Expression Characteristics and Clinical Significance of HMGB1 in Gastric Cancer: A Meta – Analysis

Abstract Objective: To clarify the expression of HMGB1 and its relationship with clinical features of gastric cancer.Methods: Multiple databases were systematically searched for relevant studies from 1997 to 2021. We screened case - control studies stating that the association between HMGB1 protein expression and clinical characteristics in gastric cancer.Results: In total, eight independent studies with 872 patients were included. Meta – analysis indicated higher odds of HMGB1 being present in gastric tumor tissues compared to para - tumor controls ［OR ＝ 4.15, 95％ CI (3.09, 5.58), P ＜ 0.01］. High HMGB1 expression was also associated with poor differentiation rate ［OR ＝ 0.73, 95％ CI (0.54, 0.99), P ＝ 0.04］, TNM stages Ⅲ - Ⅳ ［OR ＝0. 28, 95％ CI (0.18, 0.44), P ＜ 0.01］, lymphatic metastasis ［OR ＝ 2. 08, 95％ CI (1.52, 2.84), P ＜0.01］ and diffuse type of Lauren classification [OR ＝ 0.57, 95％ CI (0.38, 0.84), P ＜0. 01］. However, there was no significant correlation between HMGB1 expression between gender and age.Conclusion: Our results illustrated that HMGB1 protein was strongly associated with adverse clinicopathological features of gastric cancer. HMGB1 may be a promising target in the development of gastric cancer.