Association between CDH1 methylation and esophageal cancer risk: a meta-analysis and bioinformatics study

ABSTRACT

Objective

The aim is to evaluate the association of CDH1 methylation with esophageal cancer (EC) risk.

Methods

The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched to identify relevant articles. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated using the fixed- or random-effects models. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were calculated to assess the diagnostic value of CDH1 methylation for EC. The results of the meta-analysis were validated using The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases.

Results

Thirteen studies consisting of 1,633 samples were included. A high CDH1 methylation was significantly associated with an increased risk of EC (OR = 10.40, 95% CI = 6.29–17.18). Furthermore, CDH1 methylation status was related to tumor status, lymph node status, and metastasis. For the diagnosis of EC, the pooled sensitivity and specificity of CDH1 methylation were 0.57 (95% CI = 0.39–0.74) and 0.89 (95% CI = 0.81–0.94), respectively. Bioinformatics analysis showed that CDH1 methylation occurred more frequently in EC tissues than in normal controls, in good agreement with the results of the meta-analysis.

Conclusion

A significant association was found between CDH1 methylation and EC risk. We therefore suggest that CDH1 methylation can serve as a promising diagnostic marker for EC.

KEYWORDS:

• CDH1 methylation
• esophageal cancer
• diagnosis
• biomarker
• meta-analysis
• bioinformatics study

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers of this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14737159.2022.2132853

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (2021-I2M-1-010), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81903403 and 81974493), and the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFC0901404).