Prognostic value of 1p deletion for multiple myeloma: a meta‐analysis

Summary Introduction Previous studies have indicated that a deletion on the short arm of chromosome 1 negatively predicts survival in patients with multiple myeloma ( MM ). Due to the small sample size in each study, we performed this meta‐analysis to comprehensively investigate the association between the 1p deletion and survival in patients with MM . Methods A literature search was conducted in both foreign and C hinese databases, including SinoMed, CNKI, Wanfang, PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus. Hazard ratios ( HR ) with 95% confidence intervals ( CI ) for overall survival ( OS ) and progression‐free survival ( PFS ) in 11 eligible articles were extracted or calculated to analyze the pooled HR , which was estimated by fixed‐effect or random‐effect models based on the heterogeneity between included articles. A subgroup analysis and a meta‐regression were conducted, and Galbraith plots were generated to examine any possible heterogeneity. Results The HR s for OS were available in nine articles, whereas five articles discussed HR s for PFS . The HR with 95% CI was 1.989 (95% CI 1.522–2.600, P  =   0.017, I 2  = 57.1%) when comparing the OS of patients with 1p deletion with the OS of those without this deletion. For PFS , 1p deletion still predicted a poor prognosis ( HR 2.11, 95% CI 1.54–2.88, P  =   0.292, I 2  = 19.3%). Moreover, the subgroup analysis suggested that either the deleted gene on 1p or techniques for detecting chromosome abnormalities contributed to the heterogeneity, which was partially consistent with the results derived from a meta‐regression analysis and the Galbraith plot method. Conclusion Our meta‐analysis provides globally quantifiable confirmation of the adverse prognostic role of 1p deletion in OS and PFS for patients with MM .