Background: Numerous studies have yielded inconsistent results regarding the relationship between p53 status and the response to neoadjuvant radiation-based therapy in patients with rectal cancer. We conducted a meta-analysis to clarify the relationship between p53 status and response to radiation-based therapy in rectal cancer.
Methods/findings: A total of 30 previously published eligible studies including 1,830 cases were identified and included in this meta-analysis. Wild-type form of p53 status (low expression of p53 protein and/or wild-type p53 gene) was associated with pathologic response in rectal cancer patients who received neoadjuvant radiation-based therapy (good response: risk ratio [RR] =1.30; 95% confidence intervals [CI] =1.14-1.49; p<0.001; complete response RR=1.65; 95% CI=1.19-2.30; p=0.003; poor response RR=0.85; 95% CI=0.75-0.96; p=0.007). In further stratified analyses, this association remained for sub-groups of good and poor response in neoadjuvant radiotherapy (RT) setting, good and complete response in chemoradiotherapy (CRT) setting. And the association between response and the presence of p53 gene mutations was stronger than that between response and protein positivity.
Conclusion: The results of the present meta-analysis indicate that P53 status is a predictive factor for response in rectal cancer patient undergoing neoadjuvant radiation-based therapy.