Work

Association between CISD2 expression and clinicopathological features and prognosis in gastric cancer: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and database validation

Year: 2026

Type: review

Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Objective This study conducted an exploratory hypothesis-generating investigation to assess the relationship between CDGSH iron sulfur domain 2 (CISD2) and gastric cancer (GC) via meta-analysis supplemented by independent in silico database analysis. Methods We systematically searched 7 major databases including Wan Fang, VIP, CNKI, SinoMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, and PubMed from database inception to July 2026 for studies reporting CISD2 expression data in GC patients. Two researchers independently performed literature screening, data extraction, and quality assessment. Stata 12.0 was used to conduct the meta-analysis of protein-level CISD2 expression data from immunohistochemistry (IHC) studies. The Kaplan-Meier plotter database was used as an independent complementary analysis to explore the association between CISD2 transcript-level expression and GC prognosis. The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023490404). Results Three high-quality studies with a total of 1318 participants were finally included. The exploratory meta-analysis showed no statistically significant association between CISD2 protein expression and age, gender, lymphatic invasion, TNM stage, or histological grade in GC patients. A suggestive negative correlation was observed between CISD2 IHC expression and tumor invasion depth, with a pooled OR of 0.57 (95% CI : 0.41 - 0.79, P = 0.001). The independent transcript-level in silico analysis from the Kaplan-Meier plotter provided complementary prognostic evidence, showing that elevated CISD2 mRNA expression was significantly correlated with poor first progression ( HR = 1.3, P = 0.04) and reduced overall survival ( HR = 1.27, P = 0.041) in GC patients. Conclusion This exploratory study generates preliminary hypotheses that CISD2 may have a potential association with GC progression and prognosis. Given the limited number of included studies and the distinct data types across analyses, large-scale prospective studies and mechanistic investigations are urgently required to verify these associations before any clinical application of CISD2 as a biomarker can be established.

Source: Frontiers in Oncology

DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2026.1965844

Authors: Tong Liang, Yaqiong Cui, Hongmei Song

Institutions: Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu Provincial Hospital, Gansu Provincial Hospital of TCM

Language: English

Topic: Gastric Cancer Management and Outcomes

Subfield: Oncology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801