title: High HER-2 protein levels correlate with clinicopathological features in colorectal cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To obtain a correlation between HER-2 expression and the clinicopathological features incolorectal cancers. (CRCs) using a meta.analysis based approach.
  
  
  METHODS
  Electronic databases and reference lists were searched for relevant published studies. After inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, case and control studies related to research topic were included in present meta-analysis. Data analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta Analysis. (CMA) 2.0 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 30 studies comprising 4,942 CRC patients and 521 healthy controls met the inclusion criteria. Our major results implied that the expression level of HER-2 was significantly higher in CRC patients than healthy controls (odds ratio (OR) = 10.436, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 5.498-19.810, P < 0.001). Sample stratification based on Dukes stages suggested that increased expression level of HER-2 protein was found in CRC patients with Dukes C/D compared with CRC patients with Dukes A/B (OR = 0.335, 95% CI = 0.198-0.568, P < 0.001). The current meta-analysis also found that, in CRC patients with lymph node metastasis (LNM), the HER-2 expression was significantly higher than that in CRC patients without LNM (OR = 1.987, 95%CI = 1.209-3.265, P = 0.007).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our meta-analysis study strongly suggests that HER-2 expression levels are clearly correlated with the clinicopathological features in CRC; therefore, HER-2 may be a potential biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of CRC.
authors.forename: Sheng-Jie
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Qiong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xing-Yang
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhi-Gang
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Yi-Tong
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, South Building Clinic Division, General Hospital of People's Liberation Army, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human