Relationship of PTTG expression with tumor invasiveness and microvessel density of pituitary adenomas: a meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: Many existing studies have demonstrated that pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG) expression may contribute to the development of pituitary adenomas (PAs), but individually published studies showed inconclusive results. This meta-analysis aimed to derive a more precise estimation of the relationships of PTTG expression with tumor invasiveness and microvessel density of pituitary adenomas. METHODS: We searched CISCOM, CINAHL, Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, EBSCO, Cochrane Library, and CBM databases from inception through September 1st, 2013. Meta-analysis was performed using the STATA 12.0 software. The crude odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated. RESULTS: Fifteen clinical cohort studies were included with a total of 752 pituitary adenoma patients. The meta-analysis results revealed that patients with invasive pituitary adenomas had higher positive expression of PTTG than those of noninvasive patients (OR=6.68, 95% CI=3.72-11.99, p<0.001). We also found a significant difference in the microvessel density between invasive and noninvasive patients (OR=1.81, 95% CI=0.39-3.23, p<0.001). No publication bias was detected in this meta-analysis (all p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The present meta-analysis suggests that PTTG expression may be associated with tumor invasiveness and microvessel density of pituitary adenomas. Thus, detection of PTTG expression may be useful for the prediction of malignancy degree in pituitary adenomas.