The Clinical Prognostic Value of lncRNA SBF2-AS1 in Cancer Patients: A Meta-Analysis

Background: The mortality and recurrence of patients with cancer is of high prevalence. SET-binding factor 2 (SBF2) antisense RNA1 (lncRNA-SBF2-AS1) is a promising long non-coding RNA. There is increasing evidence that SBF2-AS1 is abnormally expressed in various tumors and is associated with cancer prognosis. However, the identification of the effect of lncRNA SBF2-AS1 in tumors remains necessary. Materials and Methods: Up to November 2, 2020, electronic databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Medline, and Web of Science, were searched. The results were evaluated by pooled odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: A total of 11 literatures on cancer patients were included for the present meta-analysis. The combined results revealed that high expression of SBF2-AS1 was significantly associated with unfavorable overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.34-1.62, P < 0.00001) in a variety of cancers. In additional, the increase in SBF2-AS1 expression was also correlated with tumor size ((larger vs. smaller) OR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.47-3.70, P = 0.0003), advanced TNM stage ((III/IV vs. I/II) OR = 2.78, 95% CI: 1.75-4.41, P < 0.0001), lymph node metastasis ((Positive vs. Negative) OR = 3.06, 95% CI: 1.93-4.86, P < 0.00001), and histological grade ((poorly vs. well/moderately) OR = 2.58, 95% CI: 1.47-4.52, P = 0.001) in patients with cancer. Furthermore, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset valuated that SBF2-AS1 was upregulated in a variety of tumors, and predicted the worse prognosis. Conclusions: Our results of this meta-analysis demonstrate that high SBF2-AS1 expression may become a potential target for predicting the prognosis of human cancers.