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Prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor A expression in gastric cancer: a meta-analysis

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Tumor Biology

Abstract

Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) is considered as a prime mediator of angiogenesis and has been implicated in carcinogenesis and metastasis. Various studies examined the relationship between VEGF-A overexpression with the clinical outcome in patients with gastric cancer, but yielded conflicting results. Electronic databases updated to September 2013 were searched to find relevant studies. A meta-analysis was conducted with eligible studies which quantitatively evaluated the relationship between VEGF-A overexpression and survival of patients with gastric cancer. Survival data were aggregated and quantitatively analyzed. We performed a meta-analysis of 20 studies that evaluated the correlation between VEGF-A overexpression and survival in patients with gastric cancer. Combined hazard ratios suggested that VEGF-A overexpression had an unfavorable impact on overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.57; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.30–1.84) and disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.85; 95 % CI, 1.39–2.32) in patients with gastric cancer. No significant heterogeneity (P = 0.487) was observed among 16 studies for OS and among 7 studies for DFS (P = 0.435). VEGF-A overexpression indicates a poor prognosis for overall survival and disease-free survival in patients with gastric cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Province Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210029, China

    Ya-nan Ji

  2. Department of Critical Care Medicine, 81 Hospital of PLA, Nanjing, China

    Qin Wang

  3. Encephalopathy Center Southwest 14 Wards, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210029, China

    Yang Li

  4. Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, No. 87 Ding Jia Qiao Road, Nanjing, 210009, China

    Zhi Wang

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  1. Ya-nan Ji
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  4. Zhi Wang
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Correspondence to Zhi Wang.

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Y-N. Ji, Q. Wang, and Y. Li contributed equally to this work and should be considered as co-first authors.

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Ji, Yn., Wang, Q., Li, Y. et al. Prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor A expression in gastric cancer: a meta-analysis. Tumor Biol. 35, 2787–2793 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-013-1371-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-013-1371-1

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