Prognostic and clinicopathological significance of TRPM8 in various cancers: a meta and bioinformatic analysis
摘要
Cancer is the leading cause of death in 57 countries (including China) and ranks second globally after cardiovascular disease. The transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8), a cold- and menthol-sensitive ion channel, regulates tumor proliferation, migration, and apoptosis. Despite its oncogenic role in specific cancers, no comprehensive meta-analysis has evaluated its prognostic significance across malignancies. We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Chinese databases (CNKI, Wanfang) up to April 2025. Data from 24 studies (2,992 patients) were meta-analyzed using Stata SE17.0. Pooled hazard ratio (HR) and risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) assessed TRPM8’s association with survival and clinicopathological parameters. High expression of TRPM8 was significantly associated with poorer overall survival (OS) (HR: 1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.26–1.47, p < 0.001) and poorer disease-free survival (DFS) (HR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.09–2.73, p < 0.001). In addition, high expression of TRPM8 is significantly associated with pathological parameters such as lymph node metastasis (RR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.13–1.71; p < 0.001) and TNM stage (RR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.15–2.03; p < 0.001) that are significantly associated with tumor prognosis. RPM8 overexpression is a robust biomarker for poor prognosis and aggressive tumor behavior, suggesting its utility in risk stratification and therapeutic targeting.