Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) is a novel jack-of-all-trades in
cancer. Here we quantify the prognostic impact of this
biomarker and assess how consistent is its expression in solid
tumors. A comprehensive search strategy was used to search relevant literature updated on October 3, 2014 in PubMed, EMBASE and WEB of Science. Correlations between HDGF expression and clinicopathological features or
cancer prognosis was analyzed. All pooled HRs or
ORs were derived from random-effects models. Twenty-six studies, primarily in Eastern Asia, covering 2,803 patients were included in the analysis, all of them published during the past decade. We found that HDGF overexpression was significantly associated with overall survival (OS) (HROS=2.35, 95%CI=2.04-2.71, p<0.001) and disease free survival (DFS) (HRDFS=2.25, 95%CI =1.81-2.79, p<0.001) in solid
tumors, especially in
non-small cell lung cancer,
hepatocellular carcinoma and
cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Moreover, multivariate survival analysis showed that HDGF overexpression was an independent predictor of poor prognosis (HROS=2.41, 95%CI: 2.02-2.81, p<0.001; HRDFS=2.39, 95%CI: 1.77-3.24, p<0.001). In addition, HDGF overexpression was significantly associated with
tumor category (T3-4 versus T1-2, OR=2.12, 95%CI: 1.17-3.83, p=0.013) and lymph node status (N+ versus N-, OR=2.37, 95%CI: 1.31-4.29, p=0.03) in CCA. This study provides a comprehensive examination of the literature available on the association of HDGF overexpression with OS, DFS and some clinicopathological features in solid
tumors. Meta-analysis results provide evidence that HDGF may be a new
indicator of poor
cancer prognosis. Considering the limitations of the eligible studies, other large-scale prospective trials must be conducted to clarify the prognostic value of HDGF in predicting
cancer survival.