Research Article

The Prognostic Value of Decreased KLF4 in Digestive System Cancers: A Meta-Analysis from 17 Studies

Table 2

Subgroup analysis of loss of KLF4 expression for OS and DFS/RFS/MFS in digestive system cancers.

OutcomeVariablesNumber of studiesModelHR (95% CI)Heterogeneity
I2 (%) value

OS15Random1.61 (1.17–2.20)78.20%0.001
Cancer type
CRC5Random1.17 (1.01–1.37)76.80%0.002
GC3Fixed1.97 (1.36–2.83)0.00%0.646
HCC3Random2.30 (1.35–3.92)87.10%0.001
ESCC2Random0.84 (0.58–1.22)70.40%0.066
PDAC2Fixed2.70 (1.75–4.17)0.00%0.853
Ethnicity
Caucasian3Random1.17 (1.00–1.38)71.10%0.032
Asian12Random1.54 (1.28–1.84)79.00%0.001
Method
IHC12Random1.38 (1.21–1.57)75.80%0.001
RT-PCR3Random0.93 (0.62–1.39)87.00%0.001
DFS/MFS/RFS7Random1.99 (1.12–3.52)72.50%0.001
Cancer type
CRC2Fixed1.83 (1.14–2.94)0.00%0.559
HCC3Random2.20 (1.43–3.39)90.40%0.001
GC12.14 (1.04–4.41)
PDAC12.60 (1.02–6.63)
Ethnicity
Caucasian2Random0.59 (0.36–0.94)72.50%0.001
Asian5Random1.91 (1.23–2.96)81.00%0.001
Method
IHC6Fixed2.43 (1.82–3.25)13.00%0.332
RT-PCR10.25 (0.09–0.73)

CRC: colorectal cancer; GC: gastric cancer; HCC: hepatocellular carcinoma; ESCC: esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; PDAC: pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; IHC: immunohistochemistry; RT-PCR: real-time polymerase chain reaction.