mutation and clinicopathological features of colorectal cancer: a systematic review and Meta-Analysis.

There is conflicting evidence regarding the association between mutations and clinicopathological features of colorectal cancer (CRC). We performed a comprehensive meta-analysis investigating the association between mutations and clinicopathological features in CRC, including subgroup analysis of mutations in exons 9 and 20, to elucidate the role of mutations in CRC. A detailed literature search was performed within the PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases, examining the associations between mutations and demographic characteristics, clinicopathologic parameters, and molecular features in patients with CRC. The odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to estimate the effect of mutations on outcome parameters. Forty-four studies enrolling 17621 patients were eligible for inclusion. mutations were associated with proximal tumor location, mucinous differentiation, mutations, and microsatellite instability (MSI). Subgroup analysis demonstrated that exon 9 mutations were positively associated with proximal tumor location and mutations, and negatively associated with mutations and MSI; exon 20 mutations were associated with proximal tumor location, mutations, mutations and MSI. Our findings suggest that overall or exon-specific mutations showed null associations with key clinicopathological parameters, including disease stage and tumor differentiation, indicating that mutations do not predict aggressive clinicopathological characteristics in CRC. As mutations were found to be closely associated with mutations, their relationship warrants further investigation. Since exon 9 and 20 mutations showed different tendencies with regard to mutation and MSI status, they may have distinct molecular impacts on CRC.