Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33186371›Full record

SynthesisPloS one2020

Prognostic and clinicopathological significance of NRF2 expression in non-small cell lung cancer: A meta-analysis.

Qingsong Wang, Liang Xu, Gang Wang, Lei Chen, Changping Li, Xiangli Jiang, Hai Gao, Bing Yang, Weiping Tian

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Nrf2 Hyperactivation as a Driver of Radiotherapy Resistance and Suppressed Antitumor Immunity in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2025
    Article
  5. Decoding the NRF2-NOTCH Crosstalk in Lung Cancer-An Update.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Frontiers in oncology · 2025
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Metabolic Phenotypes, Dependencies, and Adaptation in Lung Cancer.Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine · 2021
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.

Qingsong WangGuangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.ORCID 0000-0003-2622-171X
Liang XuGuangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Gang WangDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Lei ChenDepartment of Otolaryngology, The Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Changping LiDepartment of Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Xiangli JiangDepartment of Thoracic Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Hai GaoInstitutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Bing YangDepartment of Cell Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Weiping TianTianjin Research Center of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Tianjin Medical University · CNJinan University · CNFudan University · CNSecond Hospital of Tianjin Medical University · CNTianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital · CNTianjin Medical University General Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) functions as a transcription factor and regulates a wide array of antioxidant and stress-responsive genes. NRF2 has been widely implicated in different types of cancers, but only limited studies concerning the relationship between NRF2 expression and tumour invasion or prognosis in lung cancer. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine the prognostic value of NRF2 in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The relationship between NRF2 expression in NSCLC patients and clinicopathological features was also investigated. Overall survival (OS) and treatment response rate were evaluated using STATA software. Twenty eligible articles with 2530 lung cancer patients were included in this meta-analysis. The results revealed that high expression level of NRF2 was associated with pathologic distant metastasis (odds ratio (OR) = 2.64, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.62-4.31; P < 0.001), lymph node metastasis (OR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.53-3.00; P < 0.001), and tumour node metastasis (TNM) stage (OR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.52-2.49, P < 0.001). High NRF2 expression was associated with low treatment response rate in platinum-based chemotherapy (HR = 0.11, 95% CI 0.02-0.51; P = 0.005). High expression level of NRF2 is predictive for poor overall survival rate (HR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.44-2.41, P < 0.001) and poor progression-free survival (PFS) (HR = 2.27, 95% CI 1.26-4.09, P = 0.006). Compared to patients with a low level of NRF2 expression, patients with high NRF2 expression levels were associated with worse OS and PFS when given the chemotherapy or EGFR-TKI. Together, our meta-analysis results suggest that NRF2 can act as a potential indicator of NSCLC tumour aggressiveness and help the prognosis and design of a better treatment strategy for NSCLC patients.

Indexed as

Gene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticCarcinoma, Non-Small-Cell LungDisease-Free SurvivalFemaleHumansLung NeoplasmsMaleNF-E2-Related Factor 2PrognosisPublication BiasTreatment OutcomeNF-E2-Related Factor 2

Identifiers

PMID33186371
PMCPMC7665804
OpenAlexW3101864143

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.