relationship between DKK1 and the clinicopathological characteristics and overall survival of GC patients. Literature searches, article selection, data collection, and statistical analysis were performed using RevMan 5.3 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our analyses revealed that DKK1 overexpression was significantly associated with vascular invasion (odds ratio [OR] = 2.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.21, 4.89], p = 0.01, random effect), lymphatic invasion (OR = 2.61, 95% CI = [1.30, 5.24], p = 0.007, random effect), and distant metastasis (OR = 2.99, 95% CI = [1.95, 4.59], p < 0.00001, fixed effect). Moreover, we also found that DKK1 overexpression was significantly associated with poor overall survival in GC patients (risk ratio = 2.67, 95% CI = [2.24, 3.48], p < 0.00001, fixed effect).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This meta-analysis demonstrated that DKK1 may be a useful prognostic marker for GC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University , Nanchang, China .
authors.forename: Qiong-Rong
authors.initials: QR
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University , Nanchang, China .
authors.forename: Yuan-Feng
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University , Nanchang, China .
authors.forename: Zi-Qing
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University , Nanchang, China .
authors.forename: Jia-Qing
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D013270:Stomach; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C501126:DKK1 protein, human; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins