摘要

Background: Integrin alpha v beta 3 (alphavbeta3) expression has recently been identified as a prognostic biomarker predicting the tumor invasion and vascularization. This study collected all relevant researches and explored the correlation of alpha v beta 3 expression with malignant metastasis. Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, VIP and Wanfang databases with a series of inclusion and exclusion criteria to address the level of alpha v beta 3 expression (accessed May 2016). Nine researches in regard to alpha v beta 3 expression in malignant tumor patients with Lymph Node Metastasis (LNM) and without LNM. Five researches in regard to alpha v beta 3 expression in malignancy and normal control patients. Statistical analysis was conducted by using RevMan5.2 software. Results: A total of 9 researches (7 studies in Chinese and 2 studies in English) were included in this study, comprising 425 patients with tumor metastasis, 570 without metastasis, and 382 normal control. Immunohistochemistry detection was used in all the researches. The odds ratio, expressed as group with LNM versus group without LNM, was 5.54 (95% CI: 3.72-8.24). The results also revealed that the positive expression rates of alpha v beta 3 in malignant tumor patients were higher than those in normal control patients. The odds ratio was 12.37 (95% CI: 8.77-17.43). Conclusions: This meta-analysis demonstrated that galectin-3 may become a potentially useful immune marker to distinguish between LNM and non-LNM patients. In addition, alpha v beta 3 expression in malignancies was higher than that in normal control in China.