Background: Abnormal expression of long non-coding RNA anti-differentiation noncoding RNA (lncRNA DANCR ) can frequently be detected in cancer. Because of this, it is of vital necessity to perform a meta-analysis to clarify the value of lncRNA DANCR  as a prognostic marker in malignant tumors.
Methods: Related studies were retrieved from electronic databases including Web of Science, PubMed, and OVID, from inception to November 21, 2018. The HRs and corresponding 95% CIs were also calculated to explore the relationship of lncRNA DANCR  expression with patient survival. Moreover, ORs were computed to assess the association of lncRNA DANCR  expression with the pathological parameters.
Results: A total of 14 studies involving 1,117 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled HR suggested that high lncRNA DANCR  expression was correlated with poor overall survival (OS; HR =1.85, 95% CI: 1.56–2.18) and disease-free survival (DFS; HR =2.49, 95% CI: 1.75–3.56) in cancer patients. Besides, High lncRNA DANCR  expression was related to poor histological grade (PHG; OR =2.01, 95% CI: 1.08–3.75), high tumor stage (HTS; OR =3.52, 95% CI: 1.67–7.43), lymph node metastasis (LNM; OR =3.47, 95% CI: 1.42–8.49), and distant metastasis (DM; OR =4.76, 95% CI: 2.39–9.51). However, no evidence of obvious asymmetry was found for DFS (Pr>|z |=0.308), PHG (Pr>|z |=0.707), LNM (Pr>|z |=0.174), and DM (Pr>|z |=0.734) using Begg’s funnel plot.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that high lncRNA DANCR  expression can predict poor OS, DFS, PHG, HTS, LNM, and DM in cancer patients, implying that high lncRNA DANCR  expression may potentially serve as a new indicator for poor prognosis and metastasis in cancer.
Keywords: lncRNA, DANCR, neoplasms, prognosis, metastasis