title: Prognostic value of the expression of estrogen receptor β in patients with non-small cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and the second leading cause in women worldwide. It is becoming increasingly clear that estrogen and estrogen receptors are involved in the pathogenesis and development of lung cancer. However, observational studies on the prognostic role of estrogen receptor β (ERβ) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are controversial.
  
  
  METHODS
  To clarify the impact of ERβ in NSCLC survival, we performed this meta-analysis that included eligible studies. The combined hazard ratios (HR) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated in terms of overall survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of eleven studies with 3,300 patients were evaluable for this meta-analysis. Our results suggested that ERβ overexpression had no relationship on survival of patients with NSCLC, the HR (95% CI) was 1.000 (0.954-1.047) overall. Moreover, there was no heterogeneity between the studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ERβ overexpression indicates no relationship of prognosis for patients with NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Lihong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Yafang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Zejun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Qingqing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Yingying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miu
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoxia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Jiajia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Tangfeng
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
keywords: Estrogen receptor β (ERβ); lung cancer; meta-analysis; prognosis