Morphological diversity and altitudinal differentiation of Aethopyga species.

The morphological characteristics of birds are an important tool for studying their adaptation and evolution. The morphological evolution of a clade is not only constrained by the phylogenetic relationship, but also influenced by ecological factors and interspecific competition. Aethopyga is a group of small nectar-eating birds with obvious sexual dimorphism. They have slender and decurved beaks, which reflect their unique diet and foraging mode. Traditional and geometric morphometrics were combined to characterize the body morphology and beak shape of six species of Aethopyga distributed in China. We aim to assess the roles of phylogeny, altitude, and species interactions to morphological evolution. The main distinguishing characteristic among these six species were overall body size, the ratio of body weight, culmen and tarsal length to body length, tail length and wing length, and beak shape (slender/straight vs. thick/decurved). Although these dimensions cannot distinguish all species, they can show a clear distribution trend, and there is a significant Mahalanobis distance between each pair of species. There were no significant phylogenetic signals in morphological traits. The results of PGLS analysis show that altitude is significantly correlated with log-transformed tarsus length and beak-shaped PC1 (slender/straight vs thick/decurved dimensions) across the six species analyzed. Mantel test shows that the distance matrix of beak morphological characteristics showed a significant correlation with the altitudinal distance matrix. The results indicated no significant phylogenetic signal in the morphological characteristics of six species. In terms of beak shape, species with greater overlap in elevation distribution have more similar morphological characteristics, that is, less morphological differentiation.

Why and When Temporary Workers Engage in More Counterproductive Work Behaviors with Permanent Employees in Chinese State-Own Enterprise: A Social Identity Perspective.

Why do temporary workers sharing the same working conditions as permanent employees still frequently engage in deviant behaviors that negatively affect the organization's interests? Drawing on the theory of social identity, this articlr discusses the relationships among employment status, organizational identification, and counterproductive work behavior. Time-lagged data were collected from sample of 210 dyads of employees and corresponding supervisors from a large Chinese state-owned service company, to test hypothesis. Results showed that temporary workers engage in counterproductive work behaviors more frequently than permanent employees, and organizational identification plays a mediating role in this process. Turnover intention moderated the relationship between employment status and counterproductive work behavior (organizational identification). In terms of turnover intention, organizational identification and counterproductive work behavior, two types of employees did not exhibit a significant difference. However, when turnover intention increase, there was a sharper decline in organizational identification and a greater increase in counterproductive work behaviors among temporary employees than among permanent employees. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and future research directions are discussed.

Talent Flow Network, the Life Cycle of Firms, and Their Innovations.

This paper explores how talent flow network and the firm life cycle affect the innovative performances of firms. We first established an interorganizational talent flow network with the occupational mobility data available from the public resumes on LinkedIn China. Thereafter, this information was combined with the financial data of China's listed companies to develop a unique dataset for the time period between 2000 and 2015. The empirical results indicate the following: (1) The breadth and depth of firms' embedding in the talent flow network positively impact their innovative performances; (2) Younger firms' innovations are mostly promoted by the breadth of network embedding, but this positive effect weakens as firms increase in age; (3) Mature firms' innovations are primarily driven by the depth of network embedding, and this positive effect strengthens as firms increase in age. This paper enriches and deepens the studies of talent flow networks, and it provides practical implications for innovation management based on talent flow for various types of firms at different development stages.

Hatred out of love or love can be all-inclusive? Moderating effects of employee status and organizational affective commitment on the relationship between turnover intention and CWB.

Owing to the prevalence of flexible employment practices around the world and increasingly loose employee-organization relationships, employee turnover intention is gradually becoming normalized. This study aimed to examine the counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) of employees with turnover intention in the hybrid employment context. Drawing on the psychological contract process perspective, this research endeavored to examine whether higher turnover intention is associated with greater levels of CWB and to determine whether and how the association between turnover intention and CWB differs across temporary and permanent workers by considering organizational affective commitment. The results of analyzing 211 pairs of two-wave subordinate-supervisor matching data from a Chinese service company indicated that turnover intention is positively related to CWB, and the association is stronger for temporary workers than permanent ones. Such difference is caused by permanent workers' higher organizational affective commitment than temporary workers. The findings' implications for theory and research are provided in hybrid employment.

Two naturally derived small molecules disrupt the sineoculis homeobox homolog 1-eyes absent homolog 1 (SIX1-EYA1) interaction to inhibit colorectal cancer cell growth.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence indicates that the sineoculis homeobox homolog 1-eyes absent homolog 1 (SIX1-EYA1) transcriptional complex significantly contributes to the pathogenesis of multiple cancers by mediating the expression of genes involved in different biological processes, such as cell-cycle progression and metastasis. However, the roles of the SIX1-EYA1 transcriptional complex and its targets in colorectal cancer (CRC) are still being investigated. This study aimed to investigate the roles of SIX1-EYA1 in the pathogenesis of CRC, to screen inhibitors disrupting the SIX1-EYA1 interaction and to evaluate the efficiency of small molecules in the inhibition of CRC cell growth. METHODS: Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting were performed to examine gene and protein levels in CRC cells and clinical tissues (collected from CRC patients who underwent surgery in the Department of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, between 2016 and 2018, n = 24). In vivo immunoprecipitation and in vitro pulldown assays were carried out to determine SIX1-EYA1 interaction. Cell proliferation, cell survival, and cell invasion were determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, clonogenic assay, and Boyden chamber assay, respectively. The Amplified Luminescent Proximity Homogeneous Assay Screen (AlphaScreen) method was used to obtain small molecules that specifically disrupted SIX1-EYA1 interaction. CRC cells harboring different levels of SIX1/EYA1 were injected into nude mice to establish tumor xenografts, and small molecules were also injected into mice to evaluate their efficiency to inhibit tumor growth. RESULTS: Both SIX1 and EYA1 were overexpressed in CRC cancerous tissues (for SIX1, 7.47 ±â€Š3.54 vs.1.88 ±â€Š0.35, t = 4.92, P = 0.008; for EYA1, 7.61 ±â€Š2.03 vs. 2.22 ±â€Š0.45, t = 6.73, P = 0.005). The SIX1/EYA1 complex could mediate the expression of two important genes including cyclin A1 (CCNA1) and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1) by binding to the myocyte enhancer factor 3 consensus. Knockdown of both SIX1 and EYA1 could decrease cell proliferation, cell invasion, tumor growth, and in vivo tumor growth (all P < 0.01). Two small molecules, NSC0191 and NSC0933, were obtained using AlphaScreen and they could significantly inhibit the SIX1-EYA1 interaction with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 12.60 ±â€Š1.15 µmol/L and 83.43 ±â€Š7.24 µmol/L, respectively. Administration of these two compounds could significantly repress the expression of CCNA1 and TGFB1 and inhibit the growth of CRC cells in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Overexpression of the SIX1/EYA1 complex transactivated the expression of CCNA1 and TGFB1, causing the pathogenesis of CRC. Pharmacological inhibition of the SIX1-EYA1 interaction with NSC0191 and NSC0933 significantly inhibited CRC cell growth by affecting cell-cycle progression and metastasis.

The Effect of Job Security on Deviant Behaviors in Diverse Employment Workplaces: From the Social Identity Perspective.

Organizational scholars concur that job security can attach employees to a workplace and improve their job quality. The relationship between job security and employees' deviant behaviors in the workplace, such as counterproductive work behavior (CWB), lacks insights into how or why this occurs, especially in a diversified employment context. To address these limitations, we developed a theoretical model of job security impact on employees' CWB from the perspective of social identity. Analysis of employees (N = 208) and their supervisors in a China state-owned company were used to test the hypothesis. Results confirmed the negative relationship between job security and CWB; organizational identification partly mediates the relationship between job security and CWB. Moderated mediation analyses further indicate that the indirect effect of job security on CWB via organizational identification are stronger for temporary employees than for permanent employees. This article contributes to the understanding of job security's impact on employees' deviant behavior, practical implications and research aspects are discussed.

A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, modified RunChang-Tang, in treating functional constipation.

BACKGROUND: Modified Runchang-Tang (MRCT), a Chinese herbal medicine, is widely used to treat functional constipation (FC), which is a common digestive system disease. However, its efficacy has not been evaluated systematically and objectively. Thus, a meta-analysis was conducted to assess the efficacy and safety of MRCT for treating functional constipation. METHODS: We searched for relevant publications from Embase, Medline, The Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journals Database, and Wanfang Data for relevant literature. The timeframe of retrieval was set from the founding date of each database to July 15, 2020. RESULT: A total of 26 randomized controlled trials with 2103 individuals were included in this meta-analysis. All trials were conducted in mainland China and were written in Chinese. The results showed that MRCT monotherapy provided better symptom relief in FC patients compared to prokinetic agent monotherapy (odds ratio, [OR] = 4.06), osmotic laxatives (OR = 4.39) and stimulant laxatives (OR = 2.99). Additionally, there were no obvious adverse effects in MRCT group compared with control group. CONCLUSION: MRCT treatment is an efficient and safe treatment for FC. However, considering the limitations of this study, further well-designed randomized controlled trials are required to validate this conclusion.

Job Security and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors in Chinese Hybrid Employment Context: Organizational Identification Versus Psychological Contract Breach Perspective Differences Across Employment Status.

The goal of the present research was to identify the mechanism through which job security exerts its different effects on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) among contract and permanent employees from social identity and social exchange perspectives. Our research suggests two distinct, yet related explanatory mechanisms: organizational identification and psychological contract breach, to extend the job security literature by examining whether psychological contract breach and organization identity complement each other and explaining the mechanism of different behaviors response to job security across employment status. Data were collected from 211 Chinese employees and 61 supervisory ratings of OCBs. Our results showed that relative to psychological contract breach, organizational identification plays a stronger mediating role in the association between job security and OCBs. Evidence from multi-group analyses also suggested employment status moderated the mediation mechanism of organizational identification between job security and OCB. Implications for job security and hybrid employment management are discussed.

Modified Van Assche magnetic resonance imaging-based score for assessing the clinical status of anal fistulas.

The modified Van Assche magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based score is a feasible system to assess the clinical status of anal fistulas in Crohn disease. In this study, we evaluated this score's association with clinical status in patients with anal fistulas (AFs).We included all patients with AF who underwent contrast-enhanced pelvic MRI and surgery between January 2011 and December 2016. The score was evaluated retrospectively preoperatively and 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Univariate and multivariate analyses of the risk factors for AF recurrence were also performed.We retrospectively analyzed data for 104 patients. Twelve (11.5%) patients developed AF recurrence. We classified patients' preoperative clinical status into three grades: 52 (50.0%) grade A, 31 (29.8%) grade B, and 21 (20.2%) grade C. The preoperative MRI-based score was significantly correlated with patients' preoperative clinical status grade (Pearson correlation: 0.547; P < .001). The 3 preoperative clinical status grades showed significant (F = 23.303, P < .001) tendencies for associations with lower respective MRI-based scores. The incidence of AF recurrence decreased with the MRI-based score to 1-month postoperatively, then gradually increased (F = 60.863, P = .000). Long duration of disease, prior interventions, and high MRI-based score were independent risk factors for AF recurrence.The MRI-based score objectively assessed the clinical status and disease activity of patients with AFs, with a high score being associated with severe clinical status and long recovery time.

The CARM1-p300-c-Myc-Max (CPCM) transcriptional complex regulates the expression of CUL4A/4B and affects the stability of CRL4 E3 ligases in colorectal cancer.

The transcription factor c-Myc and two cullin family members CUL4A/4B function as oncogenes in colorectal cancer. Our recent publication reveals that c-Myc specifically activates the expression of CUL4A/4B through binding to their promoters. However, the underlying mechanism of how c-Myc actions in this process is still unknown. Using mass spectrometry and immunoprecipitation assays, we identified c-Myc formed a transcriptional complex with its partner Max (Myc-associated factor X), a histone acetyltransferase p300 and a coactivator associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (CARM1) in the present study. Knockdown or overexpression of the components of CARM1-p300-c-Myc-Max (CPCM) complex resulted in a decrease or increase of CUL4A/4B levels, respectively. Individual knockdown or inhibition of CPCM components decreased cell proliferation, colony formation, and cell invasion. Biochemically, knockdown or inhibition of CPCM components decreased their occupancies on the promoters of CUL4A/4B and resulted in their downregulation. Importantly, inhibition of CPCM components also caused a decrease of CRL4 E3 ligase activities and eventually led to an accumulation of ST7 (suppression of tumorigenicity 7), the specific substrate of CRL4 E3 ligases in colorectal cancer. Moreover, the in vivo tumor formation results indicated that knockdown or inhibition of CPCM components significantly decreased the tumor volumes. Together, our results suggest that the CPCM complex mediates explicitly the expression of CUL4A/4B, and thus affects the stability of CRL4 E3 ligases and the ubiquitination of ST7. These results provide more options by targeting the CPCM components to inhibit tumor growth in the therapy of colorectal cancer.

Inflammation and DNA Methylation-Dependent Down-Regulation of miR-34b-5p Mediates c-MYC Expression and CRL4DCAF4 E3 Ligase Activity in Colitis-Associated Cancer.

miRNAs, a well-known group of noncoding RNAs, contribute to the pathogenesis of multiple diseases, including colitis-associated cancer (CAC). Our recent findings indicate that proinflammatory cytokines up-regulate c-MYC level, which subsequently activates cullin 4A and 4B (CUL4A/4B) and CRL4DCAF4 E3 ligases and promotes ubiquitination of suppression of tumorigenicity 7 in CAC. Herein, we identified and proved that miR-34b-5p can directly target c-MYC. In vitro oncogenic phenotype analyses and in vivo tumor formation assay indicated that miR-34b-5p overexpression could markedly decrease cell proliferation, colony formation, cell invasion, and tumor volumes. Overexpression of c-MYC in vitro could reverse the oncogenic phenotypes caused by miR-34b-5p up-regulation. In addition, the down-regulation of miR-34b-5p in CAC was dependent on the coregulation of the inflammatory microenvironment and DNA methylation. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that intracellular inflammation and DNA hypermethylation suppress miR-34b-5p expression, which limits its inhibitory effect on c-MYC and initiates the downstream events, including the induction of CRL4DCAF4 E3 ligase activity. The activated CRL4DCAF4 E3 ligase ubiquitinates suppression of tumorigenicity 7 and results in its degradation, eventually leading to the CAC tumorigenesis.

Application of the Albumin-Bilirubin Grade in Predicting the Prognosis of Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade has exhibited an equal excellence with the Child-Pugh (C-P) grade in predicting overall survival (OS) of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, available published results of the ALBI grade in predicting the prognosis of HCC are still limited. The goal of this study is to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the available data to comprehensively evaluate the ALBI grade in predicting OS of patients with HCC. METHODS: Multiple databases were systematically searched for eligible studies. Studies analyzing the relationship between the ALBI grade and survival outcome were identified. Hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to assess the risk. All statistical analyses were conducted by R version 3.3.1 (The R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). RESULTS: A total of 8 studies were enrolled in the meta-analysis. The pooled estimates demonstrated a significant relationship between elevated ALBI grade and inferior OS in patients with HCC (grade 1 vs 2: HR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.52-1.92; grade 1 vs 3: HR = 3.81, 95% CI: 2.75-5.29.). In addition, the same tendency was observed when performing subgroup analysis, including treatment strategies (surgical resection, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, radiofrequency ablation, and sorafenib) and study regions (Japan, Europe, China, and the USA). Moreover, the ALBI grade was able to classify patients with C-P grade A into 2 distinct prognostic cohorts-ALBI grade 1 and ALBI grade 2-with distinguishing survival outcomes (surgical resection: grade 1 vs 2: HR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.55-2.06, P < .001; sorafenib: grade 1 vs 2: HR = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.30-1.82, P < .001). CONCLUSION: The ALBI grade has the potency of becoming an independent prognostic factor in patients with HCC. More well-designed studies should be performed to evaluate the ALBI grade as a complementary prognostic tool to current staging systems in routine clinical practice.

Clinical study of external application of liuhe dan in the treatment of anal edge edema after mixed hemorrhoid operation.

To observe the therapeutic efficacy of external application of Liuhe Dan in the treatment of anal edge edema after mixed hemorrhoid operation. A total of 160 patients who had been treated for lotion anal edge edema from January 2016 to August 2018 were enrolled research ojbects. They were divided into control group accepting routine nursing methods (80 cases) and research group accepting external application of Liuhe Dan (80 cases). The therapeutic efficacies of two groups were compared. The anal edge edema score and wound pain score of the research group were significantly lower than those of the control group (p<0.05). Meanwhile, the length of hospital stay and wound healing time of the research group were significantly shorter than those of the control group (p<0.05). External application of Liuhe Dan in the treatment of anal edge edema after mixed hemorrhoid operation could significantly improve the therapeutic efficacy and alleviate the patient's pain, which is of great application value.

Segmental resection combined with anoplasty for the treatment of circumferential mixed hemorrhoids.

Circumferential mixed hemorrhoids are very difficult to treat non-surgically. Therefore, it is important to explore the surgical methods for its complete resolution as well as maintenance of normal anal anatomy and function. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of segmented and plastic hemorrhoidectomy (SPH) on patients with circumferential mixed hemorrhoids. A total of 300 patients with circumferential mixed hemorrhoids were divided into experimental group (n=150) undergoing SPH and control group (n=150) undergoing Milligan-Morgan hemorrhoidectomy. There were no differences in cure and effectiveness rates between two groups. Compared with the control group, patients in the experimental group had shorter healing time (15.7±1.3 vs 12.5±0.7 days) and recovery to normal activity (18.5±2.7 vs 14.7±1.2 days). In addition, anal function of all patients in the experimental group was normal during short- and long-term follow-up. However, more cases in the control group showed anal dampness and itching, and poor control of intestinal liquid. Compared with the control group, patients in the experimental group had better outcomes in overall anal function and smoothness at 6, 12, and 18 months after operation as well as patient satisfaction. Furthermore, the rating in the visual analogue scale for defecation pain and edema in the experimental group was less than that in the control group. SPH was more effective, had fewer complications, better protection of anal function, and a better cosmetic result.

Inflammation-dependent overexpression of c-Myc enhances CRL4DCAF4 E3 ligase activity and promotes ubiquitination of ST7 in colitis-associated cancer.

Inflammation is well known as an important driver of the initiation of colitis-associated cancer (CAC). Some cytokines, such as IL-6 and TNF-α can activate expression of the oncogene c-Myc (MYC) and regulate its downstream effects. Cullin-RING E3 Ligases (CRLs) are emerging as master regulators controlling tumorigenesis. Here, we demonstrate that two cullin genes, CUL4A and CUL4B, but not other members, are specifically overexpressed in CAC tumour samples and positively correlate with levels of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1ß and IL-6. In vitro experiments revealed that the transcription factor c-Myc can specifically activate the expression of CUL4A and CUL4B by binding to a conserved site (CACGTG) located in their promoters. Additionally, we found that both CUL4A and CUL4B can form an E3 complex with DNA damage-binding protein 1 (DDB1) and DDB1-CUL4-associated factor 4 (DCAF4). In vitro and in vivo ubiquitination analyses indicate that CRL4DCAF4 E3 ligase specifically directs degradation of ST7 (suppression of tumorigenicity 7). Overexpression of c-Myc in human colon epithelial cells resulted in the accumulation of CUL4A, CUL4B and DCAF4, but degradation of ST7. In contrast, knockdown of c-Myc, CUL4A or CUL4B in the colon adenocarcinoma cell line HT29 caused accumulation of ST7 and inhibition of cell proliferation, colony formation ability and in vivo tumour growth. Collectively, our results provide in vitro and in vivo evidence that c-Myc regulates CRL4DCAF4 E3 ligase activity to mediate ubiquitination of ST7, whose presence is physiologically essential for CAC tumorigenesis. © 2019 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Segmental resection combined with anoplasty for the treatment of circumferential mixed hemorrhoids

Circumferential mixed hemorrhoids are very difficult to treat non-surgically. Therefore, it is important to explore the surgical methods for its complete resolution as well as maintenance of normal anal anatomy and function. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of segmented and plastic hemorrhoidectomy (SPH) on patients with circumferential mixed hemorrhoids. A total of 300 patients with circumferential mixed hemorrhoids were divided into experimental group (n=150) undergoing SPH and control group (n=150) undergoing Milligan-Morgan hemorrhoidectomy. There were no differences in cure and effectiveness rates between two groups. Compared with the control group, patients in the experimental group had shorter healing time (15.7±1.3 vs 12.5±0.7 days) and recovery to normal activity (18.5±2.7 vs 14.7±1.2 days). In addition, anal function of all patients in the experimental group was normal during short- and long-term follow-up. However, more cases in the control group showed anal dampness and itching, and poor control of intestinal liquid. Compared with the control group, patients in the experimental group had better outcomes in overall anal function and smoothness at 6, 12, and 18 months after operation as well as patient satisfaction. Furthermore, the rating in the visual analogue scale for defecation pain and edema in the experimental group was less than that in the control group. SPH was more effective, had fewer complications, better protection of anal function, and a better cosmetic result.

Effect of lateral internal sphincterotomy in patients undergoing excisional hemorrhoidectomy.

BACKGROUND: Excisional hemorrhoidectomy (EH) is the major surgical option for high-grade symptomatic hemorrhoids, but it has some shortcomings, especially postoperative pain. This study was performed to assess the effect of lateral internal sphincterotomy (LIS) in patients undergoing excisional hemorrhoidectomy. METHODS: A systematic literature search (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Science Citation Index, Science Direct, Springer Link, Ovid Journals, and EBSCO) was performed to identify all eligible articles. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published until July 7, 2017 comparing EH combined with LIS (experimental group) with EH only (control group) were eligible for inclusion. The primary outcome of interest was postoperative pain. RESULTS: Ten RCTs involving 1560 patients were identified for inclusion. The pooled analysis revealed that patients undergoing EH and LIS were associated with lower pain score [standardized mean difference (SMD), -0.75; 95% confidence interval (CI), -1.14 to -0.36; z = 3.76; P = .0002] and resting anal pressure [odds ratio (OR), -17.19; 95% CI, -25.66 to -8.72; z = 3.98; P < .0001], and lower incidence of anal stricture (OR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.03-0.53; z = 2.85; P = .004). However, the differences of urinary retention, bleeding and length of hospital stay were similar between the 2 methods. CONCLUSION: Our meta-analysis suggests that LIS effectively relieves postoperative pain and reduces patient's postoperative analgesic requirements. LIS also reduces the incidence of anal stenosis but increases the incidence of fecal incontinence.

Prognostic significance of glypican-3 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, an increasing number of studies has been published analyzing the possible prognostic utility of glypican-3 (GPC3) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the results are still controversial. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate possible association between GPC3 expression and patients' survival. METHODS: Relevant publications which assessed GPC3 expression with survival outcome in HCC patients were searched from Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane library. Survival outcome (odds ratios or hazard ratios) was synthesized with a fixed or random effects meta-analysis. Publication bias and sensitivity analyses were also conducted. Statistical analysis was performed by STATA 12.0 and Review Manager software 5.3. RESULTS: Fifteen studies including 2336 HCC cases were analyzed systematically in our meta-analysis. The main results showed that GPC3 high expression was significantly associated with later tumor stage, higher tumor grade, presence of vascular invasion, shortened overall survival, and disease-free survival. Subgroup analyses for GPC3 on HCC overall survival according to the studies categorized by sample size, follow-up period, and cut-offs were also conducted. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested that GPC3 may play a role in cancer invasion and progression and may be related to poor prognosis of HCC. Further mechanical research or multicenter cohort studies are needed to confirm these findings.