The Prognostic Value of Long Non-Coding RNA SNHG7 in Human Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Background: The long non-coding RNA SNHG7 is upregulated in many types of cancer and plays a role as an oncogene. However, its overall predictive ability in human cancer prognosis has not been assessed using existing databases. Therefore, further study of its prognostic value and clinical significance in human malignancies is warranted. Methods: We systematically collected relevant literature from multiple electronic document databases about the relationship between SNHG7 expression level and prognosis in patients with solid cancers. We further screenped them for eligibility. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the prognostic value. Odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% CIs were collected to evaluate the relationship between the expression of SNHG7 and clinicopathological features, including lymph node metastasis (LNM), tumour size, tumour node metastasis (TNM) stage and histological grade. Results: Fourteen original studies involving 971 patients were enrolled strictly following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The meta-analysis showed that SNHG7 expression significantly correlated with poor overall survival (HR = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.64–2.26, p<0.001) in human cancer patients. In addition, the pooled OR indicated that overexpression of SNHG7 was associated with earlier LNM (OR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.44–2.32; P <0.001), and advanced TNM stage (OR = 1.82, 95% CI: 1.44–2.30; P <0.001). Meanwhile, there was no significant heterogeneity between the selected studies, proving the reliability of the meta-analysis results. Conclusion: High SNHG7 expression may predict poor oncological outcomes in patients with multiple human cancers, which could be a novel prognostic biomarker of unfulfilled clinicopathological features. However, further high-quality studies are needed to verify and strengthen the clinical value of SNHG7 in different types of cancer.