Prognostic significance of E-cadherin expression in prostatic carcinoma

Background Increasing studies were performed to explore the prognostic value of E-cadherin in prostatic carcinoma, however, with inconsistent results. Hence, this systematic review is aimed to evaluate the prognostic role of E-cadherin in patients with prostatic carcinoma (PCa). Methods A comprehensive literature search in all available databases will be conducted to identify eligible studies. We will employ hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) to estimate the correlations between E-cadherin expression and overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), relapse-free survival (RFS), progression-free survival (PFS) and clinicopathological features. Meta-analysis will be performed using Review Manager (Revman) 5.3.5 software (Cochrane Community, London, United Kingdom) and STATA 14 software (version 14.0; Stata Corp, College Station, TX). Results This study will provide a high-quality synthesis of current evidence of the correlations between snail expression and OS, DFS/RFS, PFS and clinicopathological features. Conclusion The study will provide updated evidence to assess whether the expression of E-cadherin is in association with poor prognosis in patients with PCa. Ethics and dissemination It is not necessary for ethical approval because individuals cannot be identified. The protocol will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal or presented at a relevant conference. Prospero registration number This systematic review protocol has been registered in the PROSPERO network (No. CRD42019128353).