The prevalence, risk factors, and prognostic value of venous thromboembolism in ovarian cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) in ovarian cancer (OC) patients has been widely investigated, but our knowledge on the role of VTE in OC patients receiving chemotherapy is limited. The aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and prognostic value of chemotherapy-associated VTE in OC. METHODS: Three databases (PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library) were systematically searched from inception to October 14, 2020. The primary outcome was the prevalence of VTE in OC patients receiving chemotherapy. The risk factors and prognostic value of VTE were the secondary outcomes. The pooled prevalence of VTE was estimated using the generic inverse-variance method. The statistical heterogeneity was evaluated with Cochran's Q test and I2 statistic. Funnel plot, Begg's test, and Egger's test were used to assess the potential publication bias in the meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of eleven observational studies with 4759 OC patients were included. The pooled prevalence of VTE was 9% (95% CI, 0.06-0.12) in OC patients receiving chemotherapy. The results of subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were basically consistent with the overall pooled estimate. Multiple significant risk factors associated with VTE were also identified including advanced age, D-dimer > 0.5 mg/mL, and tumor diameter > 10 cm. Only two included studies reported the prognostic value of VTE in OC patients receiving chemotherapy, but with inconsistent results. Funnel plot showed that there existed potential publication bias, which was further verified by statistical test, but the results of the trim-and-fill method showed the pooled estimate kept stable after adding two "missing" studies. CONCLUSIONS: This current study revealed that the pooled prevalence of chemotherapy-related VTE in OC was approximately 9% in OC patients. Risk factors for chemotherapy-related VTE were also identified which may contribute to targeting potentially preventative measures for VTE in OC.

MicroRNA miR-330-3p suppresses the progression of ovarian cancer by targeting RIPK4.

Previous studies reported that miR-330-3p was involved in the progression of several cancers, but the potential roles of miR-330-3p in ovarian cancer (OC) were unclear. In the current study, we aimed to explore the expression pattern and functions of miR-330-3p in OC. The expression level of miR-330-3p in OC tissues and cell lines was detected using RT-qPCR. The proliferation, migration and invasion of OC cells were detected using CCK-8 assay and transwell assay, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay were used to analyze the targeted binding site of miR-330-3p and RIPK4. The results showed that miR-330-3p was significantly downregulated in OC tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of miR-330-3p inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of OC cells. Mechanistically, a dual-luciferase reported assay showed that RIPK4 is a target gene of miR-330-3p. Furthermore, rescue experiments revealed that miR-330-3p suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of OC cells by targeting RIPK4. In summary, our findings indicated that miR-330-3p suppressed the progression of OC by targeting RIPK4. Our results indicated that miR-330-3p/RIPK4 axis might act as a novel therapeutic target for OC treatment.