As seen in Table 3 and Figures 2-3, pooled ORs of 12 eligible studies showed the upregulated Gli-1 was associated with sample type (OR 10.31, 95%CI 7.14-14.88; P = 0.000), differentiation type (OR 3.76, 95%CI 2.55-5.53; P = 0.000), depth of invasion (OR 8.17, 95%CI 3.60-18.55; P = 0.000), lymph node metastasis (OR 3.97, 95%CI 2.73-5.78; P = 0.000), high TNM stage (OR 3.65, 95%CI 1.89-7.04; P = 0.000). Here, GLI1 is linked to metastatic malignant neoplasm in the lymph nodes.