Clinicopathological significance of Bmi-1 overexpression in esophageal cancer: a meta-analysis.

Aim: The clinicopathological effects of Bmi-1 expression in esophageal cancer remain widely disputed. Our aim was to clarify this relationship.

Methods: Available studies were retrieved from diverse databases. Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 12.0 software were used to identify correlations between Bmi-1 expression and the clinicopathological features of esophageal cancer.

Results: From 16 studies, 1523 esophageal cancer patients were analyzed. Meta-analysis demonstrated that Bmi-1 overexpression was associated with differentiation (p = 0.03), tumor/node/metastasis stage (p = 0.02), depth of invasion (p = 0.0006) and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.008).

Conclusion: The expression of Bmi-1 is associated with the progression and invasion of esophageal cancer.