Prognostic value of c-MET protein expression in gastric cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The heterogeneous nature of c-MET overexpression in gastric cancer (GC) leads to a lack of consensus on its prognostic significance. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the predictive value of c-MET protein expression in gastric cancer patients. METHODS: statistic, and sensitivity analysis. Publication bias was evaluated with Egger's and Begg's tests. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) assessed methodological quality. RESULTS: = 42.4%; P = 0.139). Definitions of c-MET positivity varied across studies regarding thresholds, staining intensity, and detection methods. Subgroup analysis of OS revealed conflicting conclusions based on study design, cutoff values, and c-MET assays. CONCLUSION: High c-MET expression may independently predict poor GC prognosis. Future efforts should focus on standardized detection methods and high-quality prospective studies to validate its prognostic value.