IntroductionThe expression of USP22 has been demonstrated to play a pivotal role in solid tumors. However, the prognostic value of USP22 still remains unknown.Materials and methodsA systematic meta-analysis was performed to assess the prognostic value of USP22 in cancers. A literature collection was conducted from inception to June 8, 2017 by searching PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Ovid and Web of Science databases. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) and odds ratio (OR) were used to correlate high expression of USP22 with overall survival (OS) and clinicopathological features.ResultsThe results, pooled by 19 studies with 2,876 cases, indicated that high expression of USP22 predicted poor OS (HR=2.48, 95% CI: 2.11–2.84, p<0.001) and disease-free survival (DFS; HR=2.55, 95% CI: 2.05–3.05, p<0.001) of cancer patients. Furthermore, high expression of USP22 was also significantly associated with advanced clinicopathological parameters, including tumor stage, tumor differentiation, metastasis, nodal status and tumor size.ConclusionOur finding revealed that USP22 might be an indicator of poor prognosis and advanced clinicopathological features of solid tumors and could be served as a novel biomarker.

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Abstract(−)-Guaiol is a sesquiterpenoid found in many traditional Chinese medicines with potent antitumor activity. However, its therapeutic effect and mechanism in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have not been fully elucidated. In this study, (−)-Guaiol was found to induce immunogenic cell death (ICD) in NSCLC in vitro. Using (−)-Guaiol in vivo, we found that (−)-Guaiol could suppress tumor growth, increase dendritic cell activation, and enhance T-cell infiltration. Vaccination experiments suggest that cellular immunoprophylaxis after (−)-Guaiol intervention can suppress tumor growth. Previous studies have found that (−)-Guaiol induces apoptosis and autophagy in NSCLC. Apoptosis and autophagy are closely related to ICD. To explore whether autophagy and apoptosis are involved in (−)-Guaiol-induced ICD, we used inhibitors of apoptosis and autophagy. The results showed that the release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) was partly reversed after inhibition of apoptosis and autophagy. In conclusion, these results suggested that the (−)-Guaiol triggers immunogenic cell death and inhibits tumor growth in NSCLC.