title: VEGF-C expression is associated with the poor survival in gastric cancer tissue.
abstract: Vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) is considered as a prime mediator of lymphangiogenesis and has been implicated in carcinogenesis and metastasis. Various studies examined the relationship between VEGF-C overexpression and the clinical outcome in patients with gastric cancer, but yielded conflicting results. Electronic databases updated to July 2013 were searched to find relevant studies. A meta-analysis was conducted with eligible studies which quantitatively evaluated the relationship between VEGF-C overexpression and survival of patients with gastric cancer. Survival data were aggregated and quantitatively analyzed. We performed a meta-analysis of 13 studies that evaluated the correlation between VEGF-C overexpression and survival in patients with gastric cancer. Combined hazard ratios suggested that VEGF-C overexpression had an unfavorable impact on overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.08-1.68), but not disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.25, 95% CI = 0.89-1.62) in patients with gastric cancer. No significant heterogeneity (P = 0.132) was observed among 11 studies for OS and among 5 studies for DFS (P = 0.105). VEGF-C overexpression indicates a poor prognosis for overall survival, but not disease-free survival in patients with gastric cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, No. 197, Ruijin Er Rd, Shanghai, 200025, China.
authors.forename: Weiguo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Weiping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yunlin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D017594:Publication Bias; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000401:mortality*; D042582:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D042582:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C