Prognostic value of c-MET in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a study based on the mRNA expression in TCGA database and a meta-analysis

Qi-Qi Zhang ¹ Xiu-Juan Li ² Jian Li ¹ Zhi-Qiang Zhang ^1*

• ¹ First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
• ² School of Basic Medical Science, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Region, China

Objective: This study aims to assess the mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor’s (c-MET) prognostic value in oesophageal carcinoma (ESCA) through a meta-analysis and bioinformatics. Methods: We analysed c-MET expression in ESCA tissues using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate its association with clinicopathological factors and survival outcomes. The meta-analysis included studies reporting hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) for survival and metastatic outcomes. Results: The Cancer Genome Atlas analysis revealed elevated c-MET expression in ESCA, which was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis, tumour grade and stage, though not with overall survival (OS). In the meta-analysis, 278 publications were identified, and 89 duplicates were removed. After screening, 176 articles were excluded, leaving 13 for full-text review. Of these, 5 studies lacked sufficient survival data, resulting in 8 eligible studies with a total of 1,488 patients. Meta-analysis findings indicated that high c-MET expression was associated with worse OS (HR = 1.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17–2.01; P = 0.002), distant metastasis (OR = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.14–3.40; P = 0.02) and advanced stage (OR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.41–3.53; P = 0.0006). Conclusion: High c-MET expression is associated with poor prognosis and advanced disease in ESCA, highlighting its potential as a biomarker for risk stratification. Further studies are needed to confirm its prognostic value and explore therapeutic implications.