BRCA1 expression associated with the prognostic value of platinum-based chemotherapy for stage II–IV non-small cell lung cancer: A meta-analysis

Purpose To explore the relationship between breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) expression and the prognostic value of platinum-based chemotherapy for stage II–IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched from inception to August 2021, for retrieving literature related to BRCA1 expression and prognostic value of platinum-based chemotherapy in NSCLC patients. Stata 15.0 was employed for statistical analysis. Results A total of 15 articles were included. Compared with the low BRCA1 expression, its high expression negatively affected the overall survival of NSCLC patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01–2.31, P < 0.05). No significant difference was identified in the effect of both low and high BRCA1 expression on event-free survival (HR = 1.73, 95% CI: 0.98–3.05, P > 0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that significant differences existed in overall survival and event-free survival in Caucasian population; that is, compared with low BRCA1 expression, its high expression negatively affected the overall survival (HR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.15–2.79, P < 0.05) and event-free survival (HR = 2.39, 95% CI: 1.43–3.97, P < 0.05). Nevertheless, there were no significant differences in overall survival and event-free survival in China. Conclusion BRCA1 expression is correlated with the prognostic value of platinum-based chemotherapy for stage II–IV NSCLC patients. In Caucasian population, compared with low BRCA1 expression, its high expression has a negative effect on the overall survival and event-free survival in stage II–IV NSCLC patients after platinum-based chemotherapy; however, this correlation was not found in China.