The presence of a cribriform pattern is related to poor prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma after surgical resection: A meta-analysis

Previous studies reported that the cribriform pattern (CP) was associated with poor prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) patients; therefore, a meta-analysis was performed to thoroughly evaluate the prognostic impact of cribriform pattern in postoperative ADC patients.

Eligible studies were retrieved from PubMed, Embase databases, and Web of Science until April 2023. Studies evaluating the effect of the cribriform pattern on the prognosis of postoperative ADC patients were included. Subsequently, subgroup analysis was conducted according to the proportion of the cribriform pattern, with disease-free survival (DFS) and/or overall survival (OS) as outcomes. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used as effect estimates in the meta-analyses, which were performed with a random-effects model despite the heterogeneity.

Nine studies published between 2015 and 2022 were included, with 4,289 ADC patients in total. The pooled results revealed a significantly poorer DFS (HR1.56, 95%CI 1.18–2.06, P = 0.11, I² = 45%) and OS (HR2.11, 95%CI 1.63–2.72, P = 0.01, I² = 56%) in patients with the cribriform pattern. Furthermore, the subgroup analysis showed that patients with a cribriform pattern (DFS: HR1.32, 95% CI 1.04–1.68 OS:HR2.30, 95% CI 1.55–3.39) and patients with a predominantly cribriform pattern (DFS:HR2.04, 95% CI 1.32-–3.15 OS: HR1.92, 95% CI 1.41–2.61) were associated with poor prognosis.

The presence of a cribriform pattern is related to poor prognosis in postoperative ADC patients, despite not being a main tumor component. However, the results should be confirmed by large-scale and prospective studies owing to the small sample and potential heterogeneity.