Relationship between the upregulation of Notch1 signaling and the clinical characteristics of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma in East Asia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Many studies have aimed to clarify the relationship between Notch1 signaling and papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), but the results have been inconsistent to date. In the present study, a systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to analyze the relationship between Notch1 signaling and the clinical characteristics of PTC.

Methods: Literature databases, including PubMed (Medline), Embase and China National Knowledge Infrastructure, were searched for relevant studies from inception to April 2018. A total of five studies, including 421 patients with PTC from China and South Korea, were included in the meta-analysis.

Results: The results revealed that the upregulation of Notch1 signaling was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis in patients with PTC (OR = 3.25, 95% CI 1.14-9.23, P = 0.03). Additionally, positive correlations were found between Notch1 signaling and tumor size (OR = 4.34, 95% CI 1.66-11.38, P = 0.003), capsular invasion (OR = 3.49, 95% CI 1.90-6.41, P < 0.0001) and clinical stage of PTC (OR = 2.31, 95% CI 1.05-5.11, P = 0.04).

Conclusions: The Notch1 signaling pathway may play a catalytic role in the progression of PTC, and upregulation of Notch1 signaling may have significant predictive value for the clinical prognosis of PTC.