# Prognostic role of CRABP2 in lung cancer: a meta-analysis

## TL;DR

This study finds that higher levels of CRABP2 in lung cancer patients are linked to worse survival outcomes, suggesting it could be a new biomarker for prognosis.

## Contribution

The study identifies CRABP2 as a potential novel prognostic biomarker for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) based on meta-analysis.

## Key findings

- Increased plasma CRABP2 levels are associated with poor overall survival in lung cancer patients.
- CRABP2 levels are not significantly linked to progression-free survival in lung cancer patients.
- CRABP2 may indicate tumor aggressiveness and could serve as a prognostic biomarker in NSCLC.

## Abstract

The prognostic value of cellular retinoic acid-binding protein 2 (CRABP2), in lung cancer patients remains to be uncertained. Therefore, our research attempted to assess the relationship between CRABP2 and survival analysis in lung cancer patients through meta-analysis.

Related literature retrieved from Cochrane Library, Ovid, Embase, PubMed, the CNKI, and the Web of Science. The latest update of the search was May 1, 2023. The outcome indicators included as effective measures in the study were hazard ratio (HR), and 95% confidence interval (CI). The Stata 12.0 software was used to analyze the data.

A total of4 studies were finally enrolled in our meta-analysis. The increased plasma level of CRABP2 predicted poor OS in lung cancer patient with a combined HR of 1.14 (95% CI: 1.00–1.30), and were not associated with poor PFS with combined HR: 1.15% CI: 0.63–2.09) in lung cancer patients.

Our meta-analysis found the increased plasma level of CRABP2 was associated with poor OS independently in NSCLC patients. The plasma CRABP2 level may be an indicator of biological aggressiveness of the tumor. Our research was promising regarding the feasibility and utility of plasma CRABP2 as a novel prognostic biomarker in NSCLC, and the findings warrant further investigation.