title: Prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with head and neck cancer: A meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The correlation between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) overexpression and the clinical outcome of head and neck cancer remains inconclusive. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of VEGF in patients with head and neck cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE and 2 Chinese science databases in order to enroll all eligible articles. Forty-seven studies were included in this meta-analysis. All results were evaluated by the random-effects model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  VEGF overexpression is significantly associated with worse overall survival (OS; hazard ratio [HR], 1.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.61-2.22) and progression-free survival (PFS; HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.33-2.12). Subgroup analysis reveals that VEGF overexpression is a significant poor predictor for nasopharyngeal cancer (HR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.30-2.12) and salivary gland cancer (HR, 3.32; 95% CI, 1.61-6.84).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our meta-analysis supports that VEGF overexpression is an available poor predictor for patients with head and neck cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zang
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Li-Na
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Yong-Chun
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jian-Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016019:Survival Analysis; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A