• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.670-677
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• 2016

Laboratory and meta-analyses were done for 9% NI Steel for use in a liquefied natural gas carrier. The meta-analysis is based on a previous study. The laboratory analysis examines the effects of a single pass and multiple passes on the tensile strength through an impulse-response test. The tensile strength increased from pass one to pass three and decreased from pass four to pass ten. The pass and multi-pass welding had a positive effect on the tensile strength. Lastly, the welding and tensile time had a positive effect on the tensile strength.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8093-8100
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• 2016

Background: Genetic and environmental factors play important roles in pathogenesis of digestive tract cancers like those in the esophagus, stomach and colorectum. Folate deficiency and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) as an important enzyme of folate and methionine metabolism are considered crucial for DNA synthesis and methylation. MTHFR variants may cause genomic hypomethylation, which may lead to the development of cancer, and MTHFR gene polymorphisms (especially C677T and A1298C) are known to influence predispositions for cancer development. Several case control association studies of MTHFR C677T polymorphisms and colorectal cancer (CRC) have been reported in different populations with contrasting results, possibly reflecting inadequate statistical power. Aim: The present meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the association between the C677T polymorphism and the risk of colorectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A literature search of the PubMed, Google Scholar, Springer link and Elsevier databases was carried out for potential relevant articles. Pooled odds ratio (OR) with corresponding 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) was calculated to assess the association of MTHFR C677T with the susceptibility to CRC. Cochran's Q statistic and the inconsistency index (I2) were used to check study heterogeneity. Egger's test and funnel plots were applied to assess publication bias. All statistical analyses were conducted by with MetaAnalyst and MIX version 1.7. Results: Thirty four case-control studies involving a total of 9,143 cases and 11,357 controls were retrieved according to the inclusion criteria. Overall, no significant association was found between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and colorectal cancer in Asian populations (for T vs. C: OR=1.03; 95% CI= 0.92-1.5; p= 0.64; for TT vs CC: OR=0.88; 95%CI= 0.74-1.04; p= 0.04; for CT vs. CC: OR = 1.02; 95%CI= 0.93-1.12; p=0.59; for TT+ CT vs. CC: OR=1.07; 95%CI= 0.94-1.22; p=0.87). Conclusions: Evidence from the current meta-analysis indicated that the C677T polymorphism is not associated with CRC risk in Asian populations. Further investigations are needed to offer better insight into any role of this polymorphism in colorectal carcinogenesis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1911-1918
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• 2013

This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between intake of carotenoids and risk of esophageal cancer. A systematic search using PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus, CNKI, and CBM (updated to 6 May 2012) identified ten articles meeting the inclusion criteria with 1,958 cases of esophageal cancer and 4,529 controls. Higher intake of beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lycopene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin reduced esophageal cancer risk with pooled ORs of 0.58 (95% CI 0.44, 0.77), 0.81 (95% CI 0.70, 0.94), 0.75 (95% CI 0.64, 0.86), 0.80 (95% CI 0.66, 0.97), and 0.71 (95% CI 0.59, 0.87), respectively. In subgroup analyses, beta-carotene showed protective effects against esophageal adenocarcinoma in studies located in Europe and North America. Alpha-carotene, lycopene, and beta-cryptoxanthin showed protection against esophageal squamous cell cancer. This meta-analysis suggested that higher intake of carotenoids (beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lycopene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin) is associated with lower risk of esophageal cancer. Further research with large-sample studies need to be conducted to better clarify the potentially protective mechanisms of carotenoid associations risk of different types of esophageal cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1691-1695
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• 2013

Objective: To evaluate the association between tea consumption and the risk of renal cell carcinoma. Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus between 1970 and November 2012. Two evaluators independently reviewed and selected articles based on predetermined selection criteria. Results: Twelve epidemiological studies (ten case-control studies and two cohort studies) were included in the final analysis. In a meta-analysis of all included studies, when compared with the lowest level of tea consumption, the overall relative risk (RR) of renal cell carcinoma for the highest level of tea consumption was 1.03 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.89-1.21). In subgroup meta-analyses by study design, there was no significant association between tea consumption and renal cell carcinoma risk in ten case-control studies using adjusted data (RR=1.08, 95% CI 0.84-1.40). Furthermore, there was no significant association in two cohort studies using adjusted data (RR=0.95, 95% CI 0.81-1.12). Conclusion: Our findings do not support the conclusion that tea consumption is related to decreased risk of renal cell carcinoma. Further prospective cohort studies are required.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.17
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• pp.7187-7193
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• 2014

Background: The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare sensitivities and specificities of fine needle aspiration (FNA) and core needle biopsy (CNB) in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Materials and Methods: Articles were screened in Medline, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE and Google Scholar, and subsequently included and excluded based on the patient/problem-intervention-comparison-outcome (PICO) principle. Primary outcome was defined in terms of diagnostic values (sensitivity and specificity) of FNA and CNB for thyroid cancer. Secondary outcome was defined as the accuracy of diagnosis. Compiled FNA and CNB results from the final studies selected as appropriate for meta-analysis were compared with cases for which final pathology diagnoses were available. Statistical analyses were performed for FNA and CNB for all of the selected studies together, and for individual studies using the leave-one-out approach. Results: Article selection and screening yielded five studies for meta-analysis, two of which were prospective and the other three retrospective, for a total of 1,264 patients. Pooled diagnostic sensitivities of FNA and CNB methods were 0.68 and 0.83, respectively, with specificities of 0.93 and 0.94. The areas under the summary ROC curves were 0.905 (${\pm}0.030$) for FNA and 0.745 (${\pm}0.095$) for CNB, with no significant difference between the two. No one study had greater influence than any other on the pooled estimates for diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. Conclusions: FNA and CNB do not differ significantly in sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of thyroid cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7941-7945
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• 2014

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is involved in estrogen metabolism and is vital to estrogen-induced carcinogenesis, including that of ovarian cancer. Although many recent epidemiologic studies have investigated associations between the COMT rs4680 polymorphism and ovarian cancer risk, the results remain inconclusive. We therefore performed a meta-analysis to derive a more precise estimate of associations. Systematic searches of the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Chinese Biomedicine databases were undertaken to retrieve eligible studies. Odds ratios (ORs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled to assess the strength of the association. In total, 8 case-control studies involving 1,293 cases and 2,647 controls were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, the results showed no evidence of significant association between the COMT rs4680 polymorphism and ovarian cancer risk in any of the assessed genetic models. Subgroup analyses by ethnicity also did not reveal any significant association in any genetic model (p>0.05). In conclusion, our findings suggest that the COMT rs4680 polymorphism may not contribute to the risk of ovarian cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7583-7588
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• 2014

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of cancer-related death and cancer-related incidence worldwide. The potential of microRNA-21 (miR-21) as a biomarker for CRC detection has been studied in several studies. However, the results were inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted the present meta-analysis to systematically assess the diagnostic value of miR-21 for CRC. Materials and Methods: Using a random-effect model, the pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were calculated to evaluate the diagnostic performance of miR-21 for CRC. A summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve and an area under the curve (AUC) were also generated to assess the diagnosis accuracy of miR-21 for CRC. Q test and I2 statistics were used to assess between-study heterogeneity. Publication bias was evaluated by the Deeks' funnel plot asymmetry test. Results: A total of 986 CRC patients and 702 matched healthy controls from 8 studies were involved in the meta-analysis. The pooled results for SEN, SPE, PLR, NLR, DOR, and AUC were 57% (95%CI: 39%-74%), 87% (95%CI: 78%-93%), 4.4 (95%CI: 2.4-8.0), 0.49 (95%CI: 0.32-0.74), 9 (95%CI: 4-22), and 0.83 (95%CI: 0.79-0.86), respectively. Subgroup analyses further suggested that blood-based studies showed a better diagnostic accuracy compared with feces-based studies, indicating that blood may be a better matrix for miR-21 assay and CRC detection. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that miR-21 has a potential diagnostic value for CRC with a moderate level of overall diagnostic accuracy. Hence, it could be used as auxiliary means for the initial screening of CRC and avoid unnecessary colonoscopy, which is an invasive and expensive procedure.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.4281-4288
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• 2016

Background: Traditional meta-analyses or systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been used to compare laser surgeries and transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for benign prostate hyperplasia (BHP), but they cannot provide a hierarchy regarding efficacy and safety of treatment. Objective: We therefore performed a network meta-analysis (NMA) to compare and create hierarchies for efficacy and safety of TUPR and laser surgeries for BPH. Materials and Methods: We searched for reports of RCTs published up to April 25, 2015. After methodological quality assessment and data extraction, we performed an NMA to compare TURP and laser surgeries for BPH. Results: We ranked the treatments of TURP and laser surgeries for BPH. For IPSS at 6 months, holmium laser resection of the prostate (HoLRP) ranked the first-best and at 12 months, holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP). For Qmax at 6 and 12 months, HoLEP ranked the first-best; for operative time it was TURP; for cathedral removal time, diode laser enucleation of the prostate (DiLEP) ranked the first-best. Conclusions: Although TURP is considered the gold standard for treating BPH, it is not better in terms of efficacy and safety compared with the laser surgery. Our NMA created hierarchies for the 9 types of surgery in terms of efficacy and safety, which should help clinicians choose the best approach for the individual patient.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5625-5633
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• 2015

Background: ${\beta}$-catenin plays a crucial role in the progression of breast cancer (BC) and a prognostic role of in BC patients has been widely reported. However, controversy still remains. Materials and Methods: Identical search strategies were used to search relevant literature in electronic databases updated to July 1, 2014. Individual hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were extracted and pooled HRs with 95%CIs were used to evaluate the strength of association between positive ${\beta}$-catenin expression in different subcellular locations and survival results of BC patients. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses were performed to explore heterogeneity. Funnel plots of Begg's and Egger's linear regression test were used to investigate publication bias. Heterogeneity and sensitivity were also assessed. All the work was completed using STATA. Results: A total of 2,204 patients from 12 evaluative studies were finally included. Pooled HRs and 95%CIs suggested that ${\beta}$-catenin expression in cytoplasm/nucleus had an unfavorable impact on both overall survival (OS) (HR: 1.93, 95%CI: 1.40-2.65) and disease free survival (DFS)/ recurrent free survival (RFS) (HR: 1.60, 95%CI: 1.20-2.13) in BC patients. However, here was no significant association between ${\beta}$-catenin expression in the membranes with OS (HR: 0.65, 95%CI: 0.42-1.02) or DFS/RFS (HR: 0.66, 95%CI: 0.38-1.13). Publication bias was absent in all of the four outcomes. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the results of this meta-analysis were robust. Conclusions: Positive ${\beta}$-catenin expression in cytoplasm/nucleus rather than in membrane is a significant prognostic factor in patients with BC who have been surgically treated.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5939-5944
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• 2015

Background: There is still a great deal of controversy with regard to the prognostic role of chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea (CIA) in breast cancer patients. To confirm whether CIA can serve as a useful factor in predicting clinical effects of systemic adjuvant chemotherapy, we performed this meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: Relevant studies were identified using PubMed, and Embase databases. Eligible study results were pooled and summary hazard ratios (HRs) with corresponding confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Subgroup analyses and an assessment of publication bias were also conducted. Results: A total of 8,333 patients from 11 published studies were identified through searching the databases. The pooled HRs for disease-free survival (DFS) suggested that CIA was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of recurrence, especially in patients with hormone receptor-positive lesions (overall HR=0.65, 95%CI 0.53-0.80, $I^2=41.3%$). When the five studies reporting the HR for overall survival (OS) were pooled (n=4193), a favorable trend was found (HR=0.69, 95%CI 0.52-0.91, $I^2=51.6%$). No publication bias was observed in this study. Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that CIA predicts a better outcome in premenopausal hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients.