Appraising clinicopathological and prognostic significance of circular RNA ubiquitin-associated protein 2 in human cancer

Circular RNA ubiquitin-associated protein 2 (circUBAP2) is highly expressed in various human cancers and has been identified as a key contributor to cancer development and progression. We performed this study to explore the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of circUBAP2 in multiple cancers. This meta-analysis was conducted according to PRISMA 2020 guidelines. PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, ClinicalTrials.gov and BioXiv were systematically searched from inception to March 1, 2025 according to the PICO framework. Study quality was appraised using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and eventually a total of 12 studies with 905 participants were included. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were synthesized using fixed- or random-effects models based on heterogeneity (I² statistic) to evaluate the association of circUBAP2 with age, sex, tumor size, stage, differentiation and metastasis. The stability of the results from meta-analysis was estimated via sensitivity analysis. Begg’s funnel plots and Egger’s test were used to appraise the potential publication bias. Subgroup analysis for overall survival (OS) based on follow-up duration, tumor type, case number and survival endpoints were also performed. High expression of circUBAP2 was significantly related to larger tumor size (OR = 3.07, 95% CI: 1.53–6.17, P < 0.05), advanced stage (OR = 2.43, 95% CI: 1.70–3.48, P < 0.05), poor differentiation (OR = 4.47, 95% CI: 2.67–7.48, P < 0.05) and metastasis (OR = 5.77, 95% CI: 3.21–10.40, P < 0.05), but not associated with age or sex. Additionally, circUBAP2 was related to cancer survival (HR = 2.43, 95% CI: 1.96–3.03, P < 0.05), regardless of follow-up duration, tumor type, case number, and survival endpoints. Begg’s funnel plot and Egger’s test showed no publication bias. High expression of circUBAP2 may predict larger tumor size, poor differentiation, distant metastasis and poor outcome of cancer, highlighting the carcinogenetic role of circUBAP2 in human cancer.